Restaurant Confidential: The Shocking Truth about What You're Really Eating When You're Eating Out [Paperback]

Michael F. Jacobson (Author), Jayne Hurley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 6, 2002

In May 2001, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) broke a major pizza story on the ABC television program 20/20 and once again captured front-page headlines, just as it did when it released studies on movie popcorn and take-out Chinese food.

In Restaurant Confidential, Dr. Michael F. Jacobson and his CSPI team do for sit-down meals what their Fast-Food Guide--with 247,000 copies in print--did for fast food. Belgian Waffle or Rib-Eye Steak? Bloomin' Onion or Mrs. Fields's Double-Fudge Brownie? Americans are now eating almost one-third of their meals outside the home, spending $222 billion annually doing so-and watching their waistlines balloon. What's in this food? To answer, CSPI performs across-the-board restaurant profiles that give straight-shooting scientific data on the fat, sodium, and calorie content of the most popular dishes.

The information is organized by type of cuisine--Chinese, Mexican, steak house, and more--and covers all the major chains, such as The Olive Garden, Applebee's, and Outback. The book provides specific eating strategies for every kind of restaurant, as well as shocking facts: Did you know that a typical order of stuffed potato skins packs a whopping 1,260 calories and 48 grams--two days' worth--of saturated fat? A 10-point plan for ordering wisely, plus dozens of tips throughout, takes the information one step further by showing how to eat happily and healthfully. It's the nutrition book that reads like a thriller. Take the steak and brownies; a whole fried onion with dipping sauce has a blooming 163 grams of fat, and the seemingly innocent Belgian waffle with whipped topping and fruit has even more fat and calories than two sirloin steaks.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This book from the Center for Science in the Public Interest is a follow-up to the organization's expos‚ on the dangers of fast food. This guide offers all imaginable nutritional details about restaurant food, including meals available at mall eateries, fast-food outlets and family-oriented establishments, along with ethnic eateries from Chinese to Italian. The material is first presented in a breathless, tabloid style designed to astound the reader ("It is not at all unusual for a typical restaurant meal to pack 1,000 calories, not counting appetizers or dessert, each of which could run another 1,000. Yet, most women need only about 2,000 calories per day, whereas men need only 2,500.") What follows is a practical list of the best and worst meal choices, according to calorie, fat and sugar content. After spelling out the calorie and fat gram content, the authors offer an alternative in "The Bottom Line." For example, after describing the amount of oil and sugar in sweet and sour pork, the authors advise, "No amount of adjusting will make this good enough to eat. Skip it." While the book probably won't change the way most Americans eat, avid dieters or anyone obsessed with eating healthy will find this book useful as they plan their meals.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-The Center for Science in the Public Interest publishes the calories, fat, and saturated fats in America's favorite restaurant foods. This book is a compilation of those reports. It begins with a brief overview of the American habit of eating out, the study's methodology, and a basic guide to eating out in a healthy way. The reports are arranged by food type, e.g., breakfast, Mexican, Greek drinks, sweets, etc. Each item ends with a tip on eating it in the most nutritious way. Sidebars highlight special findings, which include the 10 best and worst restaurant meals, the foods highest and lowest in saturated fats, food contamination, etc. An appendix lists the major restaurant chains tested. The bad news is delivered in an easy-to-read style free of scientific jargon. Teens who spend so much of their time in restaurants and fast-food chains will find these reports highly informative and extremely helpful in planning a nutritional strategy when eating out.
Jane S. Drabkin, Chinn Park Regional Library, Woodbridge, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Workman Publishing; 1 edition (May 6, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0761100350
• ISBN-13: 978-0761100355
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #533,644 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Restaurant food fat & calories may be higher than you think:, December 11, 2002

By 

Groovy Vegan (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)   

This review is from: Restaurant Confidential: The Shocking Truth about What You're Really Eating When You're Eating Out (Paperback)

Without mentioning brand names, did you know that:
* a popular fabulous smelling cinnamon bun found in shopping malls is 670 calories and 34 grams of fat, 14 of them saturated? (p. 261)
* a typical restaurant serving of French toast is fried in shortening, and contains 800 calories with 26 grams of fat, 8 of them saturated? (p. 71)
* a typical order of moussaka in a Greek restaurant is 830 calories with 48 grams of fat, 25 of them saturated? (p. 184)

Since restaurant-, fast-, and mall food doesn't come with nutritional labels, "Restaurant Confidential" (RC) provides some of the label information for you: calories, total fat, saturated fat, (and in most cases trans fat and sodium). Rather than rely on the restaurant-provided data, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) had the food laboratory analyzed. Categories examined are breakfast foods, popular ethnic cuisines (Chinese, Italian, Mexican, Greek), other popular restaurant choices (pizzerias, sandwich shops, seafood, steakhouses, dinner houses, family style restaurants), fast food, mall food, movie theater snacks, and beverages. Missing from the list is Indian food, Thai food, and a popular ice cream establishment with 31 flavors.

Upon reading page after page of dietary analysis, I was shocked. I knew these foods were high in calories and fat, but despite my nutrition degree, I had no idea how high. Given that a CSPI study of 203 dietitians found they underestimated caloric content of popular meals by 37% and fat content by 49% (study described on p. 8) it's likely that most readers will be in for a whopping surprise.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who eats out at or takes their children to the types of restaurants listed above. (BTW, there are 2 pages of suggestions on eating out with children.) RC helps you navigate through restaurant menus dish-by-dish, suggesting how to order a dish to make it lower in fat, or whether it's best to avoid that selection entirely. And yes, some of the comments are a bit sarcastic, but I found the effect humorous rather than annoying. Each section provides a reminder of the suggested total fat grams, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium for a 2000 calorie diet, which assumes the reader is an average size adult following the RDA recommendation to consume up to 30% of calories as fat. If your caloric and fat gram goals differ, you might want to write those numbers on your copy of this book and take it with you when you eat out. Remember to keep your own eating patterns in mind when using this book. I don't know anyone who eats an entire 1620 calorie order of Kung Pao chicken by oneself! If "Restaurant Confidential" had been out when I did nutritional counseling, I would have recommended a copy to all my clients who frequently ate out.

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How did I manage to live this long?, June 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Restaurant Confidential: The Shocking Truth about What You're Really Eating When You're Eating Out (Paperback)

I travel on business a lot - so I eat out a lot. Since you are working during the day and you have to tend to email and return calls at night, eating out becomes your entertainment. And since it is on the expense account, you deserve a good meal. Maybe a great meal. Now I know just exactly why, in spite of "watching what I eat", I was gaining so much weight. When my doctor told me my cholesterol numbers, I figured I had better get serious about what I am eating. And what I read in this book left me alternately laughing and crying. Considering what I and my peers eat on a regular basis, it is a wonder more of us aren't just dropping dead in the steet. Take my favorite "healthy" breakfast, the Belgian waffle (not those cholesterol laden eggs I wanted so much) - Of course with just a bit of butter and ham, not bacon - ONLY 1000 calories and more fat than the steak I had the night before, not to mention 2000 mg of sodium and cholesterol to literally die for. And if we go out to lunch as a bunch, that new cheese fries with ranch dressing is a mere 3000 calories! Yes, I shared it, but that means I only added 1000 calories and a full day's fat to the full meal I also ate. BUT, the good news is that you can live in restaurants for weeks at a time, not shunning your friends and co-workers, not slinking off to have some carrot sticks and bottled water, not ordering just the steamed broccoli and a diet coke - you can eat well and fully and the secrets are in this book. You'll see old cullinary friends in a new light - and maybe learn some new food ordering habits that could literally save your life. I am strongly recommending this book to anyone who will listen.

47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nothing is Sacred, June 13, 2002

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Restaurant Confidential: The Shocking Truth about What You're Really Eating When You're Eating Out (Paperback)

In "Restaurant Confidential," nothing is sacred. The restaurant foods you love do not love you.

It might be said Michael Jacobson is taking the fun out of eating. Maybe so, but he is introducing honesty. Just because waffles seem like a good ol' traditional meal does not mean it is good for you.

Eat out? I do, as often as I can. My budget limits me to the big chains, not the speciality restaurants. As I examine the different chains' offerings, as described by Jacobson, I realize my diet is not as healthy as I once believed. I'm not referring to the obvious diet killers: McDonald's and Burger King, but to Olive Garden and other well-known places to dine.

He compares, for example, how some waffles are worse than a big steak. He hardly is advocating that a steak is healthy, but it showing how fatty, how sugary basic breakfast food can be.

He goes dish by typical dish, analyzing the good and bad, and sums up in a line or two if that dish is what you should be eating.

It is a saddening expose. It is a free country, so choose what you will eat, but with this book, you can choose more wisely, and think about the big picture of your diet more accurately.

I fully recommend "Restaurant Confidential" by Michael F. Jacobson. With all of this writing, I'm hungry now.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com