Restaurant Shame List

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  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
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    CPK has the best salads... I go for the 1/2 Miso Salad with Shrimp... under 500 calories!!!

    Cheesecake Factory has a fabulous menu called "Skinnylicious"... really good stuff and still big portions

    I agree TGIF should just burn down. Even if I wanted fatty foods, I wouldn't pick that craptastic chain

    Applebees is GROSS with a capital G

    Fried Chicken Places: KFC, Popeye's and Cane's

    Here's one that needs to go away: Long John Silvers..... WTF is this?

    See I like Applebees because they at least make a token effort. Their under 550 menu has a few options and is actually pretty good. The Sirloin and Garlic Shrimp is actually pretty good IMO (other than the Sodium which of course is something all restaurants seem to have issues with).

    I was just thinking of Applebees. I love their peppercorn steak with double steamed veggies. It is about 600 calories if I splurge and get a little butter for the veggies, but not too bad if I have prepared for a meal out. And usually I can only finish half of the steak anyway!

    Applebee's has gotten in trouble many, many times with the FDA for their caloric value being completely incorrect. They are repeat offenders. They advertise food that is truly 1000+ calories as only being 500. Not all of them do this, but most of the ones in my area have been fined repeatedly for doing this. Just thought you might want to know.

    I take back what I said about them then. I had no clue. Thanks for opening my eyes.

    Like I said, the ones in your area might be totally legit with their calorie counts. But when they had their deal with WW (don't know if they still do) they were taken to court atleast twice by the FDA for mislabeling and misleading. But honestly, all restaurants could be doing that. Applebee's is just one that got caught.
  • meat03man
    meat03man Posts: 23 Member
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    No one forces anyone to buy or eat any of the entrees, so who really cares if a menu is chock full of high cal choices

    I agree with this guy, I have been overweight all my life and it's because I chose to eat ridiculous. We all know that getting a combo large sized with fries and a coke packs on an extra 500 or so calories but we order it because we want to. I am glad restaurants have jumped on a healthier option menu though. Plus saying portion size is out of control is silly, don't eat it all take half home....I know I couldn't do that before getting on this site and watching my portion size but now it's easier to do.
  • SomeoneSomeplace
    SomeoneSomeplace Posts: 1,094 Member
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    Cheesecake Factory. They have a new "skinny" menu but their regular menu is horrible... and so good...
    ITS SO GOOD. Their portions are ridiculous tho. I mean really who eats that much?! I have a friend whose a 100 pounds soaking wet and she can eat an entire meal from there. But their portions are just crazy. And delicious. So delicious.

    Chilli's is bad too. I mean their Caesar Salad has over 1000 calories, how is that possible?

    And blooming onions are amazing. Whenever we go to outback and order one my diet goes to ****. My family is a big fan of appetizers. So even if I order a healthy meal that's where I get in trouble.


    Also the 99's calories are pretty crazy. There's 2200 calories in their Chicken Parm...650 in their kids pasta... crazy crazy crazy.

    But honestly who finishes an entire meal at a restaurant when the portions are that insane?

    OOOH QUIZNOS A veggie sub has more calories than a Big Mac FACT
  • acstansell
    acstansell Posts: 567 Member
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    you should take a look at dominos pasta bread bowls..... pasta in a bowl of bread CARB OVERLOAD

    Pizza in general is deadly and kills my diet at least twice a month. And frozen pizza is just as bad. It makes me sad.

    TGI friday's has some decent choices, but their sodium counts are bad. I wish they had better choices w/appetizers. Often times I do an appetizer and that's it.

    Buffalo Wild Wings and Quaker Stake are horrible too.
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
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    At TGIF I get the petite sirloin, broccoli, and tomato mozzarella salad. It might not be the healthiest food ever, but I'm there less than once a month. Applebee's is harder because I love the chicken fajita roll up and buffalo bites. At least I don't eat the 4 appetizer sampler as a meal anymore
  • RilantheFirebug
    RilantheFirebug Posts: 207 Member
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    Cheesecake Factory.

    Seriously. In the "Eat This, Not That" book they have like 3 or 4 dishes under the top 20 worst (calorie and nutrient) dishes in the US.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    This is shaping up to look more like a Restaurant Awesome List than a Restaurant Shame List.

    The reason these restaurants are so successful is b/c they make food that people want to buy. If they started serving lots of healthy food w/o as much butter and salt they'd be out of business in a week. The restaurants are simply a reflection of the average American's preferred tastes!

    It's pointless to try and eat healthy at these restaurants. So I find it best to just eat very low calorie all day long (or just fast) and then pig out at the restaurant. If I'm going to cheesecake factory, then I'll usually run 5-6 miles in addition to eating very little food up until dinner.
  • kaotik26
    kaotik26 Posts: 590 Member
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    Sadly, Buffalo Wild Wings. Ordered a wrap and it was still 850 calories
  • 77tes
    77tes Posts: 7,759 Member
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    I love CPK! A half salad makes a good and tasty meal. I also like splitting a thin crust pizza (chicken, spinach, artichoke) Yum. But, these are for treat days, not a daily thing. And, yes, the sodium in every restaurant meal is crazy high.
  • oh_em_gee
    oh_em_gee Posts: 887 Member
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    I eat lean cuisine pizza. It's not health food by any means, but where else can you have a personal pizza for under 500 calories?
  • momof4ts
    momof4ts Posts: 118
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    I eat half of my restaurant meals..... the football player in my profile LOVES leftovers for breakfast!:tongue:
  • Shell_7609
    Shell_7609 Posts: 786 Member
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    I heard that omelets from IHOP actually have pancake batter in the eggs "to make them fluffier" and it makes the calorie count insane.

    Also getting a salad almost anywhere is more than you expect. The one time I didn't look up a quesadilla explosion salad before I ate it, I ate the entire salad, and it ended up being 1200 calories!

    Chipolte - I get the burrito bowl, and add fajita veggies & no sour cream or guacamole, I get 2 meals out of the bowl, each about 350 calories
  • mndamon
    mndamon Posts: 547 Member
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    The only places around here that I stay away from are Hardees and Five Guys. I'm in the mecca of bbq (my opinion anyway) and even the bbq joints can fix you up with something relatively healthy. Hardees was obviously built by a very jaded woman that wants to see all men dead by the age of 40.
  • amberlitaaa
    amberlitaaa Posts: 81
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    As long as a restaurant makes some effort to post/list the calories and macros in their foods, they're A-OK in my book.

    Chilis has a Margarita chicken dish that is VERY macro friendly, and tastes baller.

    Chili's Margarita chicken is so freaking good. And it's only 550 calories for the chicken, rice, black beans, torilla strips, and pico. :drinker:

    Much better than anything on their "lighter" options menu, in my opinion. :smile:
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,244 Member
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    Cracker Barrel, for refusing to give out nutrition info beyond 'we don't know, it varies from serving to serving, so why bother worrying about it." (only slightly paraphrased)

    I only go to Cracker Barrel for a splurge meal. Not because they don't show their calories, but when I go someplace like that, I want to be able to order whatever I want. Country Fried Chicken, Fried Okra, Mac and Cheese, and Biscuits.... MMMMMM.
  • RilantheFirebug
    RilantheFirebug Posts: 207 Member
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    5 Guys...so good, so bad!
  • Spanaval
    Spanaval Posts: 1,200 Member
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    In some ways, it's easier to eat at chain restaurants than it is to eat at non-chain, especially ones serving ethnic foods or are high end. At least you can decode the menu and find substitutions with the familiar. Some of the other ones, you're just sitting there going WTF?
  • bethanp
    bethanp Posts: 72 Member
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    CPK has the best salads... I go for the 1/2 Miso Salad with Shrimp... under 500 calories!!!

    Cheesecake Factory has a fabulous menu called "Skinnylicious"... really good stuff and still big portions

    I agree TGIF should just burn down. Even if I wanted fatty foods, I wouldn't pick that craptastic chain

    Applebees is GROSS with a capital G

    Fried Chicken Places: KFC, Popeye's and Cane's

    Here's one that needs to go away: Long John Silvers..... WTF is this?

    See I like Applebees because they at least make a token effort. Their under 550 menu has a few options and is actually pretty good. The Sirloin and Garlic Shrimp is actually pretty good IMO (other than the Sodium which of course is something all restaurants seem to have issues with).

    I agree. Their under 550 menu does have some good options, again with the exception of sodium. My boyfriend's parents prefer chains so its nice to see some better options on the menu like these.
  • misstwistedshine
    misstwistedshine Posts: 20
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    there are healthy options at these place but any food not made at home leads to high calories, just have to choose wisely. I will look at the menu online before i go to see what will work for what i need that day in calories. Also we dont have to eat the whole meal, cut it in half, but this can be a hard thing to do at times. I find it easier to just eat at home and avoid the whole temptation.
  • mtaylor33557
    mtaylor33557 Posts: 542 Member
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    Cracker Barrel, for refusing to give out nutrition info beyond 'we don't know, it varies from serving to serving, so why bother worrying about it." (only slightly paraphrased)

    I only go to Cracker Barrel for a splurge meal. Not because they don't show their calories, but when I go someplace like that, I want to be able to order whatever I want. Country Fried Chicken, Fried Okra, Mac and Cheese, and Biscuits.... MMMMMM.

    I haven't been it probably years, but I always get breakfast.. pancakes, eggs, toast, hash browns, mmmm .. they have the BEST breakfast!!

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