I know we're all so incompetent that we can't spend money without checking with you first, but honest, you're not our mothers. Do you have something to say about the value of the food?

It's interesting how many desserts are on there. And how the burgers are (seemingly) underrepresented. I mean, the Monster Thickburger is a self-styled monument to decadence, a 2/3 pound bacon double cheeseburger. And it's beaten by a milkshake?

What mysterious business is Dairy Queen unleashing on those Chicken Strips?

Wow....no more Jack in the Box large shakes for me.

Argh, one of my old favorites is on there. Before giving up fast food nearly altogether I used to have a weakness for the Oreo shake at Jack in the Box, which, when pronounced with a Spanish accent can sound like Yack in the Box. I guess that's unrelated but I always thought that was funny.

By the way, that picture is just wrong this early in the morning. Blech.

@mikala: OK, that crack about "Yack in the Box" has got me right out of my irritable mood and laughing all over the place. I work in a Texas business with a LOT of foreign nationals, and that is closer to the truth than maybe you know. :)

Steak n' Shake's "Chocolate with Chocolate Turtle Bark Milk Shake, large" Topping in @ 1346 Calories. With enough clout to knock off the Dairy Queen Large Choc. Chip Cookie Dough Blizzard. Actually almost every large Steak n' Shake shake comes in @ over 1000 calories.

Oh, another belly buster from the old Steak n Shake "Bits n Pieces Milkshake made with M&M'S®, large" 1385

Jeez, 1680 calories for something that's not even really food. That's crazygonuts! Are they using lard to thicken it up or something? Bleeech.

This is why I think it's a good idea to put nutritional info in plain and clear view in restaurants, especially fast-food places. Sure, people realize they're not eating healthy food when they go to McDonald's or whatever, but I'm sure most people don't realize just how unhealthy some of the items are.

HOLY SHIT!

Ok I'm being a stickler for details, but 'densely-packed' denotes some sort of calorie-per-weight or calorie-per-volume comparison. This 'study' just compares calories but ignores serving size/weight, which isn't exactly fair.

Anecdotally I would guess that the shakes/blizzards category would still be the density belt-busters, and the platters/meals-- like Meg's Mystery Chicken Strips-- would be less so because they are physically larger than a shake.

How about a comparison of calories-per-dollar? That would be interesting to know too.

And lastly, that picture makes me want to hurl. Nice job, Ben.

This is why I like fast food. If I have to go on some long ass road trip, I just need to stop once or twice a day to get food.

I am quite surprised that there is not a single 'big-three' item on there. No McDonalds, no Burger King, no Wendys...

I think this is very indicative of ignorance overall as far as what we put in our bodies. If you walked down the street and asked your average Joe which they thought was worse, 99.999% of them would probably never have imaged that a milkshake or malt drink would be more jam-packed with calories than a freaking DOUBLE BACON CHEESEBURGER...but I digress, if you're looking to get some bulk, lace up and head to White Castle I suppose.

Anyways, I wonder where that Hardee's wtfgravy burrito ranks in this. That thing is simply ridiculous.

Liposuction! Eyes hurty!!

Thanks for the nice safe image, Consumerist. I was eating.

WAS.

Good lord, DQ! I see no reason why those chicken strips should have so many calories... during the short time I worked there, all we did open the bags and toss them in right beside the fries. They weren't really thickly breaded, either. Maybe things have changed since I was there (2004)?

None of these compare to PF Chang's Tam Noodles with Savory Beef and Shrimp. it packs in 1700calories and an artery clogging 94g of fat.

@Hanke: I was kinda surprised by that too. I looked up Wendy's "Baconator" as the prime example of something that would surely land in the hallowed halls of "Danger: DO NOT EAT" and it weighs in at 830 calories (51.0 grams of fat). Still not something I'd chow down on regularly (if ever) but it's almost half the calories of Nathan's Fish and Chips? They must be made from the elusive Lardfish.

@Flossie: Is that really lipo? It looked more like a laparoscopic surgical procedure to me, which would be consistent with stomach reduction or lap banding. Or maybe not.

I don't consider shakes to be a normal meal item. Maybe to some people they are, but I consider them dessert -- and I don't eat dessert every day, let alone every meal.

I'd like to see the list with shakes omitted and maybe 600-700 calorie sandwiches and sides (fries, etc.) added instead.

Why don't we have any of these chains in New England? Not that I'm complaining. Is all the fat food concentrated in the South or something?

That's why I eat at home.

i was surprised to not see Chipotle on there....1200+ calories with the cheese, guac, sour cream.

@ElizabethD:
Nathan's started in New York
Dairy Queen started in Illinois
Jack in the Box is from California
Carl Jr.'s started in California
White Castle started in California

Hardee's is the only one of those that started in the south.

Don't know why you don't have them in New England (maybe just not where you live, because they do probably have locations there) but they're certainly not concentrated in the south.

* Oops. I meant to say White Castle started in Kansas.

The funny thing is that i dont ahvea single one of those fast food joints in my area.

Now I remember why I made a deal with myself- I either needed to stop getting milkshakes or stop reading nutritional information.

Popeye's doesn't crack the top 272? Hooray!

As a Louisvillian, I just have to say: yee-haw, we finally topped a list!

What's funny is I planned a vacation around the Monster Thickburger. I even brought coupons. When I had my first one at a Virginia Beach Hardee's, the Thickburger wasn't as big as I thought it would be.

This is why we need calorie/nutrition disclosure prominently posted in every fast food joint.