The restaurant experience adds fun and sophistication to outings with friends. But it can also be costly and unhealthy. So why not skip the entree and start with the best part of the meal — dessert.
Autumn Douglas, the Wellness Education Department’s dietician, said it’s an excellent idea to enjoy the restaurant experience by only ordering dessert.
Portion sizes at restaurants are usually large and people are typically too full to enjoy a dessert, she said.
Brandi Milioto, an instructor of human ecology, said restaurant meals are usually high in fat and calories and by opting to eat a meal at home, and controlling “what goes into it,” a person is allowed to “splurge on dessert.”
Douglas said there is also an obvious cost benefit to dining at a restaurant for dessert because restaurant meals are usually expensive and students can eat an inexpensive meal at home while still enjoying an outing with friends in a restaurant atmosphere.
Douglas also said that ordering “lighter meals” or an appetizer at a restaurant is another good option to make one’s dessert experience better.
Doug Felton, the general manager at Chimes, said people specifically come to Chimes for the dessert items. He said he especially sees more students coming in and only ordering dessert and coffee during midterms and finals time.
Chimes has the option of an “enormous” brownie sundae, which feeds up to three or four people, or the Dessert of the Day, Felton said.
Some of the Dessert of the Day items are Dutch apple pie a la mode, cheesecake with fresh fruit toppings, bread pudding with Jack Daniels sauce, chocolate chip pecan pie and cobblers.
The Desserts of the Day range from $4 to $4.90 and the brownie sundae is available everyday for $4.50.
Cherri Fourcade, a server at Walk-on’s, said about 75 percent of customers order dessert after their meals because the dessert items are very popular.
The Messy Martini, a brownie sundae served in a martini glass and the Cookie Bowl, a sundae with three “huge” chocolate chip cookies served in a bowl are most popular desert items, Fourcade said.
The Messy Martini, which costs $4.95, serves two and the Cookie Bowl, which costs $5.95, serves up to four or five people, Fourcade said.
Fourcade said she and her friends sometimes sit at the bar and share a dessert at Walk-on’s.
“I see it [the desserts] all the time, so I crave it,” she said. “It’s just fun.”
Leah Bothwell, hostess at Copeland’s Cheesecake Bistro, said that toward the end of the night 20 percent of the customers come in and only order dessert.
Although Cheesecake Bistro has a variety of desserts, including cakes, white chocolate bread pudding and various sundaes, Bothwell said cheesecakes are the most popular item.
Cheesecake prices start at $5.79 but increase depending upon the topping, Bothwell said.
The most popular toppings are Bananas Foster and fresh strawberries.