Monday, August 16, 2010

Denny's is Launching a Heart Attack Sandwich...Nice

I'm currently on vacation, drinking and eating to such a degree that I will regret in the near future (just an fyi...farmer's market cucumber in a glass of vodka is fantastic).  But one of my favorite SHE friends (and frequent reader of my blog) sent this picture to me and I just couldn't let it slip by without a comment or two. 

If you missed this, it's a picture of Denny's new sandwich coming later this month to restaurants everywhere:  The Fried Cheese Melt.  It's fried mozzarella sticks covered with American cheese in between two slices of white bread.  It's served with a side of fries and marinara sauce.  The chain hasn't released nutrition information yet, but some experts figure it's about 850 calories.  I get about the same by my calculations (bread = 180, 4 mozz sticks = 400, American cheese = 150, butter for bread = 100), although this may be an overestimate...the whole meal is $4 so it's possible that the mozz sticks and American cheese are on the skimpy side (my guess).  Plus a side of fries is 425 calories according to the Denny's website.  So, it's about 1250 calories for this one entree.  Most average women and men need about 1500 to 2500 calories a day to maintain their body weight, so this is on the high side for sure. 

Is it obscene?  Sure, but guess what?  It's not the worst thing on their menu.  In fact, most of their burgers are all higher in calories.  Too soon to tell about things like fat, saturated fat, and sodium. 

What's most interesting to me is the apparent 'one-upmanship' going on in the fast food industry.  Seems like every company is trying to launch a nutritional nightmare.  And then all the nutrition do-gooders take notice and point fingers in the media.  So this would lead me to believe that these companies are making money off these things...either via all the bad press (the "there is no such thing as bad press" principle) or else people buy a lot of these nutrition nightmares. 

So the question that always arises is...is it socially responsible for these companies to be coming out with these high calorie, high fat items at a time when 2/3 of the American population is overweight or obese?  

What do you think?    
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3 comments:

  1. The HuntressAugust 16, 2010 at 7:35 PM

    That is NASTY!!!

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  2. Soma SenguptaAugust 17, 2010 at 4:47 AM

    Of course its not socially responsible! I guess its just good for the bottom line & that'a all that matters.

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  3. FeebeeAugust 17, 2010 at 9:41 AM

    Good point about the oneupmanship that's going on because that's probably what it comes down to... and you're right, this would probably make the "lite options" list next to Wendy's quad Baconator! I just can't imagine having that much cheese in one mouthful.

    It may be good for their bottom line but not America's. While my diet is less than stellar, it is these freakshow fast-food items that make me smile and think, "Well at least I'm not eating that!"

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