May. 9th, 2008
New York Menu Law
May. 9th, 2008 11:42 amNew York, I'm not sure if it's city or state, now has a law that all chain restaurants must have the calorie counts of items on their menus. Last night was my first opportunity to see this law at work. I stopped in at the Chevy's on 42nd Street for a small nibble before seeing "Iron Man" (which totally rocked!) and was handed their updated menu. Interesting reading, but not surprising. Finding a small nibble was very challenging as even the appetizers and salads were clocking in at 1000+ calories. I settled on a single chili rellenos ala carte plus a small margarita and the gratis chips & salsa. Frankly, that was plenty. It just brings home the enormous portion inflation that's happened in most restaurants.
If the law manages to stay in effect, it'll be interesting to see if the restaurants find themselves slimming their portions or recipes to make those calorie counts look more reasonable. In the current slim at any cost popular culture, willfully ordering a 2000 calorie dish could feel like a heck of an act of defiance. I'm willing to bet sales of their gooier items will fall off, otherwise.
If the law manages to stay in effect, it'll be interesting to see if the restaurants find themselves slimming their portions or recipes to make those calorie counts look more reasonable. In the current slim at any cost popular culture, willfully ordering a 2000 calorie dish could feel like a heck of an act of defiance. I'm willing to bet sales of their gooier items will fall off, otherwise.