[sideus]

Chain debuts Enormous Omelet Sandwich with more calories, fat than a Whopper.
March 28, 2005: 3:28 PM EST


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Burger King has unveiled a new breakfast sandwich that's a huge bet that not everyone is dieting.

The No. 2 fast food chain debuted its Enormous Omelet Sandwich Monday. The sandwich has one sausage patty, two eggs, two American cheese slices and three strips of bacon.

That works out to 730 calories and 47 grams of fat -- more than a Whopper sandwich, which the Burger King Web site said has 700 calories and 42 grams of fat.

Critics were quick to spring on the latest breakfast offering.

"Americans do not need an Enormous Omelet Sandwich," said Penny Kris-Etherton, a professor of nutrition at Penn State, who noted the sandwich's contents were high in fat and salt and the meal lacked fruit and fiber. "That's too many calories."

According to a joint report by the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services, the average American female aged 19 to 50 requires 1,800 to 2,400 calories each day, depending on size and activity level. For men in the same age range, it's 2,200 to 3,000.

A Burger King spokeswoman defended the giant egg sandwich, saying eating one is little different than ordering a full plate breakfast at a local dinner.

"It's designed for people who like to start the day with a hearty breakfast," said Denny Post, chief product officer at Burger King.

The Grand Slam breakfast at Denny's, which comes with two pancakes, who eggs, two strips of bacon and two sausage links, has 665 calories and 49 grams of fat, according to the Denny's Web site.

The Fabulous French Toast Platter -- with three slices of French toast, two bacon strips and two sausage links -- contains 1261 calories and 79 grams of fat.

Post said Burger King has a variety of food choices on the menu and that many of the people who liked the sandwich in focus groups were young men with active jobs. "These are not paper-pushers," she said.

Post said Burger King decided to offer the enormous omelet sandwich -- which goes against current trends in the fast food industry of offering more healthy choices -- in response to customers who said they wanted a more filling breakfast.

It has a suggested retail price of $2.99, or $3.49 for the value meal, which comes with fried potatoes and a coffee or juice, according to Post. The hash browns would add 230 calories and 15 grams of fat to the meal.

The new sandwich comes about four months after Hardee's also bucked the "health trend" in fast food restaurants by offering a burger it dubbed the "Monster Thickburger," with 1,400 calories and 107 grams of fat. (For more on the monster burger, click here).

Burger King has been privately held since it was sold by British food conglomerate Diageo to a group led by Texas Pacific Group in 2002.

[historylme]

If hungary, I'll eat that.

[Skip Breakfast]

You know, I find that article incredibly stupid. Thousands, if not millions, of people eat at IHOP or Denny's or Bob Evans for breakfast and the servings are larger and heavier than that. There's nothing newly unhealthy about it.

[JHromadka]

Originally posted by Skip Breakfast:
You know, I find that article incredibly stupid. Thousands, if not millions, of people eat at IHOP or Denny's or Bob Evans for breakfast and the servings are larger and heavier than that. There's nothing newly unhealthy about it.

Yep, it's only because of the name that it's getting so much press.

[Mithras]

I do think it's irresponsible of BK to sell that. "Somebody else is worse" is not an excuse. The fact is, they've designed and marketed as a product a breakfast that they very well know is terribly, terribly unhealthy.
And this is not a "treat yourself" kind of thing, a "sometimes you deserve a donut" thing. It's just a regular item on the breakfast menu that you might pick because they've run TV commercials to convince you that you want it.

In the meantime, obesity reaches record levels in the US, and we wonder why.*

*Yes of course, individuals are responsible for their actions. But major national corporate chain restaurants help create the environment individuals live in, and channel the choices we choose between.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by history1me:
If hungary, I'll eat that.

But you might get so fat that you'll be a buddha pest.

[TheBadgerHunter]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
But you might get so fat that you'll be a buddha pest.

Hungary? Bhudda pest? I think there is a bigger problem here...

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by TheBadgerHunter:
Hungary? Bhudda pest? I think there is a bigger problem here...

Yes, there certainly is!

[nredman]

*barf* fast food breakfast always makes me throw up - never fails

[iDriveX]

I read a report once that said that after a McDonald's breakfast it takes about an hour and your blood vessels have swelled to the point of near heart attack and then about 4 hours for the swelling to go down. I can only imagine what this does to you.

Post #999

[TailsToo]

What IS good for you nowadays...

[d0ubled0wn]

Originally posted by iDriveX:
I read a report once that said that after a McDonald's breakfast it takes about an hour and your blood vessels have swelled to the point of near heart attack and then about 4 hours for the swelling to go down. I can only imagine what this does to you.

Post #999

I've read that is true of any high fat, high cholesterol meal. Why would they single out McD's?

[BasketofPuppies]

Originally posted by Mithras:
I do think it's irresponsible of BK to sell that. "Somebody else is worse" is not an excuse. The fact is, they've designed and marketed as a product a breakfast that they very well know is terribly, terribly unhealthy.
And this is not a "treat yourself" kind of thing, a "sometimes you deserve a donut" thing. It's just a regular item on the breakfast menu that you might pick because they've run TV commercials to convince you that you want it.

And people have associated Burger King with health food since...

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by sideus:
Burger King has been privately held since it was sold by British food conglomerate Diageo to a group led by Texas Pacific Group in 2002.

Personally, I thought this was the most interesting line of the whole article.

[glyph]

eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and bread......for breakfast!!? there outta be a law!

if it's good enough for cowboy hootie, it's good enough for me!

"come an' get it!"

[demograph68]

Needs a tub of mayonnaise.

[malvolio]

Originally posted by glyph:
eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and bread......for breakfast!!?

Sounds just like the traditional English fried brekky to me.

[cjrivera]

Originally posted by glyph:
if it's good enough for cowboy hootie, it's good enough for me!

You know, I thought that was Darius Rucker singing, but just wasn't sure. Thanks.

[roberto blanco]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
But you might get so fat that you'll be a buddha pest.

anyway, the real sad part about this is that it'll probably be roughly $ 5 - 10 cheaper than a really healthy breakfeast.

[Big Mac]

"We take eighteen ounces of sizzling ground beef, and soak it in rich, creamery butter, then we top it off with bacon, ham, and a fried egg. We call it the Good Morning Burger."
<Homer salivates uncontrollably>
-Bart's Friend Falls in Love

[willed]

That's nothing compared to a greasy cafe that I know. You don't have to eat for a week after going in there for a Full English. Mmmmm...

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by roberto blanco:
anyway, the real sad part about this is that it'll probably be roughly $ 5 - 10 cheaper than a really healthy breakfeast.

Bull. A real, healthy breakfast can be made at home very cheaply.

[roberto blanco]

Originally posted by ReggieX:
Bull. A real, healthy breakfast can be made at home very cheaply.

$3,49 for the "value meal"?

go right ahead...

(honest challenge)

/BTW, i'm really interested in what people eat for breakfast and consider healthy.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by roberto blanco:
$3,49 for the "value meal"?

go right ahead...

(honest challenge)

/BTW, i'm really interested in what people eat for breakfast and consider healthy.

Roughly $5-$10 more than that would be $8.49-$13.49.

I'd like to know what you eat for breakfast that would cost that much to make yourself.

"Well, first, I start with a fillet mignon, then some caviar..."

[willed]

Originally posted by roberto blanco:
$3,49 for the "value meal"?

go right ahead...

(honest challenge)

/BTW, i'm really interested in what people eat for breakfast and consider healthy.

A bowl of bran with milk?

Chopped fruit?

Neither of these is going to set you back $3.49 (as far as I know - not living in the US I'm not completely sure about pricing over there)

[stevesnj]

Well just seeing this breakfast monstrosity make me sick to my stomach...but on the other hand I must say...nothin burps better than bacon!!

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by willed:
A bowl of bran with milk?

Chopped fruit?

Neither of these is going to set you back $3.49 (as far as I know - not living in the US I'm not completely sure about pricing over there)

Throw in a couple of eggs, and it's still not going to be $3.49.

[budster101]

Yummy.

That looks good, but I'd still rather have a Steak Egg and Cheese Bagel from McD's. It comes with sauteed onions and it delish!

And to follow that up with a nice Sausage McGriddle, and a cup of coffee from Dunk'n Donuts.

Gotta run.

[roberto blanco]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
I'd like to know what you eat for breakfast that would cost that much to make yourself.

"Well, first, I start with a fillet mignon, then some caviar..."

*ggg*

(un)fortunately, i don't eat meat...

but that's kind of what i'm trying to find out here...

fruit is insanely expensive (if it's not the run off the mill generic bland type) and so is everything else that isn't completely fat ridden, sugared and processed sh1t...

eggs are okay...

keep the ideas comin'! *g*

/BTW, i'm being extremely polemic here!

[ReggieX]

Well, for breakfast I generally have a toasted bagel with peanut butter, some fruit juice, and a small yogurt. Or some cereal with milk.
That'll last me well enough til 12:30 or so.

Don't know the prices of everything off hand, but the cereal's around CAN$3.79 for a box, and that'll last for at least 10 bowls. Let's say 10x these combo meals is US$35, you can get a heck of a lot of real food for that much, and it'll last longer than just 10 breakfasts.

[CharlesS]

Originally posted by roberto blanco:
(un)fortunately, i don't eat meat...

But wouldn't that rule out the greaseburger breakfast anyway?

[roberto blanco]

Originally posted by CharlesS:
But wouldn't that rule out the greaseburger breakfast anyway?

oh, not only that...

[E's Lil Theorem]

Meat? Good.
Bacon? Really good.
Eggs? Okay.
Cheese? Okay.
Bread? Good.

All in all, seems like it'd be an all right sandwich. If I ever find myself in a BK for breakfast, I'll give it a try. That is if paranoid people haven't forced BK to take it off their menu

[wdlove]

No, thank you. I want to have a healthy happy life.

[DeathMan]

This is America. If BK wants to serve up a pint of lard on a toasted bun and sell it, they should be able to.

Now if they claimed it to be "Approved by the Department of Nutrition" or "4 out of 5 Nutritionists Recommend the Lardburger" that is something else entirely.

Restaurants have no responsibility to serve good food. Individuals have a vested interest, if not a responsibility, to take care of themselves. Why is this concept so difficult to understand?

If no one will buy the Lardburger, BK won't sell it. That Enormous sandwich doesn't appeal to me, but I do enjoy a Sausage Croissant every now and again.

[ReggieX]

Originally posted by DeathMan:
Restaurants have no responsibility to serve good food.

Yes they do. That's why we have health departments. No if by "good" you mean nutritionally balanced and 100% healthful, that's a different matter.

[d0ubled0wn]

I'm going to give BK sandwich a try. Assuming I survive the meal I'll let you all know how it tastes. Wish me luck.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by d0ubled0wn

I'm going to give BK sandwich a try. Assuming I survive the meal I'll let you all know how it tastes. Wish me luck.

OH MY GOD ARE YOU OK

[Person Man]

Originally Posted by Stradlater

OH MY GOD ARE YOU OK

Why did you just respond to a 7 month old post? Now we're going to have others responding to 7 month old posts, too.

[Cadaver]

Actually, its kind of funny. He said he'd try one and he'd post back. That was 7 months ago. Guess he didn't survive.

[Stradlater]

Originally Posted by Person Man

Why did you just respond to a 7 month old post?

See post following yours.

[lngtones]

Originally Posted by Person Man

Why did you just respond to a 7 month old post? Now we're going to have others responding to 7 month old posts, too.

I laughed

[baw]

He had a heart attack.

[moonmonkey]

lol.

[Salty]

For the record I survived the sammich. Had it the other day for breakfast before starting a shift at best buy. Really it wasn't THAT big. It was a lot of meat which is good.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by CharlesS

Yes, there certainly is!

For historical reference in all likelyhood Buddha was a stick. He fasted a lot eating nothing but a single grain of rice a day.

Buddha is portrayed as fat in Asia because Buddha is supposed to be happy, and fat people are seen as happy.

[MacPoker101]

I don't give a chance to all those big chaines junk food distributers. It is pure poisen.
Organic, natural, salads...This is the key for good living.