The annual "Xtreme Eating Awards" presented by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) has presented The Cheesecake Factory with three of their nine not-so-coveted awards for 2014.
The CSPI says the 150-restaurant chain could "have easily swept the entire list."
Some of the menu items that put the chain over the top were:
- The Cheesecake Factory's Farfalle with Chicken and Roasted Garlic, featuring mushrooms, tomato, peas, and caramelized onions. However, cream sauce helps bring its caloric payload to 2,410 calories, the calorie equivalent of a five-hour jog, as well as three days' worth of saturated fat (63 grams) and 1,370 mg of sodium.
- "The 'Best' French Toast Ever!" from the Sunday Brunch menu contains Bruléed French Toast, a plate of custard-soaked bread, topped with powdered sugar and served with maple-butter syrup and bacon, contains 2,780 calories. The meal also has almost five days' worth of saturated fat (93 grams), 2,230 milligrams of sodium and 24 teaspoons of (mostly) added sugar.
- Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake, with 1,500 calories, 43 grams of saturated fat, and 21 teaspoons of (mostly) added sugar.
The single unhealthiest meal CSPI found came from the 470-outlet Red Robin Gourmet Burgers.
- Their "Monster"-sized A.1. Peppercorn burger, Bottomless Steak Fries, and Monster Salted Caramel Milkshake which has a grand total of 3,540 calories, three-and-a-half days' saturated fat (69 grams), and four days' worth of sodium (6,280 mg). To dispose of those calories, the average person would need to walk briskly for a full 12 hours.
CSPI dietitian Paige Einstein says "it's clear that caloric extremism still rules the roost at many of America's chain restaurants."
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