In a Half Hour They'll Be Critical Again

Swell. First they took away my buttered movie popcorn, then they attacked my double-cheeseburgers and soft drinks. Now they’re going after my favorite food of all time? Those bastards!

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Chinese restaurant food draws criticism

The typical Chinese restaurant menu is a sea of nutritional no-nos, a consumer group has found. A plate of General Tso's chicken, for example, is loaded with about 40 percent more sodium and more than half the calories an average adult needs for an entire day.

The battered, fried chicken dish with vegetables has 1,300 calories, 3,200 milligrams of sodium and 11 grams of saturated fat.

That's before the rice (200 calories a cup). And after the egg rolls (200 calories and 400 milligrams of sodium).

"Across the board, American restaurants need to cut back on calories and salt, and in the meantime, people should think of each meal as not one, but two, and bring home half for tomorrow," Liebman said.

Also surprising were some appetizers: An order of six steamed pork dumplings has 500 calories, and there's not much difference, about 10 calories per dumpling, if they're pan-fried.

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Anyone who knows me will realize that Chinese food and I go well together. Why, my first “real” post on this blog was a rant about aggressive Chinese food buffets. And in fact, that’s what the Lovely Mrs. G. and I had last night – aggressive Chinese buffet. (It’s unsettling to eat when there are two waiters staring at you, waiting for you to finish so that they can sweep your plate away.)

But c’mon – what’s better in this world than an order of fried won-tons? Or some really good sesame chicken? Or what about Lo Mein? For the LOVE OF GOD, WHAT ABOUT THE LO MEIN?

Wow – maybe I should cut back on the MSG, too...