The Center for Science in the Public Interest has bestowed its 2011 Xtreme Eating Awards on eight disturbingly caloric dishes from chain restaurants. And unlike Food Network show Extreme Chef, the Xtreme Eating Awards aren't extreme in a totally awesome way (well, neither is the show, actually). The gist of the tongue-in-cheek awards: "big eats" like these lead to "big Americans."
Once again, The Cheesecake Factory makes multiple appearances on the list with its ultimate red velvet cheesecake (1,540 calories and 59 grams of saturated fat), and farmhouse cheeseburger, topped with smoked pork belly and an egg (1,530 calories and 36 grams of saturated fat). Applebee's pretty much wrote this snarktastic award's text for them with its "stacked, stuffed and topped" menu, which includes a 1,520-calorie entree of cheese stuffed meatballs that comes in at 43 grams of saturated fat. And let's not forget the fried cheese melt at Denny's, which slaps four fried mozzarella sticks inside a grilled cheese sandwich. Oh, and it comes with fries.
· Xtreme Eating Awards 2011 [Official Release]
· Cheesecake Factory Dominates List Of Most Calorific Menu Items [Consumerist]