Buns and beef

Nope, this isnt a girl's take on that eternal male favourite, Baywatch. Cant stand that Hasselhof person, anyway :) This is just a beef I have about something that, strictly speaking, is absolutely none of my business at all whatsoever (note all the extra emphasis). But what's a blog for, if not to beef about things that stick in my craw? :)

You'd think that Americans would be more careful about eating what's offered in their restaurants, and that the restaurants would be more careful about what they offer their customers. Especially considering that America is the fattest nation in the world. Or rather, it has the most number of not just fat, but morbidly obese, people in the world. Seems like the Americans take their claim really seriously. What claim, you ask? The one where they say that the US has the biggest and best of everything. I'll go with "biggest", but unfortunately "biggest" isnt necessarily, or always, the best.

Wondering what my beef is about? Well, it's about THEIR beef - the bovine variety, that is. I'm not complaining about the culinary skills involved in cooking it or the finished product (I'm vegetarian and prefer to stay that way). I'm just trying to understand why they have to offer half a cow's worth of meat in ONE burger!

Imagine eating something that has 1400 calories and would lard you up with over 100 grams of fat. This is just ONE burger. If you're vegetarian, I suggest you dont imagine EATING the burger... just imagine the burger itself: Two one-third-pound (totalling about 1/4 kilo) beef patties, four strips of bacon, three slices of cheese, topped with mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun.

And the restaurant chain that offers this gourmet's delight is Hardee's. It's evidently one of America's finest, advertising the delicate taste and nutritive value of its creations rather than catering to the gluttony of its potential customers. Or not.

If you think THAT wasnt bad enough, here's more. It's a super monster burger, and the meat content in it is more than most babies weigh at birth! Just think of it - one person eating a baby-sized portion of meat (not counting the rest of the items that make up the burger). The whole thing consists of six pounds (that's about two KILOS!) of beef, one large onion, two whole tomatoes, a half a head of lettuce, 1-1/4 pounds (a little more than 1/2 kilo) of cheese and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, relish, banana peppers and some pickles. Oh, and the top and bottom buns that keep all this together.

And the pub that offers this dainty creation: Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. I bet that McDonald's, which has come in for a lot of criticism for its high-fat-content junk food, is muttering evilly to itself about how these places, which offer a lot worse food than it does, arent being pilloried by the press! After all, their biggest Big Mac, in comparison, would be (b)eaten hands down. On the other hand, I suppose McD's are much more prevalent worldwide than Hardee's, so "Supersize Me" is still valid criticism.

Apropos of nothing - it's amazing the things that a Google search unearths!