D i s cov e r i e s — E a t C l e a n
It’s common to see nutritional information printed on
To find a balance of health and indulgence, The Con-
menus at chain restaurants and casual, health-focused
tinental employs luxury ingredients, like lobster, but
cafes. But fine-dining restaurants—where butter,
instead of dressing it with mayonnaise or drawn butter,
cream and richly marbled steaks are ubiquitous—
they pair it with a composed salad of milky burrata, pick-
rarely tout calorie counts. Naples’ The Continental is
led eggplant and nutrient-rich mâche. Other dishes rely
breaking that mold, giving calorie-conscious cuisine a
on technique to elevate flavors without excessive fats or
decadent, fine-dining revamp. When the Third Street
carbohydrates. For the vegan celeriac ravioli (the menu’s
South restaurant relaunched its lunch last fall after a
lightest dish at 410 calories), the root is blanched, then
two-year hiatus, the menu included an American Spa
shaved into translucent slices that act like fresh pasta,
section, with all six dishes measuring less than 750
encasing silky mushroom duxelles, finished with red-
calories. “We wanted to reinvent the menu to keep
wine syrup. “You will see some dishes come and go to
you light on your feet so you could get back to your
keep the menu exciting,” Stuck says, adding that the spa
day without feeling weighed down,” general manager
menu has developed a dedicated following. “We’re look-
Craig Stuck says. “We also did not want to make any
ing for a full experience, rather than having it be about
sacrifices on decadence or flavor.”
calorie counting.” —Samantha Garbarini
18 — H E A L T H Y L I F E
Courtesy The Continental
H E A LT H Y H E D O N I S M
