I don't think the entire problem is that people don't know the calorie counts...I think they don't know what it means. Ask people how many calories they consume in a day and they will have no idea. Ask them how many they should and many still have no idea. So while I personally prefer to see the calorie counts, I'm not so sure it's helping the intended audience.
Now if the menu said "you must walk for 12 hours to burn off this meal," that might have some impact. I could just imagine people's reaction trying to decide between the Cheesecake Factory's French Toast (swim for 7 hours) or Joe's Crab Shack's fried platter (11 hours of golf with no cart or caddy). Some good old fashioned perspective could do much more than calorie counts for the average person.
Of course, I don't actually think this would ever happen. I do think for people trying to make better choices when eating it without knowing calorie content, just think if it's cheesy, gooey, sweet, fried anything, it's not worth it!
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheesecake-factory-dinged-as-unhealthiest-u-s-eatery/
http://www.laweekly.com/squidink/2014/07/31/cheesecake-factory-leads-fanny-pack-of-highest-calorie-meals