Calorie counters, beware.
Restaurants across the land, feeding a trend begun several years ago with the introduction of Hardee's Thickburger, are offering ever-larger burgers, sandwiches and rich dishes.
In this economy, restaurateurs say, they want to give more value for the money. And stressed consumers seem to have a taste for such comfort food. For some diners, words like low fat, diet, organic or healthy are just not on the menu.
"I hate to say it, but if you are down on your luck, you tend to eat more, you lean toward food," said Kevin Lyman, president of the Kansas City Originals, an organization of area independent restaurants.
The latest burst of big food is not going down well with nutrition experts. To counter the trend, they're backing federal legislation introduced this week that would require restaurants to list calories on the menu or on menu boards.
Papa Bob's Bar-B-Que of Bonner Springs calls its entry into the giant sandwich explosion of 2009 the Ultimate Destroyer.
Take a half-pound of pulled pork and a half-pound of hickory-smoked sliced pork on a 12-inch hoagie bun. Top that with sauce, two slices of bread and then a half-pound of hickory-smoked turkey breast.
Follow that with a half-pound of ham, sauce and two more slices of bread, then three half-pound hickory smoked hamburgers with more sauce and more bread, brisket, sausage, sauce and bun.
In case you've lost track, that's 4½ pounds of meat.
"It's a challenge. But I also make it so they can buy one and split it with their family or take some home," said Papa Bob's owner Bob Caviar, who added the Ultimate Destroyer to the menu on June 2. "The economy has made it a little tough for people to go out as often as they used to. So I always try to give people a lot of food for the value so they won't walk out hungry."
As if the Ultimate Destroyer wasn't enough to fill you up, Papa Bob's adds fries and four dill pickle spears or jalapeno peppers.
Eat it all in 45 minutes and it is free; otherwise shell out $48. There's an "upchuck" bucket by the table, just in case.
The calories? Caviar hasn't crunched the numbers, but concludes it's "a lot."
Friday night, two brothers - Taylor Sharp, 19, of Shawnee, and Fritz Sharp, 27, of Kansas City, Kan. - decided to take on the "Ultimate Destroyer Challenge."
After about 25 minutes and 3 pounds, Fritz Sharp stuck his fork in the sandwich and said he was done. After a cigarette break, he tried again but only managed a few french fries and a bite of sandwich.
"That's the most food I've ever eaten in one sitting," he said.
Taylor Sharp kept going, cheered on by family and friends. He ate about 4 pounds before the pink pig timer went off at 45 minutes.
"It's a lot of food," Taylor Sharp said as he waited for his to-go bag, looking a little squeamish. "I feel full."
In seven tries, no one has been able to finish the sandwich in one sitting.
Applebee's Quesadilla Burger (1,820 calories) recently earned an Xtreme Eating Award from the Center for Science in the Public Interest. The award isn't a commendation but a condemnation because the health advocacy group says most folks should limit themselves to about 2,000 calories per day, not per meal.
READ THE REST OF THE ARTICLE HERE
SUPPORT OUR
SPONSORS
Gargantuan Helpings of Fast Food Surge in Popularity
-
By Joyce Smith
The Kansas City Star, June 12, 2009
Straight to the Source
