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I'm a big fan of the new law requiring some NY restaurants to post calorie counts. However, posting calorie counts is only helpful if they are clear and accurate.
Midtown Lunch points out that Chipotle's implementation of the law is neither.
Chipotle uses calorie ranges so the consumer is left to guess what add-ons make the meal more or less caloric. Midtown Lunch does some math using calorie counts buried in Chipotle's website and determines that, "If you want a burrito on the low range of the calorie scale (420), you will be ordering a flour tortilla, filled with vegetarian black beans. No salsa. No sour cream. No rice. No cheese." That's one boring burrito. Midtown Lunch questions whether you could even call it a burrito.
What do you think? Are these calorie counts better than nothing or are they too confusing to be useful?
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4-22-2008 @7:33PM Brighella said... Bottom line: Chipotle's (McDonalds) is not interested in helping anyone lose weight. If calorie counting is the goal, don't eat there.
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4-22-2008 @3:23PM Katie said... This is a tricky question, but I actually think Chipotle is heading in the right direction. The fact is, to list an "exact" calorie count for a burrito is impossible. Cheese, sour cream, guacamole all make a huge difference, not to mention how heavy-handed your server is (and this tends to vary a lot at burrito joints, which I think is part of their charm.) So if they listed a particular number and someone counted on it for their diet, that person would almost certainly be misled. A range is the only way to go. However, the range should be a bit more realistic. Beans and tortilla do not a burrito make! The very least would be the vegan option: tortilla, rice, beans, salsa, and guac. That's still 740 calories.
Which is why the range should totally be supplemented by the listing that you linked to. That's good information. I never would have guessed that switching from a burrito to corn tacos would save so many calories (110 on the tortilla alone).
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4-22-2008 @3:36PM Baron said... I think a scale that displays your photo and weight when you walk into a restaurant would be more helpful to deter people from eating stuff they "shouldn't". Either that, or some type of intelligence test that determines if you know that adding "things" (very broad range here) to your food will cause it to be "worse" for you.
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4-22-2008 @3:47PM Mathi said... I agree with Katie and I will add that consumers are not stupid. Adding toppings like sour cream, guacamole, cheese, etc will obviously add to the calorie count. If I had budgeted an approximately 600 calorie meal I would likely get just one of those toppings listed, on top of the vegetarian burrito. It would be a roigh approximation of 600 calories.
Knowing it was exactly 591 calories or 627 calories wouldn't make much difference, at least to me.
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4-22-2008 @4:20PM Tricia said... You could do your own math before you get there:
http://chipotlefan.com/
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4-22-2008 @6:10PM Mad William Flint said... Condescending nanny state nonsense beneath contempt.
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4-22-2008 @7:54PM Emily said... Honestly, I quite like how Chipotle does their calorie count, especially online. It's SO much easier to figure it out. I do agree Chipotle isn't the best place to go if you're counting calories, but you could be doing MUCH worse.
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4-22-2008 @8:55PM amanda said... Chipotle isn't owned by McDonald's anymore, and haven't been for awhile. McDonald's sold its entire stake in 2006.
Anyway, I don't think restaurants should have to post their menu's calories. But since they are required to in this instance, i think it would be more useful to have the number of calories in each ingredient. I'm not sure exactly what the law is, but I see no reason to have them posted on the main menu as long as they are available in a pamphlet or visible poster.
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4-23-2008 @1:44AM Dave said... Are they required to list any and all ingredients? And, do they source their product? It seems like it would be more important to know how processed your taco is. Most people can figure out that their double-cheese bacon burrito wouldn't fall into the first half of the spectrum.
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