No Butter, No Fryer, No Good?

"We don't have a fryer in the restaurant."

The server said proudly as I sat down at our table at Seasons 52.

....you don't have a fryer......what am I doing here again?

As my short term memory came back to me I realized that I had come to Seasons 52 to "eat fresh healthy food" that's all under 475 calories.

The atmosphere of Seasons is breathtaking and it smells magnificent when you walk in. Extremely sheek, tight and stylish. The message inside is: "we're classy, sophisticated and healthy...you should love us"

In fact the name "Seasons 52" comes from how they change their core menu "with the season" and change their specials menu every single week. 

Somehow, they seem to make it work with elaborate food presentations and a wide food variety considering that everything is under 475 cals. They're famous for their flatbreads....for a very good reason. Imagine a long skinny pizzza with all kinds of awesome toppings. We had the Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Flatbread and yes it lived up to it's name.

Now, for a giant long skinny pizza with a bunch of cheese, shrimp, etc smothered on top I have a very hard time believing that all of their menu offerings are actually under 475 calories. It just doesn't seem possible, apparently however......it is. How? Two words: no butter. There is no butter in the restaurant at all (see video below).



Ok, so all things considered. Let's get real here people.

"We're all so impressed that you're 'seasonally inspired' and don't have a fryer in the restaurant or any butter" But now I can honestly tell you that while the flatbread was delicious......everything else was just "eh".

Once you get over the sex appeal of the design and the under 475 calorie menu, you're basically left with mediocre low calorie food in a gorgeous building.

Let's take the side dishes for example. For my main course I ordered the Blackened Fish Sandwich served on a whole wheat bun with chipotle lime remoulade sauce. It was served with a side salad. Now, I don't know how you like your salads, however I insist mine come with lots of cheese and lots of dressing....that's what makes the salad good. Seasons 52 salad was.....lettuce and a couple veggies on top. No cheese, and there was barely enough salad dressing to be noticiable.

Sure, it was under 475 calories....but it definitely wasn't as good as it could have been for just a bit more.

Frankly, I appreciate and value the fact that there is a restaurant that offers "healthy" menu options....I just wish that butter and fried foods were still an option...but I must admit, their mini desserts are killer good.

What do you think? Can I restaurant without a fryer or any butter be any good?