Ugh... restaurant menu says a taco is 210 calories, it's actually 328!

quarkenstein

A restaurant opened near my house, and it's so good! And they had calorie counts, even though it's a smaller chain and they're not required to have them since they don't have many locations!

Get there, and I am VERY SKEPTICAL about the size of the taco vs the 210 label.

Took an extra one home, weighed out the ingredients and matched to the menu...it's 328! Why even have calorie counts at all if they're going to be so incorrect. The posted macros for their food doesn't even add up to the claim on the menu! I just want to be informed.

Does anyone else try these experiments?

Annie_01

I have not. When I go out to eat I just accept that my calorie count more than likely will be off. I rarely eat out so one meal is not going to make or break me. Bringing home take out and weighing it is just more than my feeble mind can deal with.

HoneyBadger302

Since I weigh and measure nearly everything I cook at home, I've gotten a pretty good eye for eye-balling things (even make a game of it at home where I guess what a weight will be then put it on the scale). I then tend to use my estimates of the individual ingredients rather than their menu options unless it's a big chain where everything is super cookie cutter.

Cbean08

I worked in food service and in overseeing my team these are my main observations that cause discrepancy in calorie counts.

1. Just because corporate/owner/head chef creates a recipe for an item, it does not mean everyone will follow exactly. Calorie counts will be based off measurements from the original recipe where everything must be weighed exactly. In real service, not everything is weighed or measured, but it's up to the chef/prepper who is on that day.
2. Meats are expensive for a company. Meat calories are likely to be very, very close because that is an item that inventory will keep close tabs on. Cheese can be pricey too, depending on the supplier and the type of cheese. Sauce, carbs, butter and oil are cheap for a company. This stuff won't be regulated and can severely change the calories.
3. Fat tastes good and restaurants are likely to be generous. The owners want you to come back so they will provide you with food that tastes good. If you are ordering anything that has been cooked in a pan, on a grill, on the stove or in the oven, the restaurant has used oil. And no, they will not measure it.

cmriverside

I agree with @Cbean08 and not only what she said, but it's easier to sautee in 2 TBSP as opposed to 1 TBSP, so you can bet the squirt of oil will be generous.

I also tend to think cooks don't really care all that much about portion control unless the owner and sous chef are all over them...and in a taco place I can't see that happening. You'll get more rather than less calories in low-end restaurants and if you're in a high-end restaurant, who's gonna care about calories?