Hardee’s Packs Meat on a Burger that Will Pack on the Pounds

You may have heard the ads on the radio already. If you have, chances are you were astounded at what you heard. St. Louis-based Hardee’s, with nearly 2,000 restaurants, has added a new fast-food burger that has consumers’ mouths dropping in surprise. The burger will also make people’s mouths drop open in order to cram it in, because it’s a new take on the company’s monster Thickburgers launched last year.

The Philly Cheesesteak Thickburger features 1/3 pound of ground Angus beef, topped by both Swiss and American cheeses, sautéed green peppers, and onions. Piled on top of the burger is thinly sliced steak. "We actually found in this case, the only way to make a burger taste like a cheesesteak was to literally put the steak on it," said Brad Haley, executive vice president of marketing for Hardee’s.

When compared to other Hardee’s menu items, the sandwich really doesn’t seem that extreme. The Monster Thickburger has 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat. The Philly Cheeseburger Thickburger, on the other hand, has "only" 930 calories and 87 grams of fat. But those figures represent a full day’s worth of the recommended daily amount of fat for most healthy adults, as well as almost half of the recommended 2,000 calories in a healthy adult diet. Overall, Hardee’s offers five sandwiches that contain more than 1,000 calories.

Jayne Hurley, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said that Hardee’s continues to add unhealthy offerings to their menu at a time when the whole country is suffering from an obesity epidemic. "What’s next—a pork chop on top?" Hurley asked. "I’m always amazed—they can always go one step further than I can imagine."

Hardee’s has no qualms about their menu offerings, however. "We have salads on our menu, we have charbroiled chicken breasts, and a variety of low-carb options," Haley said. "But we don't see anything wrong with making the delicious, decadent burger available to people who want it. "You almost get two sandwiches for the price of one." And based on what the scales will say after this kind of diet, you’ll have the weight of two people in one body, too.