There's something about going to a restaurant and ordering things that are clearly not good for you, yet somehow this reality doesn't exist in the moment you choose the onion ring appetizer or three-cheese enchiladas topped with cream sauce. I employed this way of thinking when meeting a friend for breakfast at the new IHOP located on 14th street in Manhattan. Unfortunately, the New York City Department of Health decided in 2008 to force food establishments with 15 or more locations nationwide to display all calorie information prominently in menus. This would not be an issue if IHOP offered anything- besides a glass of orange juice and half of a grapefruit- for under 1,800 calories. Country omelette- 1,100 calories; Breakfast sampler- 1,450; White chocolate chip mint holiday pancakes- don't even go there.
At some point my eyes meander to the bottom of the page where a disclaimer which could save one from a low-grade heart attack states, "
The USDA recommends that adults limit caloric intake to 2,000 calories per day... stated nutritional values are approximate; values obtained by laboratory testing may be different." Though I'd love to only have a Belgian waffle and half of a scrambled egg count as my day's worth of food, the silver dollar pancakes on the kids menu somehow seemed much more appealing.
Please don't eat here again. It's not just bad for your health - it's also bad for mine, and the other people who live in 100+ apartments behind the 14th Street IHOP. The local owner of this grease pit somehow persuaded the DOB to allow them to place the restaurant's heavy equipment and ventilation system on the "roof" of the 1-story extension behind the building, instead of on the building's actual roof; as a result, the (considerable) noise, and the smell of rancid bacon are channeled directly into the windows of homes up and down East 15th Street. My apartment now smells like the kitchen of a cheap hotel after the breakfast rush. All.The.Time. If any of your readers get wind (hah!) that their neighborhood is the next to be invaded by IHOP (I'm looking at you, Chelsea/Limelight area), tell them to sell. Sell now. Because if you wait until after the IHOP has opened, you'll be trapped.
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