The Capital Grille Nutrition Facts

I am not someone who is on the fence with how I feel about restaurants posting their nutrition facts for the public to see.

I think it’s so important for Americans today to understand exactly what they’re eating. With nearly 35 percent of Americans falling into the “obese” category and another 32.7 percent classified as “overweight,” our society needs to take a proactive approach to encourage healthier living.

Do you think a multi-chain restaurant’s nutritional information should be available?

I will often email a large restaurant requesting nutritional information before going out to dinner. I do this not because I think they’ll give it to me, but to (on some small level) communicate that there are Americans who want this information.

Most of the time I get the obligatory “Our chefs can accommodate special requests” email, but every once in a while I get lucky. After emailing The Capital Grille, I received three PDF attachments with lunch, dinner, dessert and drink menu nutritional information. Jackpot!

The Capital Grille

I immediately responded enthusiastically, thanking the man who followed up with me so quickly. Terrible nutrition facts to not deter me from going to a restaurant. They help me examine then menu and understand what I will be eating when I select specific menu items.

Many of the items on The Capital Grille’s menu fit easily into a healthy-living plan, and others can too since healthy living, in my opinion, encourages moderation and indulging once in a while.

Since The Captial Grill does not post their nutritional information online, I thought you might enjoy looking through highlights of The Capital Grille’s nutritional information:

Appetizers

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Wagyu Beef Carpaccio, 360
• Prosciutto Wrapped Mozzarella with Vine Ripe Tomatoes, 680
• Smoked Salmon, 520
• Lobster and Dungeness Crab Cakes (with tartar sauce), 420
• Shrimp Cocktail, 120 (with cocktail sauce add 80 calories)
• Pan-Fried Calamari with Hot Cherry Peppers, 1,200
• Cold Shellfish Platter, 340 (with sauces add 80 calories)
• Grand Plateau, 780 (with cocktail sauce add 80 calories, with mustard sauce add 240 calories, with crab butter add 390 calories)

Soups and Salads

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Cup of Clam Chowder, 280
• French Onion Soup, 530
• Caesar Appetizer Salad, 790
• Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing, 420
• Mozzarella, Tomato, Basil with Balsamic Chopped Salad, 410
• Field Greens, Fresh Herbs, Tomatoes, 200
• Wedge Salad, 915

Chef’s Suggestions

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Seared Tenderloin with Butter Poached Lobster, 840
• Cedar Planked Salmon with Tomato Fennel Relish, 520
• Bone-In Kona Crusted Dry Aged Sirloin, 980
• 10 oz Sliced Filet Mignon with Cipollini Onions and Mushrooms, 440
• Porcini Rubbed Delmonico, 1,400

Main Courses

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Dry Aged Sirloin Steak (14 oz), 670
• Dry Aged Porterhouse Steak (24 oz), 980
• Dry Aged Steak au Poivre with Courvoisier Cream, 940
• Filet Mignon (10 oz), 370
• Filet Oscar with Dungeness Crab, 640
• Delmonico Steak, 1,070
• Veal Chop with Roquefort Butter, 690 (without butter, subtract 230 calories)
• Roasted Chicken, 1,500
• Double Cut Lamb Rib Chops (4), 860

Seafood

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Broiled Fresh Lobster (per lb), 120 (with 2 oz. butter add 420 calories)
• Grilled Swordfish with Lemon Shallot Relish, 530
• Sesame Seared Tuna (Tuna, 290, Gingered Rice, 160, Wasabi Oil, 160)
• Citrus Glazed King Salmon, 440

Side Offerings

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Fresh Asparagus (12 spears), 40 (with Hollandaise Sauce add 200 calories)
• Roasted Mushrooms, 300
• Sam’s Mashed Potatoes, 690
• Lyonnaise Potatoes, 930
• Au Gratin Potatoes, 1,590
• Sweet Onion Rings, 900
• Fresh Creamed Spinach, 720
• Parmesan Truffle Fries, 950
• Lobster Mac ‘n’ Cheese, 1,560

Desserts

(Menu Item, Calories)

• Double Chocolate Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich, 1,040
• Chocolate Hazelnut Cake, 1,310
• Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake, 740
• Key Lime Pie, 920
• Cheesecake with Fresh Seasonal Berries, 820
• Coconut Cream Pie, 1,020
• Classic Crème Brulee, 400
• Fresh Berries in Vanilla Cream, 200
• Fresh Strawberries Capital Grille, 290
• The Capital Grille Handcrafted Ice Cream, 320
• Chef’s Seasonal Fruit Sorbet, 160

***

Phew! That was a lot of copy and pasting!

Pesto Pasta

My friend Leah made me laugh when she said that every time she sees one of my pasta dishes with marinara sauce on this blog she feels like the dish isn’t living up to its true potential. She’s a strong advocate for the use of pesto with pasta!

What’s your favorite pasta sauce?

I have always been a red sauce lover. I’ve tried many different marinara sauces, varying from homemade, to gourmet, to five-star restaurant quality, and I’m a little ashamed to admit that my favorite red sauce remains Ragu marinara meat sauce. To me, there’s nothin’ better! 😀

After a little prodding from Leah, I decided I should give pesto a shot. Last night I prepped my lunch and made pesto sauce using a Knorr Pesto Sauce packet.

Knorr Pesto Sauce

The sauce was really easy to make, and I only needed to add water and olive oil to the mix, bring it to a boil and let it simmer.

While the pesto was simmering, I boiled 7-grain Ronzoni pasta.

Ronzoni

When the noodles were ready, I drained them before adding a can of chicken to the pasta.

Pasta + Chicken

I then topped the chicken and pasta with the pesto sauce and stirred it up to evenly distribute the pesto.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken

Ryah had some for dinner last night and really enjoyed it. I thought it was pretty tasty for lunch today, too! I wonder if pesto counts as a vegetable… 😉

(For those of you wondering, my hot lunch date with Ryan had to be rescheduled to next Friday. Work duty calls!)

Weekend Plans

I’m so happy it’s almost the weekend! I have a couple things on the agenda for the weekend:

Friday:

• Dog park (It needs to stop raining! Grr!)
• Dinner and a movie with Ryan
• Intensely search craigslist for a new apartment/house to rent in Orlando (Yep, we’re moving!!!)

Saturday:

• Volunteering from 8:30 a.m. – noon
• Enjoy a Gossip Girl season 3 marathon (& make Ryan’s valentine) with two of my girlfriends
• Mall
• Dinner with Ryan

Sunday (Valentine‘s Day!):

• Hiking with Ryan and Sadie
• Drive around to search for an apartment/house to rent
• Dinner at The Capital Grille with Ryan

$5 off $10 at Boston Market

Are you a fan of Boston Market? Click here for a coupon to receive $5 off a $10 purchase at Boston Market, valid through February 18.

Boston Market

I credit Ryan and Boston Market for opening my eyes to the deliciousness of sweet potatoes. Their sweet potato casserole is unbelievable.

How good does this sound??? Sweet Potato Casserole: Beauregard sweet potatoes slowly cooked, mashed, and mixed with spices and brown sugar. Sprinkled with an oatmeal streusel and mini marshmallows.

I instantly love anything with the word “streusel” in it.

After sampling the yummy side off Ryan’s plate back in college, I realized how good sweet potatoes actually are after living my whole life as a sweet potato hater.

One of my favorite things to do with Ryan when we first started dating was pick up a bag of tortilla chips and  swing through the Boston Market drive-thru to order big side of their creamed spinach to bring back to his apartment. Between the two of us, we polished off this special treat on several occasions. Yum!

What is one of your favorite simple date memories?

Waffle Sandwich

My egg-topped waffles were so darn delicious last night, that I decided to enjoy another egg + waffle combo for breakfast this morning.

Egg 'n' Waffle Sandwich

I made a simple breakfast sandwich using two Eggo Nutrigrain waffles as my “bread.” I smeared a Laughing Cow light Swiss cheese wedge on one waffle before topping it with a slice of Canadian bacon. I added two egg whites to the other waffle half and voilà!

Friday's Breakfast

The waffles added a little extra spunk and were a neat change from the typical English muffin or bagel-based breakfast sandwich.

Workout

I got a late jump on today’s workout, but it was intentional. It’s amazing how waking up at 6:30 a.m. feels like a treat! I guess when you’re used to hoping out of bed at 5:30 a.m. every morning, that extra hour makes a difference.

What time do you wake up in the morning?

Though I’m tempted to go to BodyPump three days a week as my only form of strength training, I am trying to go two times and do my own total-body weights routine one day to keep the ol’ bod guessing. Today my workout looked like this:

• 25 min. cardio (10 min. run, 5 min. incline walking, 10 min. stair master)
• Hamstring curls
• Leg press
• Leg extensions
• Deadlifts
• Bicep curls
• Tricep extensions
• Shoulder raises
• Ab work on exercise ball

Unfortunately my extra sleep time cut into Sadie’s walk time a little bit, but Ryan and I have plans to take her to the dog park tonight to expend some of her never-ending energy.

Happy Friday! 😀