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New Yorkers altering eating habits

By Marlene Naanes and Rebecca Wolfson | mnaanes@am-ny.com

6:46 PM EDT, July 6, 2008

Two months after many New York chain restaurants began posting the number of calories in their food, customers are shying away from their calorie-laden favorites and opting for lighter fare.

"I go for the low-fat coffee cake instead of the regular cake, and it's a difference of like 150 calories," Robb Martinez, 38, of Williamsburg, said of his usual Starbucks order.

Another Starbucks regular was shocked into changing his daily order from a scone to a reduced-fat breakfast sandwich.

"The scone is over 400 calories and even though the breakfast sandwich has bacon and cheese and eggs on it, it's less calories," said Mark Hamstra, 45, of the Upper East Side.

All New York City restaurants with 15 or more branches were forced to post calories on their menu boards beginning May 5. Restaurants that fail to comply will be fined between $200 and $2,000 during inspections after July 18.

Employees at Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks locations in Park Slope said they have noticed a change in their customers' eating habits, leading to a drop in the sale of pastries. Workers spoke on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorized to comment. Company officials would not discuss how the listings have impacted sales.

"It's a big topic of conversation [among customers]," said a Starbucks employee, who thinks the company needs to come up with healthier alternatives. In fact, Starbucks is doing just that.

"In the fall, we will begin offering an expanded line of nutritional menu items as we revise our food options," the company wrote in an e-mailed statement. Also, it recently converted its core milk to two-percent and introduced sugar-free syrups in products such as Skinny Lattes.

Officials at McDonald's declined to comment, but a Burger King spokesman said the company is still fighting the regulations. However, officials at the city's Department of Health said last week that the rules are final and any hopes of an appeal are futile. A federal appeals court is still reviewing the matter.

Dunkin' Donuts is among the shops falling into compliance citywide, however reluctantly. A spokesman for the company wrote in an e-mail that the company considered the rules unfair since they don't apply to all restaurants. Subway started posting calories to its menu about a year ago. "We felt it was an extension of the information we already provide," Les Winograd, a Subway spokesman said.

Even people who don't count calories, such as Fort Greene resident Meagan Froemming, are changing their ways when faced with the numbers. At Chipotle, Froemming, 21, opts for a burrito bowl, which has all the fixings of a burrito minus the tortilla.

"I guess it's the choice between 900 and 500 calories, and the taste isn't that different," she said.

Others, of course, will not change their eating habits.

"I'm still gonna have what I'm gonna have," said Carla Thomas, a Starbucks customer.