The 30 Worst Fast Food Restaurant Choices

The 30 Worst Restaurant Menu Items

 

1. Quizno’s Tuna Melt with Cheese and Dressing (large)

1760 calories
133 g fat
25 g saturated fat
200 mg cholesterol
2120 mg sodium 

It looks so harmless: tuna salad, cheddar, lettuce, tomato.

But the combination of mayo, cheese and fatty tuna – not to mention the sheer size of this monster – adds up to more fat grams than four Big Macs, says Debi Silber, MS, RD, WHC, a Long Island, NY-based nutritionist and author of The Lifestyle Fitness Program.

Even the small sub contains more fat (55 grams!) than most of us should be consuming in an entire day.  

2. Quizno’s Classic Italian Sandwich

Large size, with cheese and dressing:
1330 calories
68g fat
24.5g saturated fat
135mg cholesterol
3760mg sodium 

This salami-pepperoni-capicola-ham combo comes with a light vinaigrette and still eats up nearly a day’s calories and two days worth of sodium. 

If that’s not enough to scare you, "We have clear and convincing evidence that sodium is associated with high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is a major risk factor for stroke -- and it is pretty consistent across populations and ethnic groups," Dr. David Katz, a preventive medicine specialist at Yale University Medical School, told the Los Angeles Times in June. "It is unconscionable that a single meal would have 2,000 milligrams or more of sodium.”   

“Meats like salami, pepperoni, capicola and ham are loaded in fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium and calories,” adds Silber. “These foods are caloric time bombs -- offering little nutrient value for the amount of calories and fat they have.”

3. Quizno’s Chicken with Honey Mustard Flatbread Chopped Salad

1070 calories
71g fat
13.5g saturated fat
135mg cholesterol
1770mg sodium  

This salad looks healthy enough, with chicken breast, tomatoes and red onion. However, the biggest calorie culprit isn’t even the bacon in the salad – it’s the honey mustard dressing, which clocks in at 500 calories all on its own. And the skinny-sounding “flatbread”? That adds an additional 330 calories.

4. TGI Friday’s Jack Daniels Ribs & Shrimp

1910 calories

A “full rack” of baby back pork ribs – flinch-inducing on its own – is basted in the chain’s Jack Daniel's glaze, accompanied by “battered and fried shrimp” and fries.  There are so many kinds of wrong here, someone oughta write a country-Western song about it. 

5. TGI Friday’s Pecan Crusted Chicken Salad

1360 calories

Sure, there are good ingredients in here: pecans, chicken breast, dried cranberries.  And the choice in dressing (balsamic vinaigrette) is wise.

But watch out for the word “glazed,” which just means the nuts are covered in sugar.  And adding blue cheese to an already-dressed salad is yet another example of the “conditioned hyper-eating” referred to by Dr. Kessler.     

6. TGI Friday’s Loaded Potato Skins appetizer

7. California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad

2115 calories

If only they’d stopped at the shredded cabbage, grilled chicken, cucumbers, edamame, carrots, green onions and lime-cilantro dressing – this would be a healthy, crunchy salad.  But the peanuts, crispy wontons, crispy rice sticks and peanut dressing (yes, again with the double dressings) turn this salad into three meals worth of calories.

Note: California Pizza Kitchen plans to reduce the calories of this salad down to 1253 by November 2009. 

8. California Pizza Kitchen Avocado Club Egg Rolls appetizer

1180 calories

The avocado, chicken, tomato, and Monterey Jack cheese sounds good.  But then you see the rest: bacon, deep fried wontons, and a double whammy that is the ranchito sauce and herb ranch dressing.  You don’t even want one ranch, much less two.

 

9. California Pizza Kitchen Blue Crab Cakes

1567 calories

Crab cakes are usually small enough to make for a reasonable lunch entrée. But not when they come extra-large, are served with remoulade sauce and an accompaniment of “spaghettini in a creamy lemon-caper sauce.” 

Don’t let the word lemon fool you into thinking it’s light – this is what the Center for Science in the Public Interest would call “discomfort food.” 

10. Denny’s Cheesy Three Pack appetizer

11. Denny’s Granola (4oz) with milk (8oz)

690 calories
12g fat
2 g saturated fat
20 mg cholesterol
430 mg sodium

A bowl of cereal that adds up to nearly half a day’s calories? And this is supposed to be a breakfast “side”?

Take heed: “People don’t realize there’s a ton of fat and sugar in granola, and restaurants serve oversized portions,” says New York-based nutritionist Richter, who tells her clients to avoid granola altogether, not just at Denny’s.  “Opt for oatmeal instead – or Cheerios.” 

12. Denny’s Heartland Scramble

13. Applebee’s Quesadilla Burger

14. Applebee’s Grilled Shrimp Pesto Alfredo Fettuccine

1790 calories

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) once referred to fettuccine Alfredo as “heart attack on a plate."  This entrée takes the heart attack and finishes it off with a bullet of highly-caloric pesto and high-cholesterol shrimp.    

15. Applebee’s Spinach and Artichoke Dip appetizer

16. On the Border Dos XX® Fish Tacos w/ Creamy Red Chile Sauce

 

 

 

No, those numbers aren’t typos. Yes, this is all meant for one person.

Though fish is generally considered a healthy option, these three fish tacos stuffed with Dos XX beer-battered, golden fried fish, creamy red chili sauce, and cheese are far from that. What it all means, in plain English: fat on salt on fat on deep-fried-fat on alcohol and fat, in a fat-soaked shell…with a little bit of fish hidden inside it all.  

In one single meal, you are getting 2 to 3 times the maximum daily dose of fat, saturated fat and sodium.  “When our levels of sodium are too high, our blood volume increases which puts more pressure on the arteries and blood vessels,” says Silber. “This makes the heart work harder than it needs to.”  The effects can be cumulative, and it’s worth noting that heart disease is the number one killer of women over 65.   

17. On the Border Grande Taco Salad with Taco Beef and Smoked Chipotle Vinaigrette Dressing

1,680 calories
121 g fat
40 g saturated fat
2,660 mg sodium 

This salad was chosen by Men’s Health as the Worst Salad in America in 2008 – perhaps because it contains “as much saturated fat as 40 strips of bacon and more calories than 11 Taco Bell Fresco Tacos.” 

How’s that even possible?  Watch out for the bowl -- it’s made of deep-fried tortilla. That’s fat-onto-fat-onto-fat, holding up a whole pile of fat. 

18. On the Border Big Beef Bordurrito

 

The word “stuffed” is a big red flag, because not only is the Bordurrito filled to bursting, but you probably will be too after ingesting it.

In this case, it’s stuffed with fajita steak or chicken, Mexican rice, cheese, black beans, caramelized onions and red peppers, and sour cream sauce. Oh, wait, what’s that noise? Probably your digestive tract staging a pre-emptive rebellion.  

19. Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Onion appetizer

1560 calories

This could be called “The Bloomin’ Butt.” 

Outback representatives say this is meant to be shared with a group, but the onion – healthy and flavorful on its own -- provides a whole lot of surface area to absorb fat, Dr. Kessler explains.  Here it’s fried in batter and topped with “spicy signature bloom sauce” – layering salt on sugar on fat.  

20. Outback Steakhouse Aussie Cheese Fries appetizer

2140 calories

Make sure there are at least 5 of you digging into this plate! 

Cheese fries come under particular condemnation from Kessler.  “The potato base is a simple carbohydrate, which quickly breaks down to sugar in the body. Once it's fried and layered with cheese, we're eating salt on fat on fat on sugar.”  And that’s not even to mention the bacon and the ranch dressing. 

21. Outback Steakhouse Baby Back Ribs (full rack)

22. Baja Fresh Breaded Fish Quesadilla

23. Baja Fresh Shrimp Bean & Cheese Burrito

950 calories
34 g fat
17 g saturated fat
310 mg cholesterol
2320 g sodium
Enchilada Style: 1580 calories, 74 g fat, 36 g saturated fat, 385 mg cholesterol, 3770 mg sodium

Shrimp and black beans = good.  This burrito = bad. 

It’s the size of a linebacker, for one, and if you order  the enticing “Enchilado Style” -- melted jack and cheddar on top of the cheese that’s already in the burrito, plus nachos and sour cream on the side -- you could find yourself consuming a day’s worth of calories (1580 calories), roughly two days worth of fat (74 grams) and enough sodium (3770 mg) to bloat you into the next dress size.    

24. Baja Fresh Charbroiled Steak Tostada Salad

25. PF Chang’s Chicken Chopped Salad with Ginger Dressing

26. PF Chang’s Crispy Honey Shrimp

27. PF Chang’s Lo Mein Combo

28. Olive Garden Create Your Own Pizza appetizer (cheese and sauce only)

930 calories
910 calories
28 g fat
12 g saturated fat
2970 mg sodium

Before you even add a tomato, you’re looking at nearly 1,000 calories and – gasp -- 2970 mg of sodium!  The 12 grams of saturated fat also clogged our arteries just thinking about it. 

29. Olive Garden Pork Milanese

30. Olive Garden Tour of Italy pasta

1450 calories
74 g fat
33 g saturated fat
3830 mg sodium

For the indecisive hedonist, this entrée includes lasagna, “lightly breaded” chicken parmigiana and fettuccine Alfredo – all with a meat sauce made of beef and Italian sausage. In other words, your tour of Italy begins and ends with “The Last Supper.”     

 

How to Navigate the Menu

 

• Avoid anything with the word “sampler” or “platter,” unless you plan to share it with three or more people and make it your main course. 
• Skip anything that comes in an edible bowl or includes the words “stacked”, “stuffed”, “double”, “triple”, “slammed” or “dunked.”
• Nachos are something best shared with a group, and subs are something best measured in calories, fat and sodium – not inches.
• When you see the words “crispy” or “glazed,” realize that’s what will happen to your arteries and your eyes, respectively, if you consume too many of these items. 
• Dressing and sauces are among the major calorie culprits of many restaurant choices, sometimes doubling the fat and sodium content of an entrée. Ask for all sauces on the side, and try replacing cream-based dressings with mustard (straight mustard, not sugar-loaded honey mustard), suggests New York City-based nutritionist Sharon Richter, MS, RD. Other good alternatives: lemon and grated cheese (25 calories per tbsp). 
• Just because an item falls under the word “appetizers” does not mean it should be followed by more food. Not even in the same day. Some of the country’s most ubiquitous food establishments serve appetizers that would stuff a Sumo wrestler.

 

And remember, the average woman needs 1500 to 1800 calories a day to maintain weight (depending upon activity level and frequency), and the American Heart Association recommends limiting dietary fat to 30 percent of total calories.

All nutritional information is from the restaurants’ online menus, their respective publicists, and/or Men’s Health magazine (NYS ordinance/their NYC menu, and the Center for Science in Public Interest).