Calorie Counters Enjoy Extra Week Of Blissful Ignorance

A new city rule requiring chain restaurants to post the calorie content of their menu items actually takes effect on Friday, April 25--not today, as other news outlets are reporting.

"Every station has been misreporting that that the calorie listing mandate goes into effect today," according to an email from the city's legal department.

On Friday, a federal judge refused to block the proposed regulation, which the city has implemented in order to fight chronic obesity -- much to the dismay of the New York State Restaurant Association, which has argued that the new rules violate the First Amendment.

The city expects the trade group to appeal Friday's ruling, possibly extending the enforcement date even farther into the future.

"To give the Restaurant Association time to make its next legal decision, the lower court judge last Friday set a new date for enforcement of the calorie provisions. The new dates is FRIDAY 4/25," according to the city's legal department. "Also, the lower court judge changed the date for issuing fines from Wednesday, 6/4 to Friday, 6/6."

Still, some restaurants are already complying with the rule. An article in today's New York Post examines some of the highlights: Outback Steakhouse's deep-fried Bloomin' Onion, for instance, clocks in at a whopping 2,275 calories, while Taco Bell's Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef has 1,450.