Chicago is in the midst of its annual restaurant week, a time when local restaurants offer specially priced menus to draw people in on cold winter days and nights. It’s a good time to try new places but can you find healthy offerings? Well, sort of.

Restaurant food is notoriously high in salt, fat and sugar. So you need to be picky, and also know you’ll likely go off your healthy menu more than once.

My wife and I so far have gone to two restaurants, Pescadero, a suburban seafood place; and Big Jones, a Cajun restaurant in Chicago. We also plan a trip to L Woods, another suburban spot, since we live in the suburbs.

Seafood dishes tend to be healthier per se, assuming they aren’t loaded with sauces heavy in fat and salt.

I opted for the oysters to start my Pescadero meal, they’re served raw, so aren’t mucked up with salt or fat. I had the octopus for my main course. It was grilled and wonderfully tasty, if you love octopus as I do.

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