Newk's Express Cafe is a chain of restaurants owned by the founders of McAlister's Deli. Cafes are located in Alabama, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The restaurant offers a variety of menu options including salads, soups, sandwiches and pizzas. Detailed nutritional information for all Newk's menu items is available on the company's website.
Salads
Salads are generally a healthy menu option at any restaurant, however they can be deceiving. Newk's offers a variety of salads that range in calorie levels from a mere 78 calories to 594 calories, before dressing is added. Newk's Caesar, Greek and Simply salads are the lowest-calorie options available. Higher-calorie choices include the Black & Bleu, Cobb, Ultimate, and Newk's Favorite Salads. With any salad choice it is important to remember that dressings are a source of additional calories and fat. Of the dressing choices offered at Newk's, ranch and honey mustard are the healthiest options. Blue cheese, Caesar and balsamic dressings are the worst options, packing the most calories and fat per ounce.
Soups
Some of the healthiest soup options at Newk's are red beans and rice, garden vegetable, chicken tortilla and zesty black bean. Higher calorie and fat options include chicken chili, lobster and crab bisque, and loaded potato which pack 320, 340 and 320 calories respectively. This calorie information does not include any additional garnishes that may be added to the soup, such as sour cream or cheese.
Sandwiches
Sandwiches are a great grab-and-go option, but they can pack quite a punch calorie-wise. All of the nutritional information available for Newk's sandwiches are based on a half portion size and do not include any sides. All sandwiches on the Newk's menu have 300 calories or more in just half a sandwich. The roast beef, grilled steak, pesto chicken and turkey breast sandwiches are the best options available. Other sandwiches such as the grilled chicken, chicken salad, Newk's "Q", and pimiento cheese weigh in at over 400 calories. The Italian sandwich on the Newk's menu provides 664 calories. When choosing sandwiches it is important to consider condiments that come on the items such as mayonnaise, honey mustard and "special sauces". These add additional fat and calories to a sandwich that may be otherwise healthy. Asking for these condiments on the side can save a few calories and make the sandwiches a bit healthier.
Pizzas
The pizzas available at Newk's are extremely high in calories and are not the best options for individuals concerned with eating a healthy diet. The Margherita pizza is the "healthiest" option on the menu providing 837 calories. All of the other pizzas available such as five cheese, spicy chicken, spicy shrimp and even the veggie pizza pack over 1,000 calories.
Kid's Menu
Newk's offers a special menu for kids boasting four kid-friendly menu options. This menu includes a kid's cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, grilled cheese sandwich and ham and cheese sandwich. Of these, options the grilled cheese sandwich is the healthiest option at 187 calories and 5 grams of fat. Each of the pizzas packs close to 700 calories and 40 grams of fat.
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