Chronicles of a Late Bloomer

I ♥ New York.

First, they legislate a ban on trans-fats. Now, they will require any restaurant with 10 or more locations nationwide to list nutrition information in their menu.¹ Okay, this still won’t help if you prefer to eat at local mom-and-pops or sketchy, street-corner taco trucks, like I do, but it’s a fine place to start.

Some people won’t care that, as one “watchdog” group points out, many choices for appetizers, entrees, and desserts at national chain restaurants will cost an entire day’s worth of calories (up to 2,000, in some cases). That’s okay. Not everyone has to care.

But, those of us who do care should be able to get the information we need. Supermarkets offer it on their packaging, why not restaurants? Have you ever asked for the nutritional information pamphlets in McDonald’s, Denny’s, or even Subway? Most of the employees just give you a blank look. Unless you have unlimited wi-fi access and carry your laptop everywhere, you can’t get on-the-spot nutritional info. It’s annoying.

I mean, after all… how many of us can afford to shop in high-end boutiques where no pricetags are allowed? Very few of us. Even those of us who can’t afford to will sometimes buy without looking carefully at the price. How many of us have gotten to the register at Target and gulped when the final total appeared? The average person still purchases without shopping around, will neglect to balance their checkbooks, and often makes poor financial decisions. But, at least basic pricing information is available to us before we buy, if we want it.

I hope this will spur a few of our favorite offenders to provide some kind of nutritional information to the public. Yes, California Pizza Kitchen, I’m looking at you.

1. The practicality of this legislation sure makes Chicago’s ban on foie gras sound like a bunch of useless bellyaching, in spite of what the PETA people would have you think. Sorry, Boyfriend! [↩]