Somehow I missed 2012. But not this year! The Center for Science in the Public Interest released their Xtreme Eating Awards for 2013. This is just the first entry:
Designed like 1950s soda shops, Johnny Rockets restaurants are a place to “experience the uncomplicated goodness of classic Americana.”
And what’s more classic Americana than the Bacon Cheddar Double—a white-flour bun stuffed with two one-third-pound beef patties, four slices of cheddar cheese, four strips of bacon, and a “special” sauce?
The tab: 1,770 calories, 50 grams of saturated fat, and 2,380 milligrams of sodium. Three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese have “only” 1,570 calories.
But wait. Who gets just a burger? Johnny’s Sweet Potato Fries add another 590 calories—110 more than his regular “American Fries” and 90 more than a large McDonald’s Fries—and 800 mg of sodium.
And what’s Americana without a shake? Johnny’s hover around the 1,000-calorie mark, thanks to their size (20 oz.) and their “premium vanilla ice cream, whole milk, and real whipped cream.” Surely, you have room for the extra 1,140 calories, 37 grams of sat fat, and estimated 13 teaspoons of added sugar in a Big Apple Shake, which squeezes a slice of Johnny’s “all-American” Apple Pie into your drinkable body-fat booster.
Your meal ends up with a cool 3,500 calories (enough for today and most of tomorrow), 88 grams of saturated fat (a four-day supply), and 2½ days’ worth of sodium (3,720 mg) and added sugar (15 teaspoons). It’s like finishing off your three Quarter Pounders with Cheese and large Fries with a medium McCafé Vanilla Shake and two Baked Apple Pies.
But, you know, we can solve all this just by limiting soft drinks to 16 ounces.
Read the whole thing. Prepare to be sick.
