So we recently gave up Diet Coke for a two-week trial separation (indeed, it’s been more difficult than breaking up with actual people), a decision which has apparently pushed us into a burgeoning coffee addiction. (Fantastic, that.) We were making our now-daily Starbucks run when we noticed: calories everywhere! For those outside the five boroughs, there’s a new city law (maybe to be overturned by the federal courts … in which case we’ll say a big "fuck you" to the federal courts) mandating that basically all chain restaurants display the caloric content of their offerings. (Our mocha frappuccino "lite" had 185, thank you very much.) But we have this law to thank for the fact that we did not also get one of those marble-loaf "breads". (500 calories!) We’ll admit that we saw Super Size Me at Sundance and immediately went to the one McDonald’s in a 20-mile radius. And we wish there were more fast, inexpensive, healthy choices, because we would totally eat there. (Now that we know about the 1000-calorie Chipotle burrito, we no longer believe any exist.) And we sort of get the restaurant industry’s position—people (we) make those Big Mac-purchasing decisions every day, of our own free will. But they have trillion-dollar marketing campaigns at their disposal, all aimed at making us eat their unhealthy food. It’s like death rays aimed at little bunnies. Now we have the caloric truth on our side, and we just think that’s great.
We love it. We actually feel like we are living a healthier lifestyle this morning, thanks to the government. The government! We can hardly believe it. So thank you, Mayor Bloomberg. Please never, ever leave us.
what’s funny is right after i saw super size me, i also had mcdonalds. those fries get me every time!
So excited to hear this! I hope the rest of the country follows suit!
We would die a happy death (maybe by death ray, even) if the city we lived in did this. People don’t understand why we shun Chipotle – because ‘it’s just vegetables! how can it be bad’?
Mayor Bloomberg, please come to us and make it better here, too!
Oh, my God, Bloomberg: PLEASE LEAVE US!!! Come on, Bunny Shop! Calorie counts, yes, sure, okay. But Bloomberg is a big supporter of rampant development (Brooklyn, Bunny Shop, Brooklyn!!), and though he professes to value the arts, look at how it’s getting harder and harder for artists of any kind to live in this city. And congestion pricing–bah!
Okay, now that I’ve had my say, here’s a peace offering: go the the Brooklyn Botanic Garden to see the cherry tress while they are still in bloom. You’ll be so happy you did, I promise!
Ha! Oh, you’ll never turn us. We agree (we believe we agree) that the Atlantic Yards are disgusting and we hope they completely all apart. Figuratively speaking. We belong to Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn! But congestion charging? We’ve lived in a congestion-charging city, we’re born bridge-and-tunnel, and we couldn’t be more pro. We believe in certain exemptions, but in general? Sign us up. Now that we’re done kicking that dead horse, we’ll say only: We are truly his fan.
We’ll have to agree to disagree. But, still, go see the cherry trees if you haven’t already. Get your sis to come in for the day. Oh, and I heard the Lee Miller exhibit at the Philadelphia Art Museum is wonderful.