Red Robin's Monster double burger with bottomless fries and a Monster milk shake takes the top spot in the 2014 Xtreme Eating Awards. Cheesecake Factory takes the most awards with three of its dishes on the list.
The Xtreme Eating awards, given by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), highlighted nine dishes as some of the most calorie-dense, high fat, sodium and sugar dishes in restaurant food.
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers' A. 1. Peppercorn burger with bacon, a "Monster" Salted Caramel Milkshake and an order of steak fries contains 3,540 calories, almost twice as many calories as are recommended in a day. It also contains 69 grams of saturated fat and 6,280 milligrams of sodium. CSPI said a person would need a "12-hour brisk walk" to burn off the calories ingested though this dish.
The Cheesecake Factory's three dishes ring in at 2,780 calories for its Bruleed French Toast dish; 2,410 calories for its Farfalle with Chicken and Roasted Garlic dish; and 1,500 calories for its Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Cake Cheesecake.
Though the Cheesecake Factory took home three awards, the restaurant chain could have easily taken every spot on the list, CSPI said in a press release.
CSPI also said this year that all the dishes either exceeded 2,000 calories or came very close and there were more contenders than usual.
Famous Dave's "The Big Slab" of St. Louis-Style Spareribs rang in at 2,770 calories, which would require seven and a half hours of lawn mowing to burn off. Joe's Crab Shack's "The Big 'Hook' Up" platter rang in at 3,280 calories and would take 11 hours of golf to work off.
BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse's 9-inch Signature Deep Dish Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza also claims a spot on the list. It contains 2,160 calories and is the equivalent of eating three Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizzas.
Chevys Fresh Mex's Chevys Super Cinco Combo doesn't quite exceed 2,000 calories, but its 1,920-calorie price tag would take three and a half hours of singles tennis to achieve parity. And that doesn't include the calories from the free chips and salsa.
Rounding out the list is Maggiano's Little Italy's Prime New York Steak, Contadina-style with 2,420 calories. The Contadina topping by itself is 1,170 calories.
According to the CSPI, recent health care legislation requires restaurants with more than 20 restaurants to disclose calorie counts. This may help people make more intentional decisions when it comes to what they order at restaurants.
