Worst of the Worst

I started my morning off with a Hardee’s steak biscuit.&nbsp  I resisted the temptation to try their Monster Biscuit, a menu item that has gained the restaurant a place on the list of the Worst Foods for 2009.&nbsp  According to the list, published over on Men’s Health, the Monster Biscuit is the Worst Breakfast Sandwich because it is packed with 700 calories and nearly a full day’s worth of sodium and saturated fat.

Not the greatest — certainly not the healthiest — way to start your day.&nbsp  Seriously:&nbsp  look at that thing!&nbsp  It just looks ridiculous.&nbsp  Sausage and egg and bacon and ham and cheese.&nbsp  On a biscuit.

Why not just have a nice bowl of Crisco?

I’m a little surprised to learn that one of my favorite restaurants, Outback Steakhouse, managed to make the list this year with an item that most people would assume would be one of the safest selections on the menu:&nbsp  salmon!&nbsp  Another of their choices — one I have never tried — also made the list, but this one seems much less of a surprise.&nbsp  It has been a while since I’ve been to Outback, although I’ve not touched a plate of their mouth-watering cheese fries since a previous list revealed just how bad they are.&nbsp  (And yes, I still miss those cheese fries once in a while.)

The worst food of the year isn’t the Monster Biscuit.&nbsp  Not by a long shot.&nbsp  The distinction goes to ice cream legend Baskin-Robbins.&nbsp  Last year, their Heath bar shake got lots of bad press; this year, they’ve managed to go one step further — or one step back, depending on your point of view — with the Large Chocolate Oreo Cookie Shake.&nbsp  Yeah, there’s nothing in that title to give one the reasonable expectation that it’s going to be a diet-friendly treat.&nbsp  But this one packs a gut punch that seems almost hard to believe.

Fortunately, if you eat a lot of the items on the list, you’ll have enough flab not to be able to feel a gut punch.&nbsp  You have to decide for yourself whether this is a good thing.