Most of the fast food or chain restaurants we go to are known to be home to gloriously over-the-top dishes that blow our minds (and stomachs). In general, the food we buy when we eat out uses a lot more salt, sugar, and other ingredients that seem to magically increase their calorie content when compared to the same dish we might make at home (3,000 calorie appetizers anyone?).
Every year, the Center for Science in the Public Interest holds the Xtreme Eating Awards, recognizing your favorite restaurants’ unhealthiest menu items. Read on to see what dishes take the cake this year, and maybe try to avoid those in the future.
9. RT 44 Grape Slush with Rainbow Candy—Sonic
I don’t know who’s idea it was to put small candies inside of a slushy, but the only thing I see coming out of that is a choking hazard. It also adds an extra 370 calories to an already sugar-filled 40 oz. drink, making this slush a total of 970 calories. Basically, you’re drinking 1 1/4 cups of sugar along with artificial food colorings and flavors. Prepare for a major sugar rush.
8. Cremini Pork Shank—Romano’s Macaroni Grill
This dish, deemed “Romano’s House Favorite,” delivers 1,800 calories of braised pork shank, marsala wine sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms, and roasted parmesan potatoes. This is the equivalent to two Outback Steakhouse 10 oz. Ribeye Steaks, each with a side of fries.
If you enjoy the complimentary 480-calorie rosemary peasant bread (because free, duh) you add the equivalent of two Chipotle Carnitas burritos with pork, rice, beans, sour cream, cheese, and salsa. Bread or chipotle? I think we know the real winner here.
7. Giant Chipotle Cheesesteak—Jersey Mike’s Subs
This beefy and cheesy roll clocks in at 1,850 calories, with stuffings of grilled steak, melted white American cheese, peppers, onions, and spicy chipotle mayo. You’re also getting 30 grams of saturated fat and 4,330 mg of sodium. It’s a vegan’s worst nightmare.
6. Short Rib and Cheesy Mac Stack—Dave & Buster’s
At Dave & Buster’s, the goal is to have the most fun and, apparently, the most calories. This sandwich is stuffed with mac and cheese and short ribs, a combo that can only leave you with a food baby and/or major heartburn. Along with that, you get crispy tater tots, making this meal 1,910 calories. That’s it, you’re done for the day.
5. Dessert Nachos—Buffalo Wild Wings
When you combine nachos and dessert, bad things are bound to happen for your health. The dessert nachos at BWWs are made by deep-frying a flour tortilla in beef tallow and topping it with cinnamon and sugar, ice cream, breaded cheesecake bites, and chocolate and caramel sauces. With 2,100 calories and 64 grams of saturated fat, I doubt your body could handle this after a boatload of greasy wings.
4. Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict—The Cheesecake Factory
Fried chicken, waffles, and eggs Benedict? Apparently, this combo works at The Cheesecake Factory. This over-the-top brunch comes with a Belgian waffle topped with fried chicken tenders, poached eggs, and Hollandaise sauce, and is served with maple syrup and a side of breakfast potatoes. This delivers a total of 2,580 calories, 86 grams of saturated fat, and 3,390 mg of sodium. So you’re probably gonna want to save the cheesecake for another day.
3. Whole Hog Burger—Uno Pizzeria & Grill
While no, this burger doesn’t actually contain a whole hog, it does pack over a pound of meat, including hamburger, sausage, bacon, prosciutto, and pepperoni. The meal also includes four types of cheese, garlic mayo, and pickles, along with a side of fries and onion rings. The total calories weigh in at 2,850, which is equal to four McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese and two medium fries drenched with 18 packets of salt.
2. Marco’s Meal For Two—Maggiano’s Little Italy
Carbs on carbs on carbs. At Magliano’s Little Italy you can get Marco’s Meal For Two, which lets you select an appetizer, flatbread, or two side salads, then two classic pasta dishes, and a dessert, plus two more pasta dishes to take home. And don’t forget the complimentary bread rolls.
If you and your date decide on the 1,620-calorie crispy zucchini fritté as an appetizer, then each get the fettuccine Alfredo for your entree (1,570 calories) and split the 1,790-calorie chocolate zuccotto cake for your dessert, you’ll each clock in at a total of 3,275 calories. Plus the other two pastas you get to take home. After that calorie-filled meal I’d doubt you’d want to eat the pasta anytime soon though.
1. Build Your Sampler—Applebee’s
If appetizers are your thing, the Applebee’s Build Your Sampler is for you, with the option of selecting two to five apps or bar snacks to share with the table. Appetizers are typically fried and greasy, and the options on Applebee’s menu are no exception. Let’s say you go with a sampler of five of the highest calories apps on the menu.
The cheeseburger egg rolls (which don’t even sound appetizing) clock in at 1,000 calories. The brew pub pretzels and beer cheese dip are 1,050 calories. Sweet potato fries and a selection of dips hold a whooping 1,160 calories (and I thought sweet potato fries were healthy). An order of double crunch bone-in wings with Thai sauce will add an extra 1,060 calories.
At this point you might as well throw in the salsa verde beef nachos, which are the highest calorie appetizer on the menu, with 1,810 calories. This gives your table a total of 6,080 calories, divide it with five people and it’s still 1,216 calories each. So maybe skip out on the entrees.