low fat dining in theatre district

[broadwaytourist]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:54am

While I am sure most restaurants in the area have low fat alternatives on the menu, do you have a favorite dish or restaurant to recommend? More ethnic, the better. Can't do really spicy (hot) because I don't drink with meals.

Thanks in advance.

Anne

[Dollypop]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 6:38pm

There are plenty of Chinese restaurants in the theatre district. There's no trouble finding low-fat foods there.

Also, at Junior's, you can order their fresh turkey sandwiches on whole wheat and the sides you get (pickles, beets and non-creamy cole slaw) are all low-fat. Just ask for the mayo on the side.

[nealb1]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 7:12pm

2nd that on Junior's. They have a great Chicken Caesar salad, and you can order the dressing on the side.

Just use your common sense in any dining situation regarding ordering a low fat meal on a menu. Going with a salad, fish or chicken, you'll be just fine.
Updated On: 12/19/09 at 07:12 PM

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:00pm

Thalia is my personal favorite. Their butternut squash soup is possibly the best I've ever had. Very reasonably priced and very chic.

P

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 8:56pm

Another thing you should know if you aren't from New York is that restaurants are required to have calorie counts listed on the menu now. I don't know if that's something important to you.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:12pm

DAFNI !!! (Greek), and fabulous and cheap and delish and fresh and lo cal, mostly, and in a most unassuming place...directly across the street from the side entrance to the Port Authority. Check it out, the service and ambience are GREAT!

Lucky me, I live down the street from this great newish place. NOT a tourist trap.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 9:47pm

Zen Palate is my favorite! I wasn't a fan of the veggie burger, but everything else I have ever had was good. The pineapple iced tea makes me way too happy. The Moo Shu Fantasia is probably my favorite dish.
Click me for the menu!

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:11pm

I like ZEN, too. The back room is very tranquil.

[bwaylvsong]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:50pm

^Thalia is AMAZING but I don't think it's reasonably-priced at all. Still, if you can afford it, GO.

[singtopher]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:53pm

I'm a big fan of Turkish Cuisine. (9th b/t 44 &45) Great inexpensive ethnic food.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 10:59pm

Thalia is pricey. A bowl of soup is like $8, I think. Good, but $8? lol

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:14pm

I put it on the same level as Joe Allen's, which as far as relatively upscale NYC dining is concerned, is quite cheap.

At Thalia you pay for the decor, as well. And $8 for a generous bowl of soup at a chic restaurant in the theatre district certainly seems reasonable to me, at least comparatively. Plus, they use fresh ingredients and have many vegetarian and organic options.

I'm not comparing it to some tiny dump with great food because that's not what the OP asked for. It's cheap compared to Orso.

So glad to see fellow Thalia lovers. Next time I'm in NYC I know I can count on a dinner date or two,

P

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:24pm

Not what the OP asked for, but as long as we're discussing... We went to Becco last night. I wasn't impressed at all. We're vegetarians, so there were NO options except the table side pasta trio, which I probably would have ordered anyway. Two were meatless and they made small portions of the third just for us. The pasta we loved was basically fancy mac & cheese. The other two were bland. We had two apps, four entrees and four desserts and it was $185. Not worth it at all, in my opinion.

[Pgenre]

Posted: 12/14/09 at 11:32pm

I had a business dinner at Becco once that was $400 for 3 (Bar tab and tip combined was less than 1/4 of that, btw). You got off cheaply by being vegetarian (I am one too, most of the time). I actually almost said Becco instead of Orso in my last post but figured Becco is even pricier than Orso so it puts it into the very expensive category versus expensive like Orso or average for the theatre district like Joe Allen's and Thalia.

P

[wexy]

Posted: 12/15/09 at 10:35am

I second Dafni. I'm going there Friday.

[thetinymagic2]

Posted: 12/18/09 at 7:56pm

oops, I also forgot my FAVE! "AFGHAN KEBAB HOUSE" - 9th and 52nd st. Still great and cheap after 25 years, before all the trendoid places arrived. Superb, and still byob and small and homey. One HAS to use all 3 of the squeeze bottle sauces on every table. mmmmmm! Delish! still hell's ktichen's hidden nabe treasure, imho. enjoy!