How do you deal with being nicknamed due to your fussiness on the food sold in the restaurant?

#1

Maybe I put it this way: when you go outside to eat, you need to be paranoid, so you need to look around for the keto-compliant food. But, ya know, even if it is not obvious carb (rice/noodles/bread), there is some carb hidden in the food(sweet sauce/flour-coated/starchy gravy)

And if you ask a little bit more in detail for those foods, the staff will not be amused then.

Those good one might tolerate and try to answer as much as possible.
Those ignorant idiots will just say “it is all made like this. I also don’t know.”
Those not-so-good staff might start to nickname you in a mocking way next time you visit them, and before you think you can just bring your money elsewhere, think again: it is likely that the restaurant/stall is the one nearby that offered the lesser evil among all the available food options.
And let’s not talk about those ****** who gives ****** attitude and scolded people off once one decided to ask a little bit of questions.

#2

I just order what I want and keep it simple. Such as, I order a rib-eye steak and only steamed broccoli or a salad with an oily dressing. Or get grilled shrimp and have it soaked in butter like scampi. If I want something that is not so simple then we just make it home, keto style. Thing I miss the most is a Bud Light. If anyone knows of a carb-free or low carb light beer let us know. Would be a nice treat on occasion. Have a great day…

#3

But well

  1. I cannot cook complicated food as well
  2. I want variety (or else I could stay with bacon and egg… No, unlikely. I still didn’t find the slightly-easy way to make bacon and egg taste wonderful to me, like what I mentioned before is another thread.)
(bulkbiker) #4

Chicken rice without the rice…?
Crispy pork belly?
Roast duck without the sauce?
You live in Singapore right? so all those should be fairly available…in all hawker centres…

#5

Chicken rice without rice, Crispy Pork Belly and Roasted Duck… Sometime I do order them, but they have the minimum purchase thing($5). And actually the quantity given on that amount is also not enough to make me feel satisfied. I also kinda eat till I get quite sick of them.

Meanwhile, some stalls offer cheaper options(You know, those stalls that display all the foods out there: It is called “Cai Fang” stall, or in English, “Chinese Mixed Vegetable Rice”.)
And the reason why I kinda need to ask is because there are some foods that look nice and tasty, attracting me to eat, yet they seem suspicious, so I feel the need to ask.(To explore more options also… or else I will get bored and annoyed by the lack of variety.)

(LeeAnn Brooks) #6

I was going to suggest to just embrace the name and do complete Sally from When Harry Met Sally and fake a orgasm in the restaurant, but it’s probably best to take the other suggestions.:wink:

#7

LOL… Sorry, I don’t understand.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #8

Ever seen When Harry Met Sally?
Meg Ryan and Michael Keaton?

Sally is a fussy orderer asking for everything on the side. One day in the restaurant they get in a conversation about faking orgasms and Harry tells her he would know the difference between real and faked. So she fakes one right there to prove him wrong.

Hey, they may be calling you names, but it’s a good bet after that it won’t be related to the food.:rofl:

#9

LOL… okay. I… don’t really watch TV show.(Not to say American show)

Just don’t happen to have such habit.(Also, I am quite bad in English in terms of listening, so if I am to watch, I need English subtitles to understand :joy: .)

#10

If you tell them that you are highly sensitive/intolerant to starches/sugars and you need to know for health reasons, you may find them to be much more cooperative. Most restaurants want to know if you have food allergies so they can suggest/alter foods on their menus to accommodate. If you have a waiter or waitress that is rude because you ask too many questions, I would not hesitate to call them out on it or make a comment to the manager.

(LeeAnn Brooks) #11

It’s an American movie from the 80’s. Pretty iconic over here.
Sorry, couldn’t help but throw that in. I always think of Meg Ryan as Sally whenever I get picky about my order.

(Raj Seth) #12

Billy Crystal - a great comedian
And it was at Katz’s Deli - great Pastrami!
“I’ll have what she’s having” :joy::rofl:

#13

I see. sometime I really lied like that(Lying about being diabetes, when I don’t think I have even before keto: I didn’t do any medical checkup). Sometime I just felt like saying the complete version of this nag: “excuse me. I knew I asked a bit too much, but you need to understand: If in one day, you encounter someone who is legitly allergic to those sugars/starch, how? not being compliant is understandable since it is business secret, but if this caused the death, how? Who pays for that person’s life?”

(Of course, in the end I didn’t say the complete version. I just said “someone who is allergic might want to ask for more info”

(LeeAnn Brooks) #14

Damn, I was going back and forth between Michael Keeton and Billy Crystal in my mind and couldn’t remember which one it was.

Guess it’s time to rewatch that movie.

(Raj Seth) #15

Or just YouTube the scene!!

(Chicken skins help👍)

(LeeAnn Brooks) #16

Yeah, I look into it today. I wasn’t at work yesterday, but am today. As long as my meat manager is there, I’ll ask him. With the holiday though, there’s a good chance he might not be.

But I havent forgotten.

(Gavin) #17

My advice is to do your homework and go to places where you already know what they have, that you can eat.

I’ve not went to a restaurant yet to sit for a meal since I started keto but just like I do when I order a takeaway from time to time, I choose a place where I know they have things that I can eat.

Personally, I wouldn’t worry about what others think. Just go in and accept that you cannot eat a wide selection of food that non ketos can… just keep your order simple and bring your own sauce if you want sauce…

What are they going to do? Kick you out for using your own sauce? Just tell em you need to ensure your sugar intake is managed. Simple…

Good luck with it

(Robert C) #18

My answer would be to avoid being nicknamed in the first place. I think that comes down to attitude more than any perceived fussiness.

If a Buddhist monk walked into a restaurant and calmly and politely asked even as many as 20 ingredient related questions – but always soft-spoken, always displaying gratitude for the answers, always politely accepting “I don’t know” – it is unlikely they’re going to get a nickname.

Of course, I don’t know you but, from your original post it seems at least possible you are not displaying the above attitude. You categorized the wait staff into 4 groups – 3 were categorized negatively and with the first – which was categorized as “good” – you still went slightly negative saying the “might tolerate” your questions. Even one or two questions accompanied by an attitude that assumes the worst may get you that unwanted nickname.

Going into this kind of situation expecting the best or the worst will likely lead to that expectation being met.

(karen) #19

I don’t know how you’d handle it at a food stall, but when I go to a restaurant I explain what I’m doing - “I can’t have carbs” and ask if the food I want to order is a good choice. Usually I’ll either get a waiter happy to work with me or someone who’s anxious and they’ll ask a manager to come over. If it shows up and it’s totally wrong, I send it back, saying something like, “I’m really sorry, but this isn’t going to work for me”. Last night I ordered “lobster bisque” which should have had cream, lobster and dry white wine as its main ingredients. What I got was a blend of tomato soup and cream of potato, with about 1 tablespoon of salt in it. Maybe they have a lobster tank in the back and they used the water out of it as the soup base. No thank you, this wasn’t what I ordered.

ETA: when I eat out I do acknowledge that there will be more carbs in the food unless I stick to absolutely plain ingredients. Even the best lobster bisque may have a bit of flour or a touch too much tomato paste for my macros, that’s a compromise I choose to make.

(Ken) #20

I learned long ago not to be at PITA when eating out or at other people’s homes. Just avoid the obvious carbs, but don’t obsess over the foods containing small amounts. The 20g level is just “Nutty Keto Dogma” anyways, and if you’ve been lipolytic more than a couple of weeks such a small amount at one meal won’t matter.