It's hard to believe that every dish Seasons 52 in Plano serves contains 475 calories or less. After ordering the caramelized sea scallops on a recent date, I was skeptical since the seafood tasted so delicious and filled me up so much I had to take half of the entrée home in a to-go box. But Seasons 52 doesn't lie. My scallops only had 450 calories, and that also included the asparagus and pearl pasta.
Same thing happened to my date. He ordered the grilled boneless rainbow trout. The portion of fish covered the entire plate. If our server had only brought out that dish for the two of us to share we would've had plenty of food. And while my date didn't take home any leftovers, I had no shame in packing up my extra food. It makes bringing your lunch to work the next day so much easier. Plus, you can brag about going out to eat in front of those co-workers of yours who are slaves to microwave meals, and yes that includes eating a bag of microwave popcorn at noon and calling it "lunch."
It had taken us awhile to make a date at Seasons 52 happen. We'd tried going there around the holidays, on a weeknight no less, and the hostess told us we'd have to wait an hour and 40 minutes. We had given up a couple minutes into our wait because the bar area felt too crowded, and we ended up eating at Artin's Grill further down the way at The Shops at Legacy.
For our second attempt at Seasons 52, we knew better. My date made an Open Table reservation even though we planned to dine at the restaurant on a Monday night. When we arrived at the seasonally inspired restaurant, the hostess gave us our pick of booths in the low-lit dining room. The restaurant's tasteful decorations and large number of booths makes it an attractive place for a date. Add the atmosphere to the low calorie meals and I know why this place is such a draw.
The food at Seasons 52 was great (though Hanna Raskin disagreed in her December review). The service was not. Our server kept us waiting for eons after we finished eating our dinner. While I understand that a table of four men and one woman can be demanding, he could have stopped by our table after he poured table-for-five's wine and just checked in with us, especially since our forks were down. Yet, he didn't. Instead we waited such a long time that we had to flag down an entirely different server in order to score my to-go box and a peek at the Mini Indulgences.
Even though they call the desserts mini, the treats still satisfied. I chose the banana caramel pie mini indulgence. It hit the spot and only had 140 calories.
Not a person who eats fruit -- of any kind, even if it's baked into something -- for dessert, my date picked a chocolate mini indulgence. It must be relatively new, since its calorie count wasn't listed on the Seasons 52 website.
Our server did eventually make his way to our table -- just in time to give us the check. He apologized for ignoring us and made puppy dog eyes for his tip. My date and I left the restaurant amazed at how good healthy-for-you-food can actually taste and happy that we had finally eaten there despite the so-so service.
If you're wondering about the nutritional breakdown for the scallops: 450 calories, 14 grams of fat, 108 mg of cholesterol, 1608 mg of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates and 58 grams of protein. For the trout: 390 calories, 12 fat grams, 109 mg of cholesterol, 684 mg of sodium, 25 carb grams and 43 grams of protein.
