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Six Chain Restaurants That Serve More Than 1,000 Calories in One Dish

Forget supersized fries, Angry Whoppers, Kentucky-fried chicken legs, and grilled, stuffed burritos. Some of the worst calorie sins aren't committed at your favorite drive-through, fast-food restaurants. No, the real hidden calorie killers: chain restaurants.From a rack of ribs drowning in a sugary bath of barbecue sauce to a creamy-garlic pasta dish...
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Forget supersized fries, Angry Whoppers, Kentucky-fried chicken legs, and grilled, stuffed burritos. 


Some of the worst calorie sins aren't committed at your favorite drive-through, fast-food restaurants. No, the real hidden calorie killers: chain restaurants.

From a rack of ribs drowning in a sugary bath of barbecue sauce to a creamy-garlic pasta dish piled high with lemon-butter-drenched shrimp, Charlie gives you a taste of some heavy-hitting dishes you'll find on only the most popular menus. 

One dish on this list even weighs in with more than a day's worth of calories! Is it possible you've already had one or two? 

Read on, and find out:

6. Bella Burger at Ruby Tuesday's

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,145
You'll have a hard time finding the nutritional information on Ruby Tuesday's burgers. Instead, you might want to go here to check out the caloric content of their menu items. It seems they've saved the best (and lowest calorie) choices for their downloadable online nutrition guide. And although this isn't the worst burger on the menu, it is the most deceiving. It may be a turkey burger, but that doesn't mean very much when it comes to cutting calories. And it still has more than 50 grams of fat in one serving. Despite the name, there's nothing pretty about that!

5. Crispy Calamari and Vegetables (starter) at Red Lobster

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,520
If it's fried, it's high in calories. No surprises there. But for a starter dish, you're not even safe with something that pushes "vegetables" as a main feature. With more than half a day's worth of calories (and 97 grams of fat), this is one appetizer that could seal the deal on your entire diet -- and that's possibly before you order dinner. 

4. Double Pan-Fried Noodles With Pork at P.F. Chang's

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,660
When it comes to Chinese-style fare, P.F. Chang's takes the cake -- er, noodle? -- with its pork and pan-fried noodle entrée. Really, there are four servings in one order, but who can stop after a few bites? Oh, don't forget the 127 grams of fat. And all that sodium! 

3. Pasta Weesie at Carrabba's Italian Grill

TOTAL CALORIES: 1,770
It's no surprise that a creamy, cheesy pasta dish would have a lot of calories. You wouldn't be able to tell just how many, however, if you were to visit the Carrabba's website. They don't just make it hard to find nutritional information on their menu items. Nope. They just don't provide any information at all! No worries. A quick search will lead you to Men's Health "Eat This, Not That." There, you'll find that a full plate of this rich, garlic-cream sauce over fettuccine (with shrimp) is more than you may have bargained for.

2. Aussie Cheese Fries (regular order) at Outback Steakhouse

TOTAL CALORIES: 2,134
Tack on another 800 or so calories if you use the side of ranch dressing and factor in the 150 grams of fat that comes with it solo and you may think twice about saving it all for yourself. Try sharing it with five of your friends for a more reasonable total of 355 calories per serving (the six-way suggested split to serve this dish). 

1. Shiner Bock Ribs at Chili's Restaurant

TOTAL CALORIES: 2,310
An all-American favorite, you're probably already well-aware that ribs are one of the worst choices when it comes to any menu, anywhere. But with more than 2,000 calories (and 123 grams of fat) in one sitting, this is quite possibly the worst way to go. Don't let rib-gut happen to you!


Follow Clean Plate Charlie Facebook on Twitter: @CleanPlateBPB.

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