July 21, 2008

Speak Up, New Yorkers

Friday marked the deadline for all fast-food chains in New York City to post calorie information on their menus.

Here are the few I've seen so far:

At Au Bon Pain, prepared sandwiches have calorie information posted next to each selection. If you're creating your own, though, you're slightly left in the dark.

For instance, all toppings (ranging from cucumber rounds to blue cheese crumbles) are listed as "0 - 210 calorie." A more effective idea would be to break down toppings into 3 categories (say, 0 - 50 calories, 60 - 150, and then 150+)

Chipotle is also a victim of its own "let the customer make their own meal." The menu lists beverages as ranging from 0 to 250 calories. Additionally, calorie counts for a burrito appear as a 300-calorie range.

Starbucks, meanwhile, has done a great job of labeling its baked goods and coffee drinks with the appropriate calories.

New York City readers -- what are your thoughts on the calorie postings? Have any of them surprised you and/or affected your purchases?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yes!
There is a dunkin donuts near my subway stop and I'll occasionally stop in for some iced coffee in the morning. I haven't bought a donut in years but I was still shocked at the calories being posted right in the open next to the donut names! You'd have to be a fool to think that a donut was health food, but seeing 350 calories for a boston cream hopefully will make people think twice about their breakfast decisions!

Tina said...

totally helpful. I can no longer order the frisbee-size cookies knowing that they are 500 calories!!! And also, if I did feel like indulging, I know to get a doughnut versus the corn muffin