[heather_dw]

I couldnt believe it when I read this article. This doesnt even look appealing to me,.. I cant imagine eating this!



Hardee’s serves up 1,420-calorie burger
Fast-food giant skips diet craze, concocts fat-filled sandwich

Hardee's
The "Monster Thickburger" — two 1/3-pound slabs of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun — sells alone for $5.49, $7.09 with fries and a soda.

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 10:09 a.m. ET Nov. 17, 2004

As many fast-food chains introduce healthier fare amid fears of being sued, Hardee’s is bucking the trend, serving up a megaburger with 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat.


St. Louis-based Hardee’s Food Systems Inc. Monday rolled out its Monster Thickburger — two one-third-pound slabs of Angus beef, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun. The sandwich alone sells for $5.49 or $7.09 with a medium fries (520 calories) and soda (about 400 calories).

Li

Would you eat the 1,420-calorie "Monster Thickburger?"

McDonald’s Corp., Wendy’s International Inc. and other fast-food giants have broadened their offerings of salad and other lower-calorie fare amid concerns the industry could be held legally liable for America’s obesity epidemic. Hardee's offers no such concessions, although the chain is not completely oblivious to dietary trends, offering at least three "low-carb" items including a low-carb Thickburger.

In an interview on CNBC, Hardee's chief executive Andrew Puzder was unapologetic, saying the company's latest sandwich is "not a burger for tree-huggers."

"This is a burger for young hungry guys who want a really big, delicious, juicy, decadent burger," he said. "I hope our competitors keep promoting those healthy products, and we will keep promoting our big, juicy delicious burgers."


Health-safety activist Michael Jacobson denounced the new Hardee's concoction.

"They would argue they are just giving people what they want. I would say this is beyond the pale," said Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "Probably no nutritionist ever imagined that a product like this would be marketed."

Jacobson pointed out that one Monster Thickburger contains twice the recommended daily allowance of saturated fat, and nearly a full day's worth of sodium. Even before the new Monster Thickburger, the chain offered five sandwiches with 1,000 calories or more, and eight overall that have more calories than what was once the big-burger standard — McDonald’s 600-calorie Big Mac.

"If Hardee's persists in marketing this junk, it should at least list calories right up on the menu board," Jacobson said.

While fast-food diets have been blamed for an epidemic of obesity and heart disease, last year a federal judge in New York dismissed two class-action suits blaming McDonald’s for making people fat.

“Maybe this is a smart strategy because there are still folks out there who care about the taste and size of their sandwich, and less about their weight,” said Jerry McVety, president of the restaurant consulting firm McVety & Associates in Farmington Hills, Mich.

MSNBC.com's Martin Wolk and The Associated Press contributed to this report

[PamPSM644]

There seems to be a market for it. Remember Mc Donalds Mc Lean menu? It died from lack of sales. Wendy's has a 6$ burger which resembles it. I personally find it yummy looking which is why I weigh what I do,but as I am a mature person I can say no to this and appriciate it from afar much the same as I do a Rolls Royce.Both are beyond my reach.

[funniegrrl]

Even at my most gluttonous, weighing well over 300 pounds, I would not have imagined being able to eat the whole thing in one sitting.

[Jillegal]

Doesn't appeal to me either - I'm not a big meateater, hate processed cheese and that glob of mayo peeking out from under the top bun makes my tummy queasy. All I can say is those "young hungry guys" won't live to be old hungry guys if they indulge in that mess of a sandwich very often.

Still, I can't blame the fast food industry - can people be so ignorant of nutrition not to realize such menu items are bad for them? We've talked about it before, its about self responsibility and, in the case of children, responsible parenting. There's plenty of food options without resorting to fast food. As for the law suits, are they going to start filing actions against convenience stores for selling too many chocolate bars and grocery stores for stocking too much ice cream? I was obese because I made poor choices. Even if you use the excuse that overeating is related to psychological issues, its up to you to seek out help in dealing with that, not the courts.

[a broad abroad]

How did you get that big picture in the middle of your post?

[slimmingsi]

got that looks good! we have a small beach campsite near here called challaborough and they serve a 1lb cheese burger 4 1/4lbers together with cheese and onions for about £7 also we have a place in town called captain jaspers that sells the infamous HALF YARD. an 18" hotdog. for only 3.95 and yes i can eat both in a single sitting

[barbygirl43]

It does look appealling to me if you would take off one slab of beef. I know that I will NEVER eat one of those burgers though. Hardees is affiliated with Carl's JR. in our area and Jeff and I had a bad experience at one with a burger and a fly.

A broad abroad--to put the picture in the middle, when you post a message there is a little icon that looks like a mountain and a moon. If you click on it, you can enter the url of the picture you are wanting to put in and it will show up like that.

[chipper15173]

My son just had one of those last night. He just barely finished it. Said that was a burger. He eats breadfast at 7 and then eats nothing until he gets home from work at 7:30. It filled him up. He is a bottomless pit. It didn't even look that big. I think a big mac is taller then this was, it could have gotten pushed down. It grossed me out. I can eat just 1/2 of their sourdough burger. Whole thing if I am really really hungry and haven't eaten all day. I am finding that what I use to be able to eat just doesn't go down as smooth or is just to much. Nice for a change.
Chipper

In an interview on CNBC, Hardee's chief executive Andrew Puzder was unapologetic, saying the company's latest sandwich is "not a burger for tree-huggers."

"This is a burger for young hungry guys who want a really big, delicious, juicy, decadent burger," he said. "I hope our competitors keep promoting those healthy products, and we will keep promoting our big, juicy delicious burgers."

Here is one young, hungry, female tree-hugger who will NOT eat at a Hardees again.... who cares if I haven't eaten at one in a few years? Here's ANOTHER reason not to start.

[Jillegal]

Consumers of this monstrosity may not be tree huggers, but they'll probably have a tree growing over them sooner than they'd like. I guess Hardees doesn't add a slice of tomato and some shredded lettuce in case it gives the impression they're promoting a healthy product.

[Mommyofone]

I hate to say it, but it looks good to me! That's why I have to stay away from fast food joints! But, they wouldn't offer it if there wasn't a market for it. Unfortunately, in today's world, there is a huge (no pun intended!) market for it. Depressing, but true!

[jkfla]

it looks kinda creepy with everything hanging out of the bun like that.

[Ivanna B. Skinny]

I have to agree witha few of you...it looks delicious! I stay AWAY from burger joints,b/c I love then too, too much. Hence the reason Im so overweight!

[howie6267]

Give me two. That thing looks awsome. I love burgers but only have them once in a while now instead of 3 or 4 times a week. The more meat the better. wendys has a Triple cheeseburger that probably has more meat or at least the same. It's a shame stuff like that has to be so bad for us.

[a broad abroad]

Thanks Dawnyal