The 20 Worst Restaurant Foods in America

As these are all from chains, posting this seemed most appropriate here:

 

http://eatthis.menshealth.com/slideshow/20-worst-restaurant-foods-america

 
 
 
 
 
 

I like the link to sex secrets too - a little bonanza.

Apparently that calorie figure for the IHOP Colorado omelet includes the 3 buttermilk pancakes that come with it. When those are subtracted the omelet drops to ~800.

And yet Americans continue to patronize these eateries and continue to order these items.

Worst Pasta Dish:
Cheesecake Factory Bistro Shrimp Pasta 
2,819 calories 77 g saturated fat 1,008 mg sodium 184 g carbohydrates

Equivalent to 14 Krispy Kremes or 3 Big Macs & 3 Medium Fries from McDonald's!!!

Outback Steakhouse Baby Back Ribs (full rack)
3,021 calories 242 g fat (90 g saturated fat) 4,648 mg sodium

I think this one is the most outrageous:
Worst Sit-Down Kids' Meal
Cheesecake Factory Kids' Pasta with Alfredo Sauce 
1,803 calories 86 g saturated fat 876 mg sodium 70 g carbohydrates

I guess if you eat this crap once a year you can get away with it for years.

I only eat at one of these places on a fairly regular basis, Culvers. I always feel a little guilty about ordering my favorite sandwich, the tuna salad on grilled sourdough. Hey, it's the "healthy" option! No more guilt! Thanks Men's Health! (Tee hee!)

more outrageously, parents feed there kids something called "pasta with alfredo sauce", at restaurants, as well as home. 

i just had some wonderful sichuan chicken with hot peppers.  can anyone guess how many calories and fat were in it?  or how many were in what you ate today?

I can't say as I've had any of those things. Not that I haven't ever eaten something comparable. And I feel bad if I get a hamburger and large fries from McD's. Sheesh.

It almost makes you fell okay if you eat a meal from McDonald's/KFC/Taco Bell etc. They don't (normally) come close to some of these behemoths.

One can get all that stuff at non-chain restaurants.  There it is celebrated as wonderful roadfood.  Since when is a rack of ribs with BBQ sauce a crime against humanity?

MiamiDon


One can get all that stuff at non-chain restaurants.  There it is celebrated as wonderful roadfood.  Since when is a rack of ribs with BBQ sauce a crime against humanity?

Since when is a rack of ribs with BBQ sauce a crime against humanity?

I think when it's over 3000 calories, comes from Sysco and is over $25....and not cooked with '"love". I know I feel better about my waistline expanding if I'm expanding the wallet of a "mom & pop" place too.

Good point, ETR!

I'm surprised no food from Sonic made the list.

I could get two or three meals re those offerings.  It might be non-roadfood like, but I hate it when I get a plate that looks like a trough unless it's something that keeps well for the next day.

Andrea

AndreaB


I could get two or three meals re those offerings.  It might be non-roadfood like, but I hate it when I get a plate that looks like a trough unless it's something that keeps well for the next day.

Andrea

That is the very reason that I don't eat at Outback, Macaroni Grill, Cheesecake Factory, etc. The plates are huge and I could easily eat 3 meals from it. I would much prefer a 1/3 of the portion and a 1/3 of the price...but I guess that's the point...the can charge 3x but cost probably only goes up 2x...plus Americans seem to want and in some cases demand it.

EatingTheRoad

...plus Americans seem to want and in some cases demand it.

this is an excellent point. people (not just Americans anymore) seem to include quantity in their value equation.  whereas people like us who give more consideration to food than the average person look more at quality, or at the very least taste.  these restaurants (and many non-chains) are just giving people what they want.  like any smart business does.

Several of the listed items are from the Cheesecake Factory where the geeky guys on Big Bang Theory eat regularly (and the hot blond across the hall works as a waitress).  All of them are skinny.  But this is TV, not reality.

The only item I've had is the Five Guys fries.  The serving is big and they often dump extra fries in your bag (rather than let them sit under a hot lamp like you know who).  But they are great fries and worth every calorie.  Go with someone and split the order and do it as a special treat.  Hamburgers at Five Guys are really good, too.  (This is the place Obama took Brian Williams for lunch last year).

collinf


I'm surprised no food from Sonic made the list.

No one I know goes to Sonic for the food. Ocean Water, baby. Vanilla Dr Pepper. Diet Dr Pepper, Triple Shot of Cherry. Well, maybe the tots.

I am told, however, that the food at Sonic south of the Masie Dixie is better. No one knows why.

I have heard about the tots but never experienced them first hand.

My experiences eating at Sonic in the southern states have generally been pretty decent, but the two meals that I had last year at a Chicago-area Sonic were quite bad. Maybe Sonic should have just kept playing in their own back yard...

I don' t think that the Cheesecake Factory is a place that normal people eat at on regular basis. As in, I think a lot of people go there once a month, or when there is a family event to be celebrated.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with going there once a week. On the day you want to go there, have a small breakfast or lunch and then be hungry for their food. Then the next day go out and mow the lawn or walk around the block or do something to work the food off.

What shocks me is the MASSIVE amounts of food that they offer. For example, how much bread on that French Toast? It seems that there is this Death Race on how to mix flavors together. Chili, cheese, cream, sauces, gravies in a gigantic bowl or a plate that someone could land a Cessna on.

I looked at their website and fell in love with the blonde girl doing the presentation in the "lobby".  What was that line in the movie Stepbrothers "he came home smelling of scotch and cheesecake...." That's why I would go in there, to eat cheesecake and have several double scotches with ice. Then steal the blond girl for a night of deabachery!

Cheesecake Factory doesn't have Nutritional Info anywhere on their site. When I asked if the omellettes were premade or if I could order one with no salt added, I was told they are premade. I'm out. Won't eat there anymore. I don't like cheescake and it's not worth it to me, guessing what the sodium is going to be or "just order a salad"--even the salads are not that healthy. No thank you, I will eat elsewhere.

That is so anti-Roadfood, I don't know why one would post it here.  What do you think that many Roadfood classics would rate in salt, fat and calories?

Mens Health magazine?
isn't that a contradiction in terms according to our beliefs?

MiamiDon


What do you think that many Roadfood classics would rate in salt, fat and calories?

I believe I would rate them "most excellent".
 
Brad

Let me also add that while I follow men's health "eat this not that" to some degree, what they do NOT take into consideration is that a LOT of us get a restaurant meal with the obvious point of taking half of it home for one or two additional meals.  I do the same thing when I go to diners.  A club sandwich with fries at my favorite local place turns into 2 meals, just like fish and chips or steak and fries does.