I´ve never eaten any of these foods. I might, but not a whole portion.

I´d take any report from an organization called "Center for Science in the Public Interest" with a grain of salt.

I mean, they don´t even have the word "Concerned" in their name!

Echoing #2, while I appreciate the efforts of all L.com posters everyone should steer well clear of any story involving CSPI.

They are the very definition of leftist radicals: vegans/vegetarians who suffer from the usual DC malady of being unable to mind their own business. They have no scientific, dietetic or any other expertise, only an agenda.

Note that they never propose a solution, they only identify ´problems´ i.e. the targets of their anti-capitalistic nonsense.

Debating their choices is a fool´s errand since they aren´t interested in nutrition, only in agitation.

"The Cheesecake Factory´s Bistro shrimp pasta: This dish of crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms and arugula tossed with spaghetti in a basil-garlic-lemon cream sauce"

The meal includes fresh arugula! What´s the problem??

Does anyone ever eat the entire order of restaurant food any more? The size of the portions is a scandalous waste.

That Mac and Cheese sure looks tempting, though, doesn´t it?

#3 reminded me of the best joke of last year..."Two women are sitting quietly on a park bench, minding their own business!"

I´ve eaten the Chili´s BB ribs several times. I wouldn´t call them ´´gut-busting´´ (unless you eat the bones too).

I´ll take an order of the "Shrimp pasta from The Cheesecake Factory" please!

Just to make the vegans happy, I´ll spend a couple hours tomorrow grazing in the back pasture!

We have a restaurant that puts out the best Spicy steak and cheese sandwich - loaded with thin cut tons of steak, melted cheese, hot red and green chilis and mushrooms - it is about a foot long - however, I eat it for 3 meals. It´s that big and yummy. I also have romaine lettuce with it - mind your own business and the idea of the Brits commenting on our food is to laugh at. From what I hear, their food is dreadful.

If you are under the impression that you´re ordering chicken fried steak and eggs as a healthy alternative, well then...

/smothered and covered

What #2 and #3 said. CSPI is bogus.

I remember when this group of bozos came out with how fettucini alfredo was a heart attack on a plate. Well most people don´t make a daily diet of places like Cheesecake Factory, etc. And I have always made at least two meals out of what I order at any restaurant. That is why God gave somebody the inspiration to invent doggie bags. Most people I see using them are sensible that way. We don´t need libs interfering in our lives.

I´m so dumb. I thought all this stuff was diet food. Without all these groups of busybodies we´d probably all be dead.

I´ll have to make an effort to try them all- for the children, of course.

Sorry, as a guy who likes to cook, my BS meter is pegged. I´ll take the easy one first, the "11 teaspoons, two days worth of sugar" for the IHOP breakfast.

Hash browns have no sugar, neither do eggs. You can´t count the syrup on the pancakes, as that is something you add on yourself--and there is sugar free syrup right on every table at my IHOP. There is no sugar in the chicken. I have several recipes for Chicken Fried Steak with gravy, and not one of them have sugar in them.

Next, Chilis full rack of ribs. The highest calorie count I could find for a full rack of bbq ribs is in fact high, 1370, but in fact I have seen them for 1/3 less easily, depends on cut of meat and sauce. But lets take that for what it is. Hot cinnamon apples is about 250, fries about 400 for a serving larger than what appears here. So easily that 2330 figure is 300-600 calories too high on an admittedly high calorie dinner. Not to mention most people get 1/2 rack, which would make this dinner 1335 calories.

I hate BS in news!

I had to print out the article. Making plans for the weekend, dontchaknow!!

#9, it´s a U.S. group commenting on U.S. food. Had it been British, "Center" would have been spelled "Centre." Yes, British food had a bad reputation for years after WWII because of shortages and rationing--not fully canceled until 1957 and because of a lower income for about ten years after that.

These days British food is quite good (see the recipes in the Telegraph´s food section)--but there are still numerous carb-heavy caffs around and people can´t seem to lose their addiction to fish and chips, pork pies, bacon sandwiches or trifle.

Nine gut-busting meals out of hundreds of thousands of good quality restaurants in the U.S. I detest stories like this. You can even get a lowfat, healthy meal at Wendy´s or McDonalds, if you choose wisely. The Brits have no room to talk - with their bubble & squeak or whatever the heck that greasy dish is.

You couldn´t print, in a family-friendly environment, what the Limeys call some of their dishes...probably taste like it, too.

Chicken fried steak and no biscuits? Sacrilege.

Easy, folks! The OP´s been here a while. That said, I like a lot of the food we´re being warned against in this article. I won´t hesitate to enjoy it as part of a well-balanced life that includes equal parts common sense and fun.

On the topic of British food, my own experience was pretty good. London had more than it´s fair share of wonderful restaurants, and scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam were delicious. Parenthetically, I found produce in British grocery stores to be fresher and more flavorful than produce bought stateside.