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The 8 Worst Meals (And 1 Dessert) In America For 2010

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Ripclawe

Banned
http://consumerist.com/2010/05/the-8-worst-meals-and-1-dessert-in-america-for-2010.html

Every year, the Center for Science In the Public Interest releases their Xtreme Eating Awards list, where they single out the most carb-heavy, fat-saturated, salt-laden calorie bombs available on the market. This year's round-up of gut-busters covers everything from breakfast through dessert and contains some items that may surprise you.

In no particular order...

1. Five Guys' Bacon Cheeseburger
Before you put a single topping on it, the bacon cheeseburger from this rapidly growing chain will set you back 920 calories and 30g of fat. Throw in anywhere from 620 to 1,460 calories for Five Guys' generous portions of fries and you've got yourself a calorie, fat and salt bonanza.

2. The Cheesecake Factory's Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake
Weighing in at 3/4 lb, this chocolate lover's dream will cost you 1,670 calories and 48g of saturated fat. Yikes... and yum.


3. California Pizza Kitchen's Tostada Pizza
The picture basically looks like a salad on a pizza crust. But even without any meat, this pie packs 1,440 calories and 2,630mg of sodium. Add grilled steak to the mix and ratchet up the calories to 1,680 and throw on almost another 700mg of sodium.

4. The Cheesecake Factory's Pasta Carbonara
The Factory's second entry on the list is another item where appearances could be deceiving to the undiscerning diner. It's just spaghettini with chicken, peas and bacon in a garlic cream sauce; how bad could that be? Try 2,500 calories (blam!) and a whopping 85g of saturated fat. Finish that off with the Truffle Cake listed above and you're in 4,000 calorie country.

5. P.F. Chang's Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo
1,820 calories is a lot to consume. But where this dish really excels is in the salt department -- 7,690mg of sodium! According to the CSPI, that's 3 whole teaspoons of salt... for one dish.

6. Outback's New Zealand Lamb
Equal to eating about 8 individual lamb chops, this entree from the not-Australian steakhouse packs a pretty hefty calorie punch. Including the garlic mashed potatoes and veggies (which have so much butter they alone bring 7g of saturated fat to the plate), you're looking at 1,820 calories, 80g of saturated fat and 2,600mg of sodium. As the CSPI points out, you'd be better served ordering the 16 oz. prime rib at Outback which, even with the same sides, betters the rack of lamb in all three categories.

7. Chevys' Crab & Shrimp Quesadilla
Again, a slightly stealthy calorie bomb here, as the cheese, flour, sour cream and guacamole greatly outnumber the titular seafood filling. At 1,790 calories, 63g of saturated fat and 3,440mg of sodium, the Crab & Shrimp Quesadilla even beats the restaurant chain's Carnitas & 3-Cheese Quesadilla.

8. California Pizza Kitchen’s Pesto Cream Penne
Another entry from CPK. The menu says "Basil pine nut pesto cream sauce, sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan cheese," but the nutritional info says "1,350 calories, 49g of saturated fat, and 1,920mg of sodium." And that's before you add any chicken or shrimp to the mix.

9. Bob Evans' Cinnamon Cream Stacked & Stuffed Hotcakes
Forget the IHOP wannabe. This here's the real deal. This is how CSPI described it: "So he takes two pancakes and stuffs them with either good stuff (like blueberries or bananas) or garbage (like cinnamon chips made of sugar and oil). Then comes a layer of vanilla cream cheese (it’s more like cream than cheese) and a sugary topping (like cinnamon cream), with whipped topping as the coup de grease." And all that will set you back around 1,380 calories, 27 g of saturated plus 7g of trans fat, and 27 teaspoons of sugar.
Can you think of a better way to start your day?
 

TheUsual

Gold Member
I love Five Guys!

And my god, the amount of fries you get is crazy (make sure you get them cajun as well).
 

zero_suit

Member
5. P.F. Chang's Double Pan-Fried Noodles Combo
1,820 calories is a lot to consume. But where this dish really excels is in the salt department -- 7,690mg of sodium! According to the CSPI, that's 3 whole teaspoons of salt... for one dish.

Sheeeeeiiiiiiitttttt
 

Frester

Member
I like Five Guys', but I like Cheeburger a WHOLE lot more. Surprised at how many repeat offenders are on the list...and how inconspicuous some of them are!
 

Manus

Member
Oh man, I've had Five Guys twice the past two days. Oh well, it's to good to resist! I wonder how many calories is the 4 patty burger? Because I've gotten one of those once.
 

TheUsual

Gold Member
SquirrelNuckle said:
Oh man, I've had Five Guys twice the past two days. Oh well, it's to good to resist! I wonder how many calories is the 4 patty burger? Because I've gotten one of those once.

They make a 4 patty burger?!
 

JGS

Banned
SquirrelNuckle said:
Oh man, I've had Five Guys twice the past two days. Oh well, it's to good to resist! I wonder how many calories is the 4 patty burger? Because I've gotten one of those once.
When I have 5 Guys, I don't eat another meal so I stay under the daily allowance.

At least that's how I justify it!
 

emomoonbase

I'm free 2night after my LARPing guild meets.
I'm shocked and awed that something called the Chocolate Tower Truffle Cake would be bad for you! We need some kind of government group to tell us this stuff so we will know.
 

Manus

Member
TheUsual said:
They make a 4 patty burger?!

You know it! The total for just the burger is like $8.00. I can put away the 4 patty burger and a regular fries on a good day.
 
I've had two Five Guy's Bacon Burgers in my life and one opened up about a mile away from me a couple of years ago. Never thought I'd eat the worst thing in America. :lol
 
SquirrelNuckle said:
Oh man, I've had Five Guys twice the past two days. Oh well, it's to good to resist! I wonder how many calories is the 4 patty burger? Because I've gotten one of those once.

I once had In N Out like 7 times in a 2 day span.
 

noisome07

Banned
In order, for those that don't feel like looking at the article:

fiveguys.jpg


cheesecakefactory.jpg


californiapizzakitchen.jpg


cheesecakepasta.jpg


chinesenoodles.jpg


outbacklamb.jpg


quesadilla.jpg


pesto.jpg


pancakes.jpg
 

bluemax

Banned
I think I had the take out version of the CPK Basil Penne Pesto Pasta during crunch once.

Does remind me how when looking at the menus of some of these kinds of places (CPK, Islands, Chilis, TGIFridays etc) how fucking bad the food is for you at these places. Islands has salads with like 2.5k calories. A SALAD.
 

bozeman

Member
I had that cake on my second trip to Vegas last year. My god...after the first bite I was looking for the waitress to bring me the biggest glass of milk they had. Unfortunately, the last thing I wanted after eating it was heavy amounts of alcohol, which is one of the reasons I go to Vegas in the first place.
 

Oyashiro

Member
Holt shit, I think I had that Cheesecake Factory Pasta Carbonara once. Feels bad, man.

Also, I've never heard of this Five Guys' place.
 

Rewrite

Not as deep as he thinks
Those pics don't look appetizing.

Anyway, regarding the list...I've only had the bacon cheeseburger.
 

rpmurphy

Member
Saw this on NBC news earlier. Every other restaurant chain in America not on this list just sighed a breath of relief and/or realized they need to step up their game.

weepy said:
Where is this Bob Evan's place located?
Lots of em in the Midwest.
 

B.K.

Member
I just had a Five Guys burger and fries tonight. It wasn't the bacon cheese burger. It was just a regular burger. I'm going to die, aren't I?
 
Five Guys is the one meal on that list that's totally worth the calories, sodium, and fat.

That said, I'm on a strict diet at the moment and have been avoiding Five Guys like the plague for the past four months. :lol
 
It's funny how Cheesecake Factory shows up on almost every single one of these lists.

I hate the place. I enjoy an occasional splurge meal as much as anyone, but Cheesecake Factory just makes me want to vomit.
 

Shinjitsu

Banned
BertramCooper said:
It's funny how Cheesecake Factory shows up on almost every single one of these lists.

I hate the place. I enjoy an occasional splurge meal as much as anyone, but Cheesecake Factory just makes me want to vomit.

This.

The wife and I went once, never again.
 

nomster

Member
No Claim Jumper meals? That place makes Cheesecake Factory's portions look sensible. Search google images for their chocolate cake slice.

Edit: Nutritional info : 2723 calories, 55 g sat fat. Suck it cheescake factory.
 
I've had Cheesecake Factory's pasta carbonara...

Basically had a third of it for dinner - since I was so full from the appetizers and bread we had beforehand. Had the rest of it for lunch the next day.

It was really delicious though.
 
BertramCooper said:
It's funny how Cheesecake Factory shows up on almost every single one of these lists.

I hate the place. I enjoy an occasional splurge meal as much as anyone, but Cheesecake Factory just makes me want to vomit.

Whaaaat, that place is so good, i love it.
 

unomas

Banned
bucknuticus said:
Whaaaat, that place is so good, i love it.

This, place was jam packed when we were in Hawaii. I had never been there before, we had he nachos, a pizza, and two pieces of cheesecake of course. We both thought it was really good, but they definitely show up on these worst places to eat lists quite often based on fat and calories. And people wonder why americans are fat as hell.
 
unomas said:
This, place was jam packed when we were in Hawaii. I had never been there before, we had he nachos, a pizza, and two pieces of cheesecake of course. We both thought it was really good, but they definitely show up on these worst places to eat lists quite often based on fat and calories. And people wonder why americans are fat as hell.

Everytime our group goes down to Seattle from Vancouver we have 3 canadians splitting one cheesecake factory meal. It's not because it's super amazing, it's because it's right across the street from the convention centre.
 

Raydeen

Member
I always love the 'healthy' foods that proclaim "ONLY 5 GRAMS OF FAT" and then in tiny small print somewhere else *per 1/8 slice or something.

And obligatory picture of an ugly fat American as revenge for the British teeth thread a few weeks back. Revenge is a dish best served cold. :lol

fat_america.jpg
 

deadbeef

Member
I've had that Five Guys bacon cheeseburger a few times. I get it without any fries and never feel guilty about it. And it's really really good.
 

bjork

Member
I once ate an entire 6-layer piece of a claim jumper motherlode cake. I think it was like 3000 calories. And tasty as hell. :9
 
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