Carnivore and Eating Out

Since this is primarily a restaurant review blog, I figured I should do a post on eating Carnivore and out at restaurants.  This is an interesting problem as most places assume you want a little bit of meat with a huge platter of carbs and vegetables, and don’t forget dessert!  And meat is usually the most expensive thing on the menu, so you can’t always just order 3 steaks unless you are filthy rich.

The first step is to try to choose wisely.  If you have a voice in the choice of restaurant, try to pick places that are going to have more carnivore friendly options, such as the obvious:  the steak restaurant.  Unfortunately these tend to be pretty spendy, so not everyone is going to be able to afford it.  Here in Japan another handy option is the Yakiniku restaurant, where you can order meat and cook it yourself.  There are pitfalls however, including price, and toppings.  Learn how to ask for “niku dake” (meat only) or “tare nashi” (no sauce).  There are some cheaper chains with lunch specials, but these are also problematic as they usually come with rice, salad and soup, and just a tiny bit of meat.  Usually menus are good about showing the grams of meat that come with each option.  I was able to find the maximum amount of meat for the price easily enough and just ordered 3 of those, with no rice or salad (I’m fine with soup), and it turned out fine.  But the first time I got 3 rice bowls, 3 salads and 3 soups, so your mileage may vary.

If you can’t find a meat dedicated restaurant, always check the sides menu.  Often times there are meat items on that list that you can order several of to at least get you through to your next meal.

Surprisingly, a great option for carnivores is fast food hamburger joints.  Although most items on the menu are terrible and filled with chemicals, the meat is usually not that bad, and there is usually a giant hamburger/cheeseburger on the menu somewhere.  Sometimes they'll even let you order it without the other ingredients, but if not, don't be afraid to throw those disgusting buns away!

And then there’s always compromise.  It’s not the end of the world if you have a few veg with your meat, so maybe that cashew chicken dish won’t be too bad.  If you basically have to eat the carb, always remember you can fall back on the rule of half!  You don’t have to eat it all and half is better than all of it.  It’s just a good rule of thumb.