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

by Michael F. Jacobson, Jayne G. Hurley, David A. Kessler (Preface)

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 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.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food

381 pages, Paperback

First published May 6, 2002

About the author

Michael F. Jacobson is an American scientist, nutritionist and co-founder of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend lent me this book, and it has ruined my blissful ignorance of eating out in restaurants, though may save my life down the line. I had no idea how many calories those "snacks" in the mall had - they aren't really snacks at all, but full meals (and in some cases a full day's worth of calories and two day's worth of fat!)

Really, I did learn a lot about how to choose more healthfully off of a menu and how to keep my heart healthy. Still, I'm going to miss eating cheesecake!

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book didn't hang together for me. Each chapter seemed to be snippets of Bourdain's life and restaurant experiences. The purpose, I think, was for shock value but was too over the top to come across as believable. A restaurant kitchen comes across much like scenes from the TV show ER. I certainly hope not every restaurant kitchen (staff and procedures) in the world functions as the ones portrayed in this book.

[Saralyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had some good information. I didn't really like the way it was set up. It seemed to repeat a lot of information because of it. But I learned some good things from it. Just because a meal looks healthy does not make it so.

[Valerie Sherman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had interesting information, but it's a little outdated and I like the format of "Eat This, Not That" better. Still, it convinced me that I probably eat too much saturated fat (cheese) and cholesterol (eggs) despite my relatively healthy diet.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would only recommend Restaurant Confidential if you're very interested in the caloric content of restaurant food. Prepare to be feel like you'll never be able to eat again.