Update: Oreo, Dog Thrown Off Building, Was Euthanized
Access-A-Ride Renders Bike Lane Inaccessible
The UWS Gets Its Very Own Apple Store
Emily and Sarah Kunstler, Filmmakers
Video: Close Encounters Above Central Park?
When we took note of the Health Department’s crackdown on chain restaurants that refuse to display their calorie information, some commenters wondered how movie theaters would be affected. Since the rule applies to any New York City food server with at least 15 locations nationwide, are chains like Regal Cinemas now required to confront moviegoers with the bad news about their concession products (which are, technically, food)?
The Life Vicarious did a little digging and found that the AMC Theatres Kips Bay was recently cited for Calorie Label Violations: “Caloric content not posted on menus, menu boards or food tags.” It’s no surprise the chain would want to shroud their popcorn in secrecy; according to Calorie King, an average large tub of movie theater popcorn – without any added butter – contains 1,283 calories and 78 grams of fat.
The Department of Health is holding off on issuing fines until July, but the calorie citation is the least of AMC’s worries. The Kips Bay location racked up 39 violation points for letting employees handle food with bare hands, which were probably soiled because the bathroom lacked “soap and an acceptable hand-drying device.” Also, mice are running wild, which seems to be fairly common at movie theaters. [Via Eater.]
Photo courtesy Susan NYC.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
One should never eat movie theater popcorn - I worked in a movie theater in high school and can tell you it's some of the nastiest stuff on earth. It's usually kids behind the counter who don't wash their hands, or they're also cleaning counters and taking out trash and then handling your food.
We kept bags of the popcorn in a hallway over night (yes, it's recycled, not made fresh each day) and every day, there would be holes in the bags because mice were eating their way through. One time, a co-worker went to scoop out a bucket of popcorn from the bin, and there was a dead rat in the popcorn.
Also, there were ants on the soda dispensers.
@babyfishmouth The rat/mouse droppings come standard with the popcorn, no need to ask. It's the topping that's optional.
an average large tub of movie theater popcorn – without any added butter
It should read without any added "butter".
Also, mice are running wild, which seems to be fairly common at movie theaters.
Remnant of failed Pixar promotional stunt from last year's Ratatouille.
Thanks for the insight fishmouth. No more 'buttered', or even unbuttered, popcorn for me. Caloric content aside, I have noticed one of the 'kids' behind the counter handling some disgusting looking processed pretzel item and thought people would be crazy to eat it.
I wonder how many calories in those ridiculously Gigantic Big Box packages of candy the theaters sell, i.e. Peanut M&M's, Twizzlers, Goobers.
This is why I love the freshly popped corn of the Angelika and Sunshine Theatres.
I movie without Goobers is a movie without darkness.
Gross, just sneak in your snacks and drinks like any sensible NYer and be done with it.
Yeah, "freshly popped"...you keep on believing that.
I too worked at a movie theater in my youth and I recall saving the leftover popcorn for the mext day. Guess you get what you pay for if you go to the matinee. If you're smart, bring in your own snacks and drinks.
can't speak for the angelika, but Sunshine popcorn is legit. My roommate works there and i used to work for a landmark theater in boston - popcorn is freshly popped and we aren't gross about any of the behind the counter stuff. uh, it is mad fattening though, that's the truth.
The mice story reminds me of the time I was rushing to catch a flight in the Delta Terminal at LGA and grabbed a wrap and some Sun Chips at the Au Bon Pain near the gate. I was happily munching away in my seat and was horrified once I got to the bottom of the bag when I noticed little holes in the corner of the bag. Upon further inspection, it became clear that a rodent had found the bag overnight before I bought it. Yuck.
Get real. The average movie lasts between two and two and a half hours. Does one really need to stuff their face during that time?
It's not like they are serving beer or other nutritious items. It's popcorn and jujubees.
The last time that I was at a ballet performance at Lincoln Center I didn't see anyone eating popcorn or munching on a supersized box of Goobers. What gives?
At the Metropolitan Opera, we all slurp Mountain Dew and pass around a giant Snickers bar.