Thank God the holidays are over

It's been a bit of a hiatus for The Restaurant Dieter, and no good has come from it.

The orgy at New York City's Veselka presaged an entire holiday season of excess. Parties, buffets and all manner of cookies, cupcake and candy were everywhere. I ate with abandon.

Thanksgiving dinner itself was Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Perry Street in New York, complete with all the trimmings. But there were also significant lapses at 16 Handles on the Upper West Side (sure it's yogurt, but hardly nonfat, and what's with all the candy on top?) and The Hunt Club in Jackson, MI.

At the latter restaurant, we ordered the specialty: a giant baked potato topped with hamburger, sautéed onions and mushrooms and cheese. Don't ask.

But the new year is here, and life is back to normal.