A great lowcarb restaurant in Socal is Beachwood BBQ in Seal Beach. A great resource to search for lowcarb places is yelp.com

Cool! I need to be down there in a few weeks; I will make sure to eat there. Thanks.

Okay. Zankou Chicken. Any fans? I want to know what's in the garlic sauce.

Thanks for the recommendation in Seal Beach.

Okay, 2 thumbs up for Zankou Chicken (if I had 3 thumbs, I'd put all 3 up!) Yeah, the garlic sauce. Most amazing. I did research this a bit back cuz I wanted to make my own. The recipe probably does contain potato. But, it is a condiment. I don't know how much garlic sauce you can use in one meal, I mean, it's pretty potent. So the # of carbs in the garlic sauce is likely to be minimal.

Here is a recipe for Lebanese garlic sauce without potato.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/lebane...uce/Detail.aspx

Awesome! Thanks for the link.

Agoura Chiarrascoura (I don't think I spelled that correctly) in Irvine. It's about a block from John Wayne airport; FABULOUS Brazillian BBQ! If you haven't tried Brazilian by the way, you're in for a treat. They really know how to do beef.

Agoura is set up like a buffet which includes a salad bar and many LC friendly sides. Not many sweet dessert temptations which I really appreciate. But the best part is the meat which is brought by the tables and sliced and served on request. When I went there about 3 weeks ago for lunch the meat servers were offering about 4 cuts of beef, chicken, skewers of scallop kabobs and lamb. The price was about 22$ per person. Well worth it!

I am in Orange. Nancy LC is in San Diego.

Update: I found the Web site if anybody's interested:

http://www.agorachurrascaria.com/

Seriously, this is the best LC-friendly restaurant I've been to so far in 6 years of Atkins.

Also, Claim Jumper does have a gluten-free alternative section on their menu, surprisingly enough. You have to ask specially for certain dishes to be gluten free, but they will accomodate you. Just be sure to tell them that it's not a life-threatening allergy (unless it is) so they don't have to go to all sorts of extreme measures to isolate your dish from all possible contact with gluten. I just say it's a doctor prescribed diet plan and leave it at that.

I wonder why it is that "gluten free" is so hot right now?? I often run into restaurants boasting about gluten free product but they are as likely to involve desserts made with rice flour and the like.

Zeke's Smokehouse has some tasty bites. But it's rather expensive. Go there for the meat, if you don't feel like BBQ-ing and can afford their outrageous prices.

I got the mixed rib plate. Like all dinners, it comes with two sides. They have lots of carby sides. I got the only two that I felt suitable, collard greens and green beans. (I was told that both the slaws were sweet.) It was 5 pork ribs plus 1 beef rib. They also threw in a piece of garlic toast. I ate one bite to try it; it was not good. The pork ribs were excellent. The huge beef rib (think Fred Flintstone) was super fatty and greasy.

Each table has three pitchers of sauce: Mustard-Vinegar (South Carolina style); Texas style (kinda spicy and not sweet); and a sweet BBQ sauce whose origin I can't remember.

Sides available include the usual carb-fest: french fries, cole slaw, sweet N sour cole slaw, house baked beans, mashed potatoes, potato salad, kettle chips, applesauce, as well as green beans and collard greens.

What gets me is how the owner tries to nickle and dime you to death. You can substitute macaroni & cheese for one of the sides for $1. You can swap a salad or grilled veggies for one of the sides for $3. My Diet Stewart Orange & Creme soda (caffeine free) cost $3.50. (If I bought it retail, including tax, it would cost $1.50.) They give you a wet nap, if you ask.

My mixed rib plate, plus beverage, tax and tip, was $30. However, it was enough for two meals, so it averages $15/meal. And I did get to have a delicious diet soda without caffeine.

In fairness to the owner, he does have a "recession buster" menu with lunches that average $8. But they were so carb-laden they weren't an option for me.

Also available are chicken wings, chicken, pulled pork, pulled chicken, beef brisket, hot links, ham, Cobb salad (why go to a place like this, only to order a Cobb salad?), grilled salmon with salad, various other salads, and for the carb eaters, hush puppies, chili fries, cornmeal-fried okra, sliders, desserts. Sounds like I want to eat there again, don't it? Yes I do. On somebody else's dime.