What Foods would you eat in New York City?

Posted by Lisa Newton on July 2, 2008 at 6:21am

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In a recent post, Should Restaurants post Nutritional Information about their Food? -... and a lively discussion group with the same name, most people were in favor of having nutritional advice available.

In the discussion, members suggested several different formats, so I thought everybody would enjoy seeing what some of the restaurant menu boards look like.

Below are twelve actual pictures of the menu boards of various restaurants in New York City, where nutritional information must be made available on the menus.

Some of the following menu panels were created by the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Item 8 is in PDF format, because this restaurant features a written menu instead of menu boards.

So, here’s today’s Thursday Thirteen:

1. Auntie Anne's

2. Chipotle

3. Cosi

4. Dunkin' Donuts

5. Haagen Dazs

6. IHOP

7. Jamba Juice

8. Johnny Rockets
cspi8.pdf
9. McDonald's

10. Starbucks

11. Subway

12. Wendy's

13. Center for Science in the Public Interest

What do you think? Would you like to have these menu boards in a restaurant near you? Were you surprised by any of the calorie numbers for the menus?

Perhaps, this information would help you choose to eat healthier.

It’s food for thought, because,

After all, it’s about a healthy lifestyle!

Photo courtesy of chadh

Tags: calories, center_for_science_in_the_p..., fast_food, food, health, menus, new_york_city, nutrition, restaurants

Comment by Gabrielle Shafer on July 2, 2008 at 6:45am: Scary!! I will continue to eat at home :-)

Comment by Fit Bottomed Girls on July 2, 2008 at 6:51am: Yep, brown bagging it is looking better every day!

Although I have been known to get a Chipotle Burrito Bowl every now and again. :)

Comment by Amy on July 2, 2008 at 7:02am: On some of the menus, it took me a few seconds to figure out what I was looking at. There were too many numbers on there and may get confusing for some people. I think IHOP's menu is the easiest of the choices to read through, although looking at the calorie contents, I'm not sure that I would select any of their items!

This topic interests me a lot and I love hearing others' opinions. I've heard many sides to this debate, and despite all that we know about nutrition and health, many people feel that when they are out to eat, they want to enjoy their food and not think about calories or fat. I do support having the nutrition info readily available for each menu item, but I would like to see this go one step further. Look at some of these menus--there are no healthy choices available! Perhaps they should recreate the menus and include lower calorie options.

Additionally, I find that many people have no concept of how many calories they require, so even seeing that one menu item has 1,200 calories, it may not affect their choices at all. This is where nutrition education should come into play, starting with all school age children. There should be no excuse for not knowing basic healthy eating guidelines...not in this day and age!

Comment by David on July 2, 2008 at 7:04am: Brilliant post.

I love NYC and I love the food there--all of it. So in NYC I'd go off the reservation and go native. Really, I would eat anything there.........................)

Comment by David on July 2, 2008 at 7:08am: @ Amy, seriously though, I think that while having the information available on menus for restaurants v having to have them is a real serious concern I have. First of all I see it as another one of our civil rights being taken away, and the Nanny State taking over.

We know ciggarates are bad for us--along with a million other things.

People need to use more common sense and less reliance on the government mandating what they need to do--because in the end, it just won't work anyway.

Comment by Ask The Dietitian on July 2, 2008 at 7:11am: Lisa, Great post! What an eye ~~opener~~ popper! I do like to see the calories listed and I definitely agree with Amy.

Comment by Mark Salinas on July 2, 2008 at 7:13am: Okay, It has been 5 years since I visited NY City. I do remember the incredible food at every corner. Now, I think I will move NY City down my list a bit....too many tempting food options at every turn :).

Comment by FatFighter on July 2, 2008 at 7:46am: I really like being able to see the calories on the menus - and if I choose to splurge, then I'll workout harder to make up for it.

Comment by Live Well on July 2, 2008 at 7:57am: I love NYC....and you know, since I don't live in NYC, I'd be on vacation if I was in fact there. That means I really wouldn't care what I ate there for those few days!!! Those menus could say something delicious had 3,000-4,000 calories and I really wouldn't care!

As for every day menus in the restaurants I live near, it would be helpful to have those calories listed. However, it's probably more beneficial to know how to recognize and estimate a food's caloric value. Think of being in school -- open book tests were great, but did you really learn anything?

Comment by Jen@PatinaEsprit on July 2, 2008 at 8:15am: Great post, Lisa! I think it is valuable to have the caloric information posted, and that it's a good first step. Out of sight, out of mind, often means that when we go out to eat we don't really know and can be quite surprised by what we end up eating. I agree with Amy in that having some type of identification for healthier items on the menu would be a good add.

I also agree with FatFighter in that even if I choose to splurge, then I know I'll work out harder. Just having the information up is a good start for awareness building.