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Don't trust the chef

You care about calories. We care about calories. That chef in the kitchen? Not so much. "When I'm developing a menu, I think about what tastes good," says Missy Robbins, executive chef at A Voce restaurants in New York City. That's not to say she and other chefs use only high-cal, flavor-adding ingredients like cream and butter—they also use broths and herbs. But "the default method to make food taste better is to add more fat and salt," Roberts says.

Solution: Before ordering, ask, "Is there cream or butter in this dish?" Don't trust the menu description, because it rarely mentions the full prep.

Next: Ask for plain veggies