I wish restaurants had to post their calories somewhere.

[Anonymous]

I am very careful about what I eat but when I go out, I do not want to know. If I am paying for a fine dining experience I just assume the meal will have a ton of calories. Usually I'll eat light for the day in preparation.

[Anonymous]

I agree in some sense that it's common sense & people shouldnt need calories posted. On the other hand, resturants do not always make foods as you would expect - so items that you'd expect to be healthy are surprisingly high in calories or fat.

If you don't want to know, don't look (it's hard when it's posted on the menus, i know), but I think it goes a long way in keeping us all a bit more honest. And as a country with a crazy high obesity rate, that's a good thing.

I know I order differntly when the calories are on the menu, am more likely to decide a 'splurge' isn't worth it - and am healthier for it.

[Anonymous]

The people who do not want to see the calories are just living in an ignorance is bliss world. Wake up.

[Anonymous]

You have to watch the Food Channel or the Travel network to find out exactly what ingredients go into prepping those restaurant meals you love. Even the supposed "healthy" foods. So much butter and sugar in everything, it's scary. Ofcourse, the menu is not going to mention this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who do not want to see the calories are just living in an ignorance is bliss world. Wake up.

Um no. You are incorrect. If I go to lobster mac and cheese I know its probably 40 grams of fat and 2000 cals. Its not an idiot so I can piece that together without having to see it on a menu. The calorie posting is for ignorant idiots that do not know how to tell the difference between healthy and non-healthy foods. Probably people like you pp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The people who do not want to see the calories are just living in an ignorance is bliss world. Wake up.

The people who think calories are determuinative of healthy eating are just ignorant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You have to watch the Food Channel or the Travel network to find out exactly what ingredients go into prepping those restaurant meals you love. Even the supposed "healthy" foods. So much butter and sugar in everything, it's scary. Ofcourse, the menu is not going to mention this.

I agree with this. My brother used to be a salesperson for a food and supply distributor that supplied local restaurants. They offered super-fatted butter and cheese (to make foods taste better), and almost all restaurant food is loaded in butter and salt. Even if you think it's just steamed veggies, you could be eating a day's worth of fat and sodium in one SIDE DISH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who do not want to see the calories are just living in an ignorance is bliss world. Wake up.

Um no. You are incorrect. If I go to lobster mac and cheese I know its probably 40 grams of fat and 2000 cals. Its not an idiot so I can piece that together without having to see it on a menu. The calorie posting is for ignorant idiots that do not know how to tell the difference between healthy and non-healthy foods. Probably people like you pp.

I'm the OP and this is exactly the attitude that bothers me. We've legislated in a lot of cities/counties that chains have to post their calories, but fine dining establishments are exempt. To me it sounds like "poor people who eat at McDonalds don't know how many calories they're eating" but the "rich people who eat at Bistro Bis two or three times a week for lunch are so smart that they won't get fat". That's ridiculous. I don't need things posted on the menu, but I think that especially at a good restaurant it's very deceptive how many calories you're actually eating when you order the fish and a salad. I think it's a lot more than people suspect. Even if they are using amazing fresh, seasonal ingredients it might be worse than a burger and fries from Five Guys. But because they don't disclose, we really don't know, do we?

[Anonymous]

I like seeing the calorie count. The Chipotle at Tenley Circle has calorie counts and I had no idea that the burrito shell added so many calories to the meal so I changed to the burrito bowl.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The people who do not want to see the calories are just living in an ignorance is bliss world. Wake up.

Um no. You are incorrect. If I go to lobster mac and cheese I know its probably 40 grams of fat and 2000 cals. Its not an idiot so I can piece that together without having to see it on a menu. The calorie posting is for ignorant idiots that do not know how to tell the difference between healthy and non-healthy foods. Probably people like you pp.

I'm the OP and this is exactly the attitude that bothers me. We've legislated in a lot of cities/counties that chains have to post their calories, but fine dining establishments are exempt. To me it sounds like "poor people who eat at McDonalds don't know how many calories they're eating" but the "rich people who eat at Bistro Bis two or three times a week for lunch are so smart that they won't get fat". That's ridiculous. I don't need things posted on the menu, but I think that especially at a good restaurant it's very deceptive how many calories you're actually eating when you order the fish and a salad. I think it's a lot more than people suspect. Even if they are using amazing fresh, seasonal ingredients it might be worse than a burger and fries from Five Guys. But because they don't disclose, we really don't know, do we?

OP your post makes no sense. I do not care if it is fine dining or Mc Donalds. If you eat a Big Mac you should know its 50 grams of fat and 2000 calories. If you eact a steak at Bistro Le Francais and its covered in sauce its also 40 grams of fat and 1500 calories. Just because its "fine dining" does not mean it will be fat free. If you really believe this then you are very uneducated in nutrition and like other pp's suggested you need to educate yourself big time.

People should be smart enough to know these things. And if not, then how about we educate them better? Just because the calories are posted does not deter most people going in to eat what they want. Do you really think that someone who regularly eats a BIg Mac will go "oh damn its 50 grams of fat, I better stop?" NO they need to educate themselves on the long term effects of bad eating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:[People should be smart enough to know these things. And if not, then how about we educate them better? Just because the calories are posted does not deter most people going in to eat what they want. Do you really think that someone who regularly eats a BIg Mac will go "oh damn its 50 grams of fat, I better stop?" NO they need to educate themselves on the long term effects of bad eating.

Sadly, they don't. I bet if you walked up to 10 people on the street and asked them how many calories in a Big Mac, and you'll be luck to find one person who gets even close to the actual number. (It's 540 actually, and I had to look it up: http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/nutritionfacts.pdf )

On top of that, little things can really tip the scale one way or another. Once I saw how much more calories you get in a cheeseburger vs. hamburger (Five Guys posts this information also), I stick with hamburgers since I only get marginal enjoyment from cheese anyway.

I really don't see the issue with providing more information to consumers. They're still welcome to make their own decisions. Are you against the Nutrition Facts labels on food products in the grocery store also?

[Anonymous]

As someone else said, there's no way that "fine dining" establishments can tell the calorie count. They don't know either.