5 diet tips from a food critic: How to eat out and not gain weight

Merrill Shindler says the San Fernando Valley has many options for healthy restaurant dining.

Summer is nearly upon us. And though it’s hard to tell summer from spring, and spring from fall here in SoCal, I’m a creature of seasonally appropriate leisure wear. That’s fancy fashion talk for shorts, t-shirts, joggers and other bits of clothing I keep tucked in drawers, never iron and throw in the wash whenever I’ve spilled a margie, or dropped a tacos on them.

The problem is, after two years of pandemic gluttony…nothing fits. Last time I stepped on a scale, I swear it groaned in pain. I recently bought a leather hole punch to give my belts another notch. I’ve told my wife that, you know, leather shrinks. She doesn’t believe it, not a word.

And so, it’s time for me to get back to my (sort of, kind of, semi, quasi) annual diet — either that or go shopping for a new wardrobe. And since I eat for a living, that creates a strategic challenge. It’s a challenge I’ve faced before, which has led to a number of basic rules of how to both eat…and diet…at the same time. The rules are actually more obvious than you might think.

First and foremost, bid farewell to my personal three pilIars of obesity: sugar, deep-fried and alcohol. Sugar is pretty obvious, because it’s everywhere, in everything. There I am, breakfasting on plain, fat-free Greek yogurt, only to read the label, and discover it has five grams of sugar per serving. Where? How? The stuff is as basic as can be! And what do I do about it? Nothing. The benefits outweigh the…possible weight gain.

Deep-frying is more egregious. If I’m checking out an order of deep-fried chicken from some new Korean bird chain, I recognize that the deep-fried coating is inseparable from the chicken itself. So, I simply move onto one of my other rules: taste everything…but don’t finish anything.

My fridge is a wonderland of takeout boxes — recyclable, non-recyclable, paper with a pagoda on the side — filled with everything from edamame to soup to slabs of salmon and beef. Dinner in my house is leftovers. And let me tell you, you see lots of things the next day that you don’t see in the dim light of a restaurant. In the light of day, that lovely slab of prime rib has a ridge of fat not noticed when it was hot. And which I’m glad I didn’t dig into.

I try to eat no more than half the food on my plate, no matter how scrumptious. And the same is true with alcohol. No matter how good that long-aged Bordeaux, and hoppy and malty that craft beer is, I don’t finish them. If I can resist, I don’t even order them because a touch of tipsy makes me want to eat more. And when I eat more, I drink more.

It’s a vicious cycle that shows up on my long-suffering bathroom scale — and those newly punched notches on my leather belts. In the end, with effort, I may look less like the Hindenburg. I’ll never be an anorexic Ralph Lauren model, but at least, I’ll be able to eat a Dodger Dog without (too much) guilt.

My mantra when I’m in diet mode has long been this: lean protein and vegetables. Eat enough lean protein (especially chicken and fish), along with veggies grilled or steamed, and you’ll be amazed how many pounds you’ll lose. I do it with calorically rational dishes from the groups below.

And no, I don’t gobble those leftover Girl Scout cookies in the pantry after my family goes to bed. But those chocolate-covered peanut butter mini cups from Trader Joe’s are hard to resist — dark chocolate and peanut butter. They’re good for us. And they’ll stay that way as long as I don’t look at the label.

Salad

Well, of course salad! And by salad, I don’t mean tuna or chicken salad, made with 50 percent (or more!) mayonnaise. Instead, opt for a simple green salad, perhaps with some skinless chicken or grilled seafood on top. And the dressing on the side. Preferably not a bleu cheese dressing. As they say: K.I.S.S. (“Keep It Simple Stupid!”)

Despite how it sounds, O’Cado (14568 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks; 818-380-0005, www.ocadola.com) is not a venerable Irish name. As was explained to me, it’s short for “avocado,” turned Irish by the Gaelic owner. Which is memorable, if a bit curious.

It’s probably more curious than the cuisine served at O’Cado, which is what we’ve come to recognize as classic vegan cooking — meatless dishes, built mostly around veggies, but with a smattering of faux meat creations tossed in for those in need. Vegan house bacon. Vegan smoked gouda. Vegan blue cheese dressing. Vegan parmesan. Vegan cashew queso. Vegan pork (made from jackfruit). Vegan aioli. Vegan ice cream. Faux food technology has gotten pretty good over the years.

There are no actual entrees served at O’Cado. Instead, there are sumptuous salads, sundry tacos and a bunch o’ sandwiches. The quinoa tabouli continues the underlying Mediterranean leaning of the dishes here. (It’s also a reminder that Israel has the highest percentage of vegans of any nation. In a land of falafel, tabouli and hummus, why not?)

Salads abound here — of course they do! There’s an unorthodox Caesar, made with kale and romaine, and avocado, which helps with the creamy quality of Caesar dressing — and strikes me as being a very fine notion. There’s a Southwest Bowl made of quinoa, kale, barbecue jackfruit, black beans, red peppers, corn and avocado. There’s an iceberg wedge, with yet more avocado. Avocado is the name…and avocado is the game. And good for you too.

Sashimi

With 19 sashimi options on the menu, sashimi is clearly the point at Asanebo (11941 Ventura Blvd., Studio City; 818-760-3348, www.asanebo-restaurant.com).

Indeed, when Asanebo first opened, the chefs couldn’t serve sushi because of a no-compete clause with a nearby sushi bar. So, it was sashimi only, which unintentionally positioned Asanebo as a destination as inflexible as the former Nozawa down the street (with its many, many unbendable rules).

The seafood at Asanebo is so fresh, it crackles, it snaps, it pops. There are no questions here about the fish — it was picked out at dawn that very morning, and very possibly was swimming just a short time before. This is fish at its very peak of freshness. And it’s found in a couple of dozen pieces of classic nigiri sushi, along with whatever fresh fish specials might have shown up at the market.

The sashimi almost always includes several preparations of tuna — bluefin, fatty bluefin, bincho-maguro and more. If you want to explore the joys of gizzard shad or halibut fin, this is the place.

The sushi rolls are minimalist, nothing over the top made with cream cheese and tempura crispies. But then, if you really want a taste of what Asanebo can do with seafood, try the numerous flavored raw fish listed under the heading “House Signature.”

The dishes listed are what I think of as Japanese crudo — a Tokyo twist on one of the great joys of Italian cookless cooking, of which there are so many varieties, there’s an entire restaurant in New York City (called Crudo, of course), that serves nothing but the dish.

There are 19 preparations at Asanebo, the most expensive items on the menu, and the most distinct and wondrous. Perhaps the exquisite kampachi, ever so lightly flavored with miso, serrano pepper, yuzu lime and pink salt. Or the halibut with yuzu citrus pepper paste. Or the salmon with Osetra caviar. Or the toro belly tuna with wasabi and miso vinegar. Each of which verges on perfection. Which only seems right.

Grilled vegetables

This is the perfect dish…as long as the veggies are not accompanied by a 10-pound pile of ribs!

At Carnival (4356 Woodman Ave., Sherman Oaks; 818-784-3469, www.carnivalrest.com), ordering for the table is more than easy. First of all, you probably can’t go wrong with the menu — an extensive collection of the greatest hits of Lebanese cooking, with many of the dishes collected into convenient combination plates. There’s an appetizer combo of hummus, baba ghanoush, tabouli and falafel, served, of course, with lots of warm pita bread, which is a perfect appetizer for both the neophyte and the native.

And there’s the remarkable grilled veggie platter (there’s a fried veggie platter as well), where the vegetables are flavored with olive oil and herbs, beautifully grilled — a reminder that this really is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world.

While we’re talking veggies, there’s the fattoush salad — a kitchen sink salad built around the crunch of toasted pita chips. One can dig into the sandwiches, of which there are nine — including a fantastic beef and lamb pita burger, easily one of the best burgers in town, flavored richly with parsley and onions. Does that even properly count as a burger?

(The Carnival Burger is topped with coleslaw, and served on a sesame bun — a classic burger, though a bit of an outlier on the menu.)

But really, for me, the coup de grace is the Carnival Combination of chicken, lamb and ground kafta, charbroiled and served with rice or fries, more pita bread and wonderful pickled veggies.

Lean chicken

And lean means…skinless! Not deep-fried! If it’s coated in batter, it ain’t lean!

Lusy’s Mediterranean Café & Grill (6357 Woodman Ave., Valley Glen (Van Nuys); 818-997-4330, www.lusyscuisine.com) seems to do as much takeout as eat-in business — partly because this is food that travels very well…and partly because the number of tables in Lusy’s is very finite.

And though it travels well — the falafel bites are as crisp when you get where you’re going as they were in the restaurant — not eating in Lusy’s does remove the pleasure of watching the several sisters who do the cooking. They’re lively, chatty, even a bit noisy. They make the experience fun. And they sure can cook.

For starters, the appetizer combination called Lusy’s Trio is essential, whether for one, two or more. It’s a near perfect selection of Lusy’s extremely tasty hummus — mixed with spices that give it a reddish-pink glow — which has the best texture of any hummus I’ve eaten this side of the open-air market in Jerusalem. It’s not too salty, not too oily. It’s a reminder that hummus, properly prepared, is a very healthy dish.

Ditto the wonderfully chunky tzatziki (a mix of yogurt, mint, garlic, cucumbers and more). And the baba ghanoush (essentially burnt eggplant mashed with garlic, sour cream and tahini). Of course it all comes with pita bread — pretty much everything does.

They sure do make one of the best tabouli salads I’ve ever had. It’s the granddaddy of all chopped salads — a big pile (very big!) of bulgur wheat, mint, parsley, scallions and tomatoes.

The menu says they use soybean oil, rather than olive oil, which I thought was the standard. I thought it would taste a bit off because of the soybean, but I’ve got no complaints. Still, I would like to taste it made with olive oil, which has a far more distinct flavor.

And speaking of distinct flavors — one bite of the chicken shawarma and it’s clear this is a kitchen with a fine hand with herbs and spices; every bite pretty well blows up on the old palate. The grilled beef gyros are crispy and tender at the same time. The kebabs — ground (as in lula) and chunky (as shish) — are about as good as they get.

If you can’t make up your mind, there are many combos — the Shish Kabab Lovers Combo, the Lula Lovers Combo, the Chicken Lovers Combo, the Beef Lovers Combo, the Jumbo Kebab Plate. There are larger platters — “Group Meals” — that serve “five to seven.” There are pita wraps, for smaller appetites.

And for dessert, there’s baklava…and rice pudding “made with tender, loving care…” Of course there is.

Lean fish

Once again, not deep-fried! Does deep-fried salmon even taste good?

For a restaurant in a mall, King’s Fish House (The Commons at Calabasas, 4798 Common Way, Calabasas; 818-225-1979, www.kingsfishhouse.com) is notably non-mallish, with a fine (and very expansive) outdoor patio that surrounds the restaurant on several sides, placed so that you’ll barely notice the presence of the parking lots.

I guess you could pretend that King’s is ocean-adjacent, though that will take a tad of imagination with the hills of West Valley around you. But within, the place is downright old school fish house, with a terrific Cajun oyster bar on one side, part of the cocktail lounge. And a fine lounge it is too, with a wall of hot sauces to choose from as you wish, bottles of tasty Cajun Power garlic sauce on every table, allowing you to turn up the heat on the selection of nine carefully curated oysters (three Pacific, six Eastern) as much as you want.

There are Peruvian bay scallops, wild Littleneck clams, wild Mexican jumbo brown shrimp, wild San Diego rock crab, and wild Maine lobster — there’s an admirable commitment here to stay away from farmed fish, except where necessary.

And if it’s old school grilled fish that is needed to satisfy — well, there’s plenty, with 16 options on the menu, including wild Puget Sound king salmon (in-season only). And if you add on the prepared dishes, there’s plenty more.

I like my seafood qua seafood — which is to say, served as what it is. But I may be a minority report — looking around me, there are folks digging into the macadamia nut crusted wild Alaskan halibut with an orange-ginger butter sauce, the parmesan crusted wild Alaskan sand dabs with lemon butter and capers and more.

There are pasta dishes too, and a bunch of steaks. Which brings us to the bottomline of King’s — it’s a fish house first and foremost, and a very fine one. But the Kings understand that someone is going to come in, and order an herbed chicken breast with mashed potatoes. Or a perfectly decent cheeseburger with Swiss or cheddar. Like Bed Bath & Beyond, this is Fish Oysters & Beyond. As ever, you pays your money, and you takes your choice.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Email mreats@aol.com.