[Ed note: This story has been extended with online bonus content.]

Photo: Roxana Marroquin

Devi
8 E 18th St between Fifth Ave and Broadway (212-691-1300)

Best choice
The shakarkandi ki chaat appetizer (sweet potatoes with cumin, chaat masala and lime juice) with mirchi walee machi (tandoori fish with eggplant chutney).
TOTAL CALORIES 505

TipsOrder only one carb per meal: Good bets are Indian roti (a wheat-flour bread) or rice (limit to a one-cup portion).
Side dishes can be a healthful vegetable-based appetizer or meal accompaniment. Skip bread altogether and order yellow dal (spiced lentils): “Legumes, loaded with iron and folate, are like nature’s multivitamin—there really aren’t better carbs.”
"Avoid coconut milk (approx. 140 calories per ¼ cup),” advises Slayton, “and always order curries with no ghee (clarified butter, generally 120 calories per tablespoon).”

Skips
Fish cakes, which are deceptively caloric.
Ever-popular yet eternally oily samosas.
Dal makhani: Lentils are nutritious, but makhani (read: butter) isn’t.

Blue Smoke
116 E 27th St between Park Ave South and Lexington Ave (212-477-7733)

Best choice
A chopped vegetable-and-lettuce salad with feta cheese and applewood smoked chicken (remove the skin and sub steamed veggies for potatoes and buttered beans).
TOTAL CALORIES 570

Tips
As an alternative entrée, pair two appetizers, like the gazpacho soup with guacamole (containing the healthy kind of fat) and the barbecued mussels (the best barbecue option).

Skips
Cornbread, which is generally 330 calories per slice.
Memphis baby back ribs (up to 1060 calories per half rack!): “If you must have them, sample your friend’s—while two won’t kill you, an order may.”
Mac and cheese (330 calories and 7 grams of fat per average serving).
Oyster po’ boy: “Oysters’ nutritional benefits go out the window when you fry them.”

Balthazar
80 Spring St between Broadway and Crosby St (212-343-1274)

Best choice
1/2 dozen oysters and niçoise salad.
TOTAL CALORIES 585

Tips
The steak au poivre or moules are okay, just ask them to leave the fries in the kitchen (you’ll save about 300 calories).

Skips
Sweetbreads and shepherd’s pie.
Onion tart. The pie crust is heavy.

Congee Village
100 Allen St between Broome and Delancey Sts (212-941-1818)

Best choice
sautéed scallops with ginger and scallion and steamed Chinese greens with garlic.
TOTAL CALORIES 483

TipsOpt for dishes that are steamed, baked, broiled or sautéed versus panfried.
Request sauces on the side (you’ll want half of what they give you).

Skips
Beef. Per Slayton, “There’s enough fat in the sauces that you don’t need a fatty protein, too.” Opt for chicken, fish or even pork.
General Tso’s chicken. “This infamous dish is a big no-no.”

Gray’s Papaya
402 Sixth Ave at 8th St, among other locations (212-260-3532, papayaking.com)

Best choice
One Home run dog.
TOTAL CALORIES 375

Tips
Though Tishfield and Slayton generally advise against drinking calories, they favor a fruit shake over curly fries. “Pick a fruit, add soy protein or nonfat yogurt and optional wheat germ for fiber.”

Skips
Oil-rich toppings like coleslaw, cheese and onions. “There’s enough fat in the hot dog.”

Nobu 57
40 W 57th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves (212-757-3000)

Best choice
A baby spinach salad with fluke sashimi and a yellowtail jalapeño roll (hot peppers slightly boost metabolism).
TOTAL CALORIES 488

Tips
There are plenty of protein-rich dishes on the menu, but many are low in fiber. Order a salad or vegetable dish to increase satiety.
Have your fill of sashimi: “Since it’s pure protein, it’s very satiating—plus, its calories add up much more slowly.”

Skips
Tempura entrées.
Too much of a good thing: “Even something as healthy as sushi can become too caloric,” explains Slayton, who suggests limiting carb intake by ordering only one sushi roll or three to four pieces of sushi, max.

La Esquina
106 Kenmare St at Lafayette St (646-613-7100)

Best choice
The mango and jicama salad with camarones à la plancha (grilled shrimp with a honey-lime glaze).
TOTAL CALORIES: 452

Tips
If you order an ensalada, ask for dressing on the side.Substitute white rice and beans for corn slaw (nutritionally speaking, it’s no better than coleslaw).
Choose taquitos instead of burritos and enchiladas: “These soft tacos have that ‘sandwich’ feeling without the beans and rice,” says Tishfield.

Skips
Steer clear of anything described as “crisp,” such as tortilla chips or tostadas. A handful of chips can have as many as 140 calories per ounce (and 7.4 grams of fat). Ditto for sugary drinks like sangria (on average, 200–250 calories per glass) and margaritas (up to 400 calories).

Inoteca
98 Rivington St at Ludlow St (212-614-0473, inotecanyc.com) and 21 Bedford St between Downing St and Sixth Ave (212-989-5769)

Best choice
A grilled calamari, bortolli beans and fennel salad, and an order of pollo tramezzini (a thin chicken sandwich).
TOTAL CALORIES: 442

Tips
Choose mozzarella or ricotta salata over pecorino (harder cheeses have more fat and calories per ounce).
When it comes to meats, per ounce, there’s the good (bresaola, 23 calories), the bad (mortadella, 80–90 calories), and the ugly (pancetta, 155 calories).Tramezzinis are smaller and less caloric than panini.
Order a cappuccino (mostly milk foam) instead of a latte (mostly milk).

Skips
The second round. “An average glass of wine is poured to 11 ounces, which amounts to 270–280 calories,” Slayton explains. “Drink two glasses and you’d have to run six miles to break even!”
Cheese plates: At 100–120 calories per ounce, all those little squares add up.

Mesa Grill
102 Fifth Ave between 15th and 16th Sts (212-807-7400)

Best choice
A chopped salad (ask for it without crispy tortillas) and grilled mahi-mahi.
TOTAL CALORIES 595

Tips
While avocados, spices and beans make Southwestern fare highly nutritious, pitfalls include an abundance of cheese and fried items. Look out.

Skips
Baby romaine salad: “We call this a salad with too many treats,” says Tishfield. “In this case, chorizo, cheese and croutons.”
Soft-shell crab, which tends to absorb a lot of oil when fried (on average 20–25 grams of fat).

Dizzy’s Diner
511 9th St at Eighth Ave, Park Slope, Brooklyn (718-499-1966)

Best choice
Dizzy’s Super Burger (without bun): sirloin burger, lettuce, tomato and sautéed mushrooms.
TOTAL CALORIES 501

Tips
Per Slayton, “none of their appetizers can be tweaked to work into a healthful food plan.” So if you must indulge, “have one bite and move on.”

Skips
The Mediterranean tuna sandwich is, unfortunately, slathered in mayo (approx 110 calories per tablespoon).
Dad’s favorite meatloaf: “Too bad ‘Dad’ wrapped his meat in bacon and served it alongside mashed potatoes (which add more than 200 calories).”