As someone that loves to got out to eat I find myself having a hard time losing weight. I have always been very thoughtful about how I prepare my food at home, and try to eat as healthy as possible most of the time. When I go out to eat, though, all bets are off. I recently was reading an article by The New York Time Magazine that was titled Calories Do Count. The article brought up some very good points about restaurants and the often high calorie count of the foods they serve. In New York city, restaurants that have 15 or more stores are being made (by law) to post how many calories are in their products. The articles says that ”For some establishments, having their menus exposed by the New York law forced some caloric housecleaning. At Le Pain Quotidien, which has 17 outlets in New York, several items were changed or taken off the menu, said Jack Moran, a vice president.”
I’m of two minds about this issue. As a consumer and customer, I have to agree with the new law. I want to know if the dish I’m ordering has 1,560 calories in it. So, maybe I won’t order that cheesecake for dessert… I know as a customer that eating great food has a risk, but how big of a risk am I taking? Ignorance is bliss. Restaurants will have to start thinking about the product they are putting out for the public to eat.
As a a server I believe that many people will not order some of the more expensive items on the menu (Rib-eye, Prime Rib, Lamb chops, pastas) if they were aware of their high calorie counts. This means less tips! People may avoid certain restaurants and skip out on dessert and appetizers.
Well, I guess I can’t have my cake and eat too!
Here is a interview with a fellow server…
May I take your order?
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Brenda // November 5, 2008 at 9:55 am
I was thinking the same thing Stacy…way less room for upsale. So many times I’ve waited on people who are extremely over weight and the’re like people getting tanked, very easy to upsell. I don’t feel guilty, just grossed out. I don’t think people who rarely dine out will care about the calories listed on the menu as much as people who eat out everyday. People tyically eat more than they normally would when they go out, because they don’t eat out every night. But it could “ruin” the meal for some people who would rather not know and just kick back and hog down.