Grossfest: 20 'Deadliest' Fast Casual Dishes Ranked. Plan Accordingly

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So you're looking to watch your weight, but you're dining at one of those ubiquitous fast-casual family friendly restaurants like Olive Garden, IHOP, or the homegrown California Pizza Kitchen. And, hey--check it out!--they've got all these new menu items that look positively tantalizing. Some even come with fruit, which, as we all know, thanks to McDonald's revamped Happy Meal, means it is healthier. Err, not so fast.

The Daily Beast has ranked the 20 "Deadliest" dishes that are new or limited-time offers at these all-American restaurants, and the calorie and "nutrition" information may cause you to lose your appetite.

Here's their methodology:

To rank the most fattening of the new crop of fast-food and chain restaurants, we considered new or limited-time entrees that are currently being promoted. Breakfast entrees were considered if they are available all day. They were ranked based on calories, saturated fat, sodium, and carbohydrates, then ranks were totaled to determine the final ranking. Ties were broken by calorie content.

Among the eats singled out for their singular ability to send you to an early grave are the Provolone-stuffed Meatballs from Applebee's which were also "big winners" on the Xtreme Eating 2011 list (they're really Number 1!!!!) and IHOP's Monster Bacon 'N Beef Cheeseburger With Bacon Patty, also boasting Xtreme Eating '11 honors.

Not surprisingly several burgers from places Sonic and T.G.I Fridays made the Daily Beast list, as did a "traditional" Mac n' Cheese from CPK that packs a hefty 54 grams of saturated fat. And think you're savvy selecting a salad? CPK's Caramelized Peach Salad With Grilled Chicken Breast (fruit! chicken! salad!) still manages to have 1,187 calories and 19 grams of saturated fat in every delicious plateful.

Though some of the restaurants ranked don't have locations in our region, you might want to peep the list just in case your office drags the group out for a lunch or you have a burning desire to use two days' worth of calories on one affordable meal.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@laist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Lindsay William-Ross in Food on August 9, 2011 11:00 AM

Comments [rss]

RedMercury

Hey, that's why they put the calorie counts on the menu. Personally, I think it's a good thing. Give me some disclosure, sure, but I'll decide for myself if I want to be "bad" and have the 1500 calorie burger after riding 60 miles on my bike.

H.C.

quite a few deceptive ones in there (particularly the salads -- then again, chains have a tendency to slop on heavy dressings and other not-so-healthy toppings on top of their bed of sickly looking greens.)