Dine Out Healthy - Chuy's Restaurant Review

How to Dine Out – The Healthy Way

Chuy's Tex Mex Review

As a Mom with severe food intolerance and the desire to eat healthy, I don't eat out much. I don't trust restaurants.  BUT, what if I started to review some restaurants and brought about more awareness and options for food intolerance?  

Don't get me wrong, I believe that if you have food issues, it is ultimately YOUR responsibility to take special care in where and what you eat.  It's never the restaurants problem.  But, it sure would be nice for people like me and millions of others out there to be able to eat at more places with confidence.  

This will be my first of many food reviews. I'm going to be very honest and will be reviewing the atmosphere that accompanies the food.  While I'm not one to complain, if I'm going to do this, I gotta do it right for you.  

Maybe this is my outlet to bitch about restaurant experiences, maybe it's just me being honest or maybe it's both.  :)  

First official review is Chuy's Tex-Mex in College Station, Texas.  The negative far outweighs the positive but I will say, it was the day before Texas A&M University Classes started which made it very busy.  

On the other hand, they should have expected that and staffed more servers and perhaps not have a someone new in the kitchen.  (The server told me this fact)

I have had other decent experiences there before but nothing I'd rave about.  This was maybe the 'straw on the camels back'?  Is that what the saying is?  

First, my salad was just okay but they did cater to food intolerance.  I ordered the Cobb Salad.  Nothing fancy but still good and it allowed me to join in with my family as they ate their Tex Mex favorites. 

In the salad, they cooked (fully and then some) an non marinated chicken breast on a clean surface and omitted any diary or egg. I was just happy I could confidently stuff my face! 

The cobb salad was delivered with missing ingredients but when I could finally flag down my server she handled it promptly.

The 'Pinky-Up Restaurant Snob' side of me.... Here goes...

Onto the salsa! The first bowl of salsa was great but be careful, there is a TON of sodium in it.  But, the second bowl was WAY off.  I don’t know if it was old or just the wrong recipe.  It looked normal but I had a gag reaction to the taste. I had to spit as much as I could out and pray that I didn't end up nobody wants from a restaurant.

Normally I would flag down the server but I didn't.  This was at the end of the meal at by this time, I didn't have another minute to wait on them.   We were strapped for time.

The entire lunch experience was 1 hour and 30 minutes long.  I know I’m going to sound like a raging bitch but they were slow as hell and our server was nonstop helping patrons.  She worked very hard but she was doing all she could.  

They were obviously packed and not staffed for it.  The server also told me that some of their kitchen staff was new.  Now when what is supposed to be a quick lunch takes more than 45 minutes, I get pissed and want to send them a invoice for my time lost.  Too bitchy?

The music was so loud that the people behind us in both directions were yelling just to hear each other which means we got to hear two stories being shouted at the same time.  If we wanted to speak at all, we had to yell.  It was awful.

What was meant to be a fun family lunch ended up being stressful and annoying.  While my boys enjoyed their bowl of salty, calorific Tex Mex, I wish we would have went someplace else. 

If you go there, they don’t have much on the menu for gluten or dairy free peeps like myself but they do have something so you will at least have one healthy option!

The original intention of this was to give you ideas on how to eat healthy whilst dining out but that just turned into a full on restaurant rage review.  But, I do feel better now for some reason. 

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Cauliflower, Carrot and Red Bell Coconut Curry

I just wonder what I would be eating if I had never met my half Vietnamese Husband.  I wonder if I would have explored other Asian cuisines by myself.  It would be hard to eat an American diet now since I'm gluten free and dairy free!  

Luckily my husband grew up in Malaysia where the cuisine is a colorful and flavorful blend of many Asian cultures.  Kyle and I have taken some of his Mom's creations and made them our own.  Keeping them healthy, tasty and something our kiddos love.  

This dish was inspired by a chicken dish that Kyle cooks.  I was looking for a low carb, densely nutritious, high fat and vegan dish to eat whilst on a detox.  Here is what I created!  

 Ingredients:

1 Head Organic Cauliflower

1 Rustic Chopped Red Bell Pepper

3 Rustic Chopped Organic Carrots

2 Long Sliced Green Onion

1 Jalapeno cut into 3 sections. (Seeded & de steamed to remove some heat)  *optional

2 Cans Organic Coconut Milk

1 Tbsp. Garam Masala

2 Tsp Curry Power

3 Tbsp. Coconut Oil

¼ Cup Cilantro Leaves

Himalayan Salt to taste (or any other salt)

Directions:

• In a large sauce pan, heat up all Coconut Oil on Med/High heat.  Add curry powder and Garam Masala and stir around for a few minutes. 

• Add Carrots and a tsp of salt. Let cook for another couple of minutes

• Add the bell pepper and cauliflower and toss around until coated.  Then add Coconut Milk and Stir all together.

• Cook on a med/low heat until cauliflower is tender but not falling apart then add the green onion.

• Let cook for another minute then turn fire off.

• Top with Cilantro and enjoy.  Allow the dish to marinate in the fridge overnight!  It will make this even more splendid!  

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Don't forget to share with a friend who appreciates DIFFERENT flavors!

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Here are a few things you may not know about your salad! Make your salads fun, pack with nutrition and fresh this summer!
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2. Splurge on a quality vinegar. The vinegars from speciality stores go a long way and make any salad exciting and more tasty.

3. Eat your salad with chop sticks! Stop stabbing your salad and refine your chop stick skills! It's so much easier once you get the hang of it.

4. Bonus: make sure it's pretty. Lots of colors of the rainbow means all kinds of different nutrients.

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Fragrant Vietnamese Noodle Soup

Fragrant Vietnamese Noodle Soup

                                                    Contributed by, The Lazy Asian Chef

You guys know I like to keep recipes simple and fresh.  This noodle soup is extremely fragrant, delicate and excellent for your belly.  My husband cooks this a lot during the winter because it’s friendly for all my food intolerances! 

Keep in mind, a lot of the recipes I send you give you leniency to play around with the spices and flavors.  My one wish is that through these recipes, you discover new techniques, spices and flavor combinations.  Maybe you don’t love them all but at least you are adventurous and stepping out of your comfort zone!

Ingredients for Broth

8 qt Water                                                                   

2 Star Anise

3 Cinnamon Sticks

1 tbl Whole Clove

3 Bay Leaves

1 tbl black peppercorns

1 tbl coriander seeds

1 tbl salt

3 garlic cloves

1 yellow onion, halved and charred

2-3 inches ginger, slightly crushed and charred

Meat bones (Beef, Chicken, or Pork - As much as you're willing to spend)
Gluten Free Rice Noodles (cook as is on package!)

Simmer low and slow.  Overnight to wake up to an amazing aroma.

Condiments/Toppings - ***  Remember, all these toppings are to your taste!  Add as much or as little as you would like.  PLAY around and don’t be scared!  Remember the heat of the broth poured over them will wilt and cook them.. that’s okay!

Cilantro -  I may have an addiction to Cilantro.  I take the leaves off the stem (the stems are a bit bitter, the texture is weird AND they give me gas.  What??  Just sayin’)

Sliced Green Onions

White onion

Asian Basil – ( I purchase mine at the local Asian market, it’s so much cheaper!!)

Beansprouts – A TON!  The heat of the soup will slightly cook them.

Siriracha Sauce

Gluten Free Hoisin

Juice of 1 Lime

BONUS FOR THE Adventurer in you!

If you are a meat eating human, you MUST give this a go!  Add ox tail to the broth.  When broth is done, pick the meat from all the bones (the meat you want to eat that is) but leave the oxtail whole.  Put into a different contain and use as you want. 

Heat the meat including the oxtail in your broth when you re heat your soup.  How do you eat ox tail??  Things will get messy but the messier the better!

Take a bit of ox tail meat, wrap some Asian basil around it and dip it in hoisin sauce!  My mouth is watering Now!