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Menu labeling robs
us of rationalization
BY CHRIS KEATING
In the 1983 film “The Big Chill,” Michael, played by Jeff
Goldblum, and Sam, played by Tom Berenger, have the
following exchange:
Michael: Don’t knock rationalizations. I don’t know
anyone who could get through the day without two or three
juicy rationalizations. They’re more important than sex.
Sam: Ah, come on. Nothing’s more important than sex.
Michael: Oh yeah? Ever gone a week without a rationalization?
I thought of that exchange this afternoon while contemplating the menu board at Così. It is Jan. 5 as I type
this, the first day back to work after the New Year, and
I’m on the classic New Year’s Resolution Diet. Five
straight weeks of holiday feasting and I’m tipping the
scales at — well, it doesn’t matter. Let’s just say that if
you were a gambler who bet the over, you won.
So on this first lunch day of the work year, I headed to
Così on 56th Street in Manhattan for a salad. The salad
would not only begin the process of creating a newer, slimmer me, but it also would make me feel better about myself. After all, what could be a healthier life choice than a
salad for lunch? That’s when I saw the menu board.
You see, New York City has joined the list of U.S.
states and municipalities that have enacted menu-labeling laws. So I was now fully aware of how many
calories each and every salad contained.
The Così Signature Salad, for example, a tasty confection with mixed greens, fruit, nuts and Gorgonzola, was
611 calories. But, the menu helpfully informed me, I could
“Lighten Up” — meaning, I could halve the cheese and
swap out the sherry-shallot vinaigrette for the low-fat
sherry-shallot vinaigrette, and that would lower my calorie count to 371. But not so fast — the warm artisan bread
that comes with the salad is an additional 211 calories.
Now I’m the kind of guy that enjoys a good rationalization around food. I like to order the Cobb salad, loaded
with eggs, bacon, cheese, maybe a creamy dressing, and
then say to my wife over dinner: “I’m hungry. I only had
a salad for lunch.”
But menu labeling is putting the kibosh on that.
There are, I realize, interesting philosophical, political
and economic debates around menu labeling, and I’ve been
following them with interest. Issues of freedom, personal
choice, consumer protection and even culinary creativity all
come into play. More importantly, as a person who draws
his paycheck from the foodservice industry, I’m nervous
about any regulation that could put more pressure on operators who have quite enough of that these days.
But none of that concerned me as I stared at the wall
menu. I wanted to have a salad with lettuce and fruit and
an exotic dressing. I wanted my full serving of Gorgonzola and my tasty artisan bread, and I wanted to feel
that I had made a healthy choice. But Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and the menu police wanted to make darn
sure that I knew exactly how many calories that was going to cost me: 822. He was taking away my rationalizations. If the Così Signature Salad was 822 calories, I
shudder to think what my precious Cobb salad goes for.
So I lightened up and cut the caloric intake to 582.
And I felt a little bit guilty with each nibble of bread.
Oh, and at 4 p.m., I was starving. I grabbed a bag of
candy from the vending machine and scarfed it down
with nary a glance at the label. It was delicious. ■
Chris Keating is the national sales director of Nation’s
Restaurant News.
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