by Slynnro
Last night, I dined at a Seasons 52 for the first time. For those of you unfamiliar with their dining concept, all dishes on the menu have fewer than 475 calories. Seasons 52 refers to itself as a "Fresh Grill," and they do so with serious conviction when your waiter comes to the table. They say "fresh grill" as though it were a commonly accepted thing, which gave me a small chuckle. ("It's not a thing!" was my rant). But the concept is something I can get behind--fresh foods, cooked in a healthy preparation. BUT WOULD THE PORTIONS BE ENOUGH? That was the big question I had, and the answer is a resounding yes!
To start, we shared the chicken skewers and a pork carnitas flat bread:
I only nibbled a bite of the flatbread because, uh, bread. But it was quite tasty, and rather large for 470 calories. The chicken skewers were also excellent:
The chicken was flavorful and juicy.
For my entree, I had the pork medallions, which are on the Seasons 52 gluten-free menu (there is also dairy-free, lactose-free, low-sodium, vegetarian, vegan, and, ultimate sadness, garlic-free menu options):
This was delicious! And as you can see, the portion was generous. This dish came in at 470 calories, and it was perfectly filling. Aaron had a grilled chicken dish:
which was also filling (for a 6'3" boy!), and quite tasty as well.
When we finished our entrees, we both had a sense of being perfectly full--not overly so, as is often the case when eating a multi-course dinner. In addition to our appetizers and entrees, we both had salads, which were fresh and perfectly lightly dressed. After years of ordering my salads with the dressing on the side, I recently decided to be brave and not request the dressing on the side. The salad was so overly dressed it was inedible. But these salads were dressed just enough to flavor the greens, but lightly enough that you could still taste the vegetable goodness. This was the feeling on all of our dishes--we didn't feel overly full because our entrees weren't covered in butter and oil, and you could really taste the ingredients. It was a refreshing change.
We both agreed that, for once, we were truly excited to have a nibble of dessert, without dreading the painfully full feeling we often get when indulging (but which for some reason, we cannot avoid subjecting ourselves to). I forgot to photograph them, but we shared two mini-indulgences, which are desserts in shot glasses, peanut butter & chocolate mousse, and a pecan pie indulgence. Neither were gluten-free, so I just had a little nibble and both were delicious!
After a four-course meal, I did a calorie tally, and my huge dinner was a mere 950 calories. Seasons 52, you'll be seeing me again!
Seasons 52 is one of my very favorite restaurants, and if I was made of money I would eat there every meal of every day and screw cooking myself.
No matter what season, you should ask if they can make you their spinach salad. Pear or raspberry, some sort of soft cheese (I can't remember, Gorgonzola?) pine nuts and a light fantastic dressing ... I would lick the plate if it was socially acceptable.
Posted by: April | December 17, 2012 at 05:26 PM