Jack in the Box recently rolled out the All-American Jack, with two jumbo beef patties, two kinds of cheese and a gut-busting 840 calories. You can thank research-and-development project manager Brigette Serafin, the mastermind behind the burger behemoth.
The government is telling Americans to eat less.
The fast-food industry didn't get the memo.
Even as the U.S. Agriculture Department is rolling out its latest nutritional advice - urging people to "enjoy your food, but eat less" - fast-food chains are cooking up some of their biggest offerings ever.
"If we wanted to listen to the food police and sell nuts and berries and tofu burgers, we wouldn't make any money and we'd be out of business," said Beth Mansfield of CKE Restaurants Inc., which owns the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's chains.
Some new items are so high in calories that they make old-fashioned fast-food burgers seem almost healthful. "Remember when the Big Mac was considered the bad burger?" said Jane Hurley, nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "And now it's the diet alternative to some of these items."
A Big Mac without cheese has 540 calories, says McDonald's Corp. By comparison, its new Angus Bacon Cheese Wrap has 790.
Here are other recent or proposed items:
• All-American Jack from Jack in the Box Inc. The sandwich features two jumbo beef patties and two kinds of cheese, with 840 calories. Make it a meal for $4.99 and the count goes up to 1,400.
• Taco Bell Corp.'s Beefy Crunch Burrito meal: ground beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream and spicy Fritos wrapped in a tortilla, plus cinnamon twists on the side and a medium soft drink, for a total of 1,100 calories. Now available.
• Carl's Jr.'s Footlong Cheeseburger: Three cheeseburgers laid end to end on a 12-inch roll was a hit when the chain tested it at four Orange County, Calif., restaurants last year. It has 850 calories and is under consideration to be a regular offering.
• Burger King Holding Inc.'s Stuffed Steakhouse: a third of a pound of beef stuffed with jalapenos and cheese, at 600 calories. Fries and a drink make it 1,200 calories. Now available.
Some fast-food outlets have been offering more low-calorie choices too: McDonald's sells oatmeal all day, and many outlets have salads.
But the chains' best customers - dubbed "Young Hungry Guys" by Carl's Jr. - are not prone to order salads.
Add that to a growing expectation among consumers in the economic downturn that portions should be large while the meal itself is cheap, and the result is such value combinations.
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