Chipotle is about the best "fast" food you can do.

My go to order, bowl, double chicken, no beans, no rice, lettuce, extra hot salsa. it is a pile of protein yummy food.

Nicer restaurants, order yourself the steak, double veggies for sides (skip any potato items).
Or, chicken salad, no nuts, fruits, croutons, balsamic vinegar (I always get double chicken breasts - well because it just is better)

Be careful... the chicken is cooked in soybean oil if you want to be strict about it.

Saltgrass is the easiest place for me to eat at... but I assume any steakhouse would be. Order steak without butter and oil... baked sweet potato, broccoli without the same, grilled shrimp without oil, etc.

For quick lunches, I can run to the local greek place... egg and lemon soup, shrimp in olive oil and tomato sauce, potatoes in olive oil. Delicious.

I don't eat fast food because typically fast food places are the farthest from paleo compliant as you can get. So fast food, I'd say avoid

Restaurants (for the most part) however usually use better quality ingredients and you're able to ask for modifications when necessary. For example, I went to a fish house where they had grilled fish. Easy right? They "grilled" it on a flat top, which is fine, but dusted it with flour first to get a good crust. I asked they omit the flour dusting and cook with olive oil instead of the vegetable oil they would have used had I not asked. They had no issue in modifying the cooking procedure for my meal. It's all gonna come down to asking questions about what's in your food and how it's prepared, and politely asking for adjustments. You can also do a crapload of research ahead of time and find good eats before you even head out. It's not impossible to eat out, but you're going to have to do a little legwork more than the average person

What are everyones experiences with eating out (fast food and actual restaurants) paleo style? Are there certain places that are easy to eat within the guidelines?

As you are noticing from the responses - it depends.

If you are hitting fast food as a normal eating choice, I'd say 'avoid' - as it's been pointed out, the meats aren't grass fed/pastured, and the frying oils are generally the worst ones you can ingest - and everything has a bun or tortilla around it. But if you're going because you left your lunch on the top of your car before you drove in, and it'll be several hours before dinner - I'd go to In and Out and order a burger 'protein style'. It may not be the best, but it's a damnsight better than a pizza.

As far as restaurants in general go, I avoid chains - their purchasing practices generally guarantee that they're using stuff bad for you. I'd look at the menus of a few quality restaurants in your area (usually on their website) and see. Any decent place can get you a steak with double veg and hold the breadbasket. Or salmon. Again, may not be 100% paleo/primal, but if it's the occasional thing, it won't kill ya. Obviously, certain styles of restaurants are more difficult: Italian and Mexican are very carb-based. But you can usually find something at a BBQ, steak house or seafood shack.

Since my wife and I eat most of our meals at home, and I keep our home meals strictly paleo/primal, going out falls into the 20% of Sisson's 80/20 rule: strive for perfection, but realize that occasionally you'll be less than perfect.

For fast food, Jimmy John's! As the others have said, take it for what it's worth, but you can order an "unwich" there, which means they wrap the sandwich in lettuce instead of bread. You control what goes on it. My husband and I were away for a funeral, and we ate there twice! The nice thing was when they handed the sandwiches to me I couldn't tell which one had the bun and which one didn't because they give you a salad's worth of lettuce wrapped around it. Obviously not the perfect choice, but it was good for the situation we were in.

For fast food, Jimmy John's! As the others have said, take it for what it's worth, but you can order an "unwich" there, which means they wrap the sandwich in lettuce instead of bread. You control what goes on it. My husband and I were away for a funeral, and we ate there twice! The nice thing was when they handed the sandwiches to me I couldn't tell which one had the bun and which one didn't because they give you a salad's worth of lettuce wrapped around it. Obviously not the perfect choice, but it was good for the situation we were in.

no processed deli meats!

Hence the "take it for what it's worth" and "not the perfect choice"



I thought of another: souplantation/sweet tomatoes. It's mostly the salad bar that's gonna make it a great choice, but they rotate their soups and often have something legal. For example, if you lean primally, they had a cream of mushroom that was really great. It takes asking the chef, but it was mushrooms, chicken stock, sage, some cream and butter, salt and pepper... That was it.

>.> sleepy you're taking a poo on everyone's suggestions!! if you have to eat out then you're clearly in a pinch and need to make some sacrifices!

i second chipotle, the flavors there are extraordinary. hot sauce + guac is delicious on their steak and chicken.

if i go to texas roadhouse or something, i get a steak, sweet potato and a salad. i don't ask for modifications because i hate to be "that" diner, and also because my best friend worked at a steakhouse and she laughed when i asked if cooks really make the modifications they've been asked for. i guess it all depends on the cook, and the quality of the restaurant.

I guess my point is that you don't have to make sacrifices.

We have some acquaintances coming this weekend and they usually like to go out to eat at times and I've been worried about this since I've only been eating this way for a week. This thread was super helpful though

>.> sleepy you're taking a poo on everyone's suggestions!! if you have to eat out then you're clearly in a pinch and need to make some sacrifices!

i second chipotle, the flavors there are extraordinary. hot sauce + guac is delicious on their steak and chicken.

if i go to texas roadhouse or something, i get a steak, sweet potato and a salad. i don't ask for modifications because i hate to be "that" diner, and also because my best friend worked at a steakhouse and she laughed when i asked if cooks really make the modifications they've been asked for. i guess it all depends on the cook, and the quality of the restaurant.

I guess my point is that you don't have to make sacrifices.

So since the topic is about where to eat out, where would YOU go for completely 100% paleo legal food (in a restaurant, not at home)? I think it would make sense to include your own suggestions instead of bashing everyone else's.

What's with the attitude? You all named things that weren't paleo, that's not my fault.

I thought I already did? I go to restaurants and order steak with no oil or butter, sweet potato with no butter, broccoli with no butter. If I go eat at le peep or a breakfast place, I order eggs mixed with onions and peppers and a side of fruit. If I have Italian, I order a grilled chicken breast in tomato sauce with artichoke hearts or side of veggies. If I eat Mexican I order a steak and grilled onions or a salad topped with ground beef and salsa/avocado as my dressing. La Madeleine has fresh strawberries and spinach salads, along with roasted chicken and veggies. At my favorite greek place, they have an egg and lemon soup without the rice, potatoes with olive oil, and shrimp in tomato sauce. It's quite easy though to order things without oil, you just have to ask. It makes a big difference. Even chickfila... just ask for a chicken breast cooked without butter or oil and a large fruit bowl. It's easy.

....I rarely eat out, but If I do, I look at the menu online if I can and see which entrees I can make paleo,

Agree 100% - planning ahead and knowing what you are getting in to is the best thing you can do. ...and makign your choices ahead of time so the smell or appearance of something doesn't encourage you to make a snap decision you'll regret later.

I also 2nd, or 3rd the Chipotle suggestion - they use good quality meats and will customize any way you want. ...i didn't know about the soybean oil though.