Restaurant Shame List

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Replies

  • sheila569
    sheila569 Posts: 269 Member
    TGI Friday's came off my list of places to go last year.
    Since Cheesecake Factory came out with their "skinnylicious" menu they have some options on there... just not the cheesecake

    Places like Jose Tejas and Carraba's that do not list their nutritional content either on line or in the restaurant piss me off.
  • weeblex
    weeblex Posts: 412 Member
    Applebee's
    Texas Roadhouse
    Friendly's

    I mostly eat at non-chain restaurants and I never know the calorie counts at those!

    Got to disagree on the Texas Roadhouse one, you just need to look at the menu and pick smartly. They have some way over caloried stuff, but I had the Fillet, a baked potato with butter and a house salad and came in at about 800 calories which I thought was an awesome count considering :)

    I have to admit though, if you get the blooming onion, and your steak loaded with cheese, and your potato loaded with bacon and cheese you are probably going to go over, but we are all smarter than that :)
  • melainemelaine
    melainemelaine Posts: 127 Member
    When eating out, as long as i can get a mixed greens or spinach salad with grilled chix breast(2) and dressing on the side (i don't eat it) the menu can have toxic sludge and I'd be ok with it. However, on cheat days... I'll eat anything! :bigsmile:

    I would!

    Oh, that wasn't the question, was it :blushing:
  • coliema
    coliema Posts: 7,646 Member
    I'm guessing that basically all chain restaurants are on the shame list..
  • Dethea
    Dethea Posts: 247 Member
    Cheesecake Factory
  • misticache
    misticache Posts: 364 Member
    Buffalo Wild Wings
    Chipotle (which you'd think is good but nope)
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    Is there one here on MFP or anywhere else? I think we need one. I'm thinking a list of chain restaurants that should be publicly shamed (and their CEO's potentially Flogged) for their uncanny ability to take seemingly healthy foods and make them calorie laden, fat gorged dining enigmas from hell. If anyone else is interested, here's a few that I'd nominate for that list early on:

    Chili's - By far the most hideous minefield of a menu. Almost all their meals are well over 1000 calories and many exceed 2000.
    California Pizza Kitchen - I think there's like two meals below 1000 calories
    Qdoba - I love Qdoba but seriously how do you turn a chicken burrito into an 1100 calorie entre

    Thoughts? Do you disagree? Is this the lamest topic ever?

    add TGI Friday to the list..in the UK they even refuse to tell you the nutritional content of their food and get a standard crappy email from their marketing department saying how they are happy to accommodate customers with specialist diets.

    totally lame!
  • vim_n_vigor
    vim_n_vigor Posts: 4,089 Member
    Applebee's
    Texas Roadhouse
    Friendly's

    I mostly eat at non-chain restaurants and I never know the calorie counts at those!

    Applebee's has several options where the calories are displayed right on the menu. They are actually probably the easiest place to order without pre-planning.
  • MB_Positif
    MB_Positif Posts: 8,897 Member
    The worst thing about restaurant foods are overuse of salt and butter/oil. That's what makes it taste so freaking good to get you wanting more! Even healthy entrees may be lower calorie because of less butter/oil, but they are usually still crazy high in sodium. All restaurants are guilty, from the local diner to a chain to fine dining. It can't be escaped. That's why it's supposed to be a treat to go to restaurant, not an every day occurance. My family and I used to eat out 3 or more times per week which we have greatly cut back on!
  • ninakir88
    ninakir88 Posts: 292 Member
    I think no matter where you go, you can always customize it to your likings and make it SOMEWHAT healthy :)
  • XxOMG_ITS_PINKxX
    XxOMG_ITS_PINKxX Posts: 47


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

    LOL I love it...Baller is my word!!!!
  • honey_bee_keysha
    honey_bee_keysha Posts: 773 Member
    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Olive Garden yet.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Chili's I have observed myself... In their defense, they do have SOME menu items that fall within a reasonable level. Best solution of course is DON'T EAT OUT... Of course, that is not practical for most of us... As far as a list of places with a lot of bad choices....

    McDonalds, Burger King, Dairy Queen, Waffle House, KFC, Popeyes Chicken, Pizza Hut, or anybody else in the business of selling prepared food. Most have high caloric foods because, calories taste good.
  • confettibetti
    confettibetti Posts: 405 Member
    I eat out about once a week, and we go to all these places, (I love Chilis) but I only ever eat half of my dinner, (bring the other half home for lunch the next day) only drink water, and don't order appetizers. It works for me ;-)
  • amara71998
    amara71998 Posts: 81 Member
    I actually eat at Applebees a lot. Their under 550 calorie meals aren't bad, and they are decent sized portions. Of course they have tons of sodium, but there's not one place I've gone to that was decent with sodium.
  • jesspi68
    jesspi68 Posts: 292
    If I'm going to a restaurant I always check MFP first or their website and pre-choose my meal so that I know what I'm getting for calories.

    I had a piece of cheesecake from the cheesecake factory this past weekend, and I ate it over the course of three days... would have been awful if I'd eaten it in one sitting...
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    Cheesecake Factory is the WORST! Portion sizes are out of control!



    Do they charge extra if you don't eat it all?

    I'm not a Cheesecake Factory customer, but at other places I often split a meal with my daughter. Or between four people we will split three entrees. Some restaurants have a "split plate fee", but it is well below the cost of another meal. Takeaway boxes are always free.
  • UsaJewels05
    UsaJewels05 Posts: 229 Member
    My Favorite Restuarant is Cheese Cake Factory and it is known to be one of the most Unhealthy Restaurants in America! :(
  • TexanThom
    TexanThom Posts: 778
    Most of the restaurants mentioned have at least some grilled foods. Razzoo's has only fried food. I quit going there before I started eating better.
  • cccgrillo
    cccgrillo Posts: 42 Member
    I totally agree with eating half, or even less! Subbing broccoli instead of fries or mashed potatoes.
  • Aross83
    Aross83 Posts: 936 Member
    am I the only one who does not believe the count of the calories on a menu is correct?
    lets face it the calorie count is just a basic guess.. it all depends on the person cooking the food...
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
    OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I heard their Bloomin' Onions are like 2,300 calories! (You'd have to be some kind of idiot to eat a whole one by yourself, but STILL)
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    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!
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    Cheesecake Factory is the WORST! Portion sizes are out of control!

    ^^This. The one time I ate there I felt like I had just ingested an entire cow smothered in lard. Horrible.
  • Grimmerick
    Grimmerick Posts: 3,342 Member
    Cheesecake Factory is the WORST! Portion sizes are out of control!

    They have the skinnylicious menu now which I am pretty thankful for and actually has a lot of choices on it, at least i know a little better what I am getting myself into lol.
  • ninakir88
    ninakir88 Posts: 292 Member
    am I the only one who does not believe the count of the calories on a menu is correct?
    lets face it the calorie count is just a basic guess.. it all depends on the person cooking the food...

    I wonder that sometimes as well..
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    Don't get me wrong guys, I agree, no one forces me to eat at any of those places. My point was more how some of these places take something that on the surface you'd think was a fairly healthy dinner and turn it into something that is out of control and really screws up your day. For example a grilled chicken breast that somehow is 560 calories (by itself before you add the side dishes) and has 22 grams of fat (12 saturated). I mean seriously, you have to try to make a chicken breast that screwed up.

    So I'm not saying a shame list in terms of boycotting or whatever (I pretty much avoid those restaurants except when I know I'm prepared calorie wise or want to splurge) but rather just point out how careful you need to be when you do decide to eat at them. Like someone else mentioned, download the nutritional information before you go in and know what you're going to get.

    Aaaaaaand this is why we look up restaurant dishes before we eat them :)
  • sathor
    sathor Posts: 202 Member
    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)
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    A better (more useful) idea would be a list of meals that are low-cal/fat from these restaurants. Through menu/nutrition facts research as well as helpful articles from fitness websites and blogs, I've been able to find the healthy full-sized options. Also, no one says you have to eat the WHOLE thing. In most cases, I'm unable to finish an entire entree. All of these restaurants have "safe" meals, you just have to be willing to do a little work to figure out which ones they are. Also, maybe an entree is 1000 calories. Can you just eat half? In most cases, yes!
  • DontStopB_Leakin
    DontStopB_Leakin Posts: 3,863 Member
    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.
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