Calorie-Count Me Out

Last Thursday, my friends Kristin, Kerry, and I made plans to meet at the quick and conveniently-located Chevy’s in Times Square for drinks and possibly dinner, depending on how hungry we were feeling after a margarita or two. After exchanging hellos and ordering drinks, we opened the menus our very friendly waiter had just dropped off—and suddenly lost our appetites.

Since I don’t eat in chain restaurants very often, I had not yet encountered the results of the regulation passed by the New York City Board of Health back in January requiring chains to post the calorie content of each and every item on their menu. Frankly, I had forgotten all about it. But I remembered pretty quickly when faced with a menu full of massive calorie counts.

“A salad is 1600 calories?” exclaimed Kristin.

“Wow,” I replied. “There’s nothing on here that’s less than 1000 calories.”

“Oh, wait,” said Kristin as she pointed to the appetizer portion of the menu. “The black bean soup is 800. And that would be it.”

“This is awful,” said Kerry. “I don’t want to know any of this!”

Now, I realize that, in order to be healthy, one needs to be aware of what he or she is eating and how high in fat and calories that item may be. However, I think we can all agree that, when we go to a restaurant like Chevy’s—one that, because it’s a chain, features high quantities of preservatives and, thus, high quantities of calories—we’re aware that we’re not dining on the healthiest fare. And so we enjoy our Super Cinco combo or smothered burrito and then compensate by, say, running a bit further the following day, or eating a lighter lunch. But, no matter how many miles we plan on running or the number of vegetables we promise to eat for our next meal, knowing the exact—and, at least in the case of Chevy’s, extremely high—calorie count of said burrito takes the enjoyment out of the meal that is supposed to be a treat.

As the three of us looked over the menu, all we were able to see were numbers like 1250, 1620, 1860—numbers that we may have appreciated as high school seniors opening our SAT scores, but that did nothing to excite us when paired with our dinner options. And so we did the only thing that appealed to us: we decided to share.

Two high-calorie appetizers shared among three health-conscious diners seemed a reasonable option—and, truth be told, one that we probably would have decided on even if we hadn’t been privy to each and every calorie count on the menu.

But, next time, I think we’ll make that decision in a restaurant where the menu is calorie-free, even if the entrées are not.