What You Should Never Order From Hooters

You read that headline correctly, right off the bat we're going to tell you why you should avoid the menu item that made Hooters famous. We're not messing around here and while these wings have been a restaurant favorite for decades, there are better wing choices to be made. While some may tout the wings as "the best in the universe" we suspect that's only because they've allowed their judgement to become clouded by their attraction to the serving staff. Other reviews have merely said that these wings are a better product than the wings of Papa John's and Pizza Hut — which ain't sayin' much.

A breaded 15-count of these wings comes with 2,050 calories and 29 grams of saturated fat — and that's without the sauce or dressing. That's way over the recommended 13 grams of saturated fat a day, suggested by the American Heart Association. On the bright side, if you do eat 15 of these wings you'll be good on your saturated fat intake for a couple days. Oh wait, nutrition doesn't work that way.

Alright, so asking somebody not to eat a plate of nachos while watching a football game is basically sports blasphemy. We promise that we're not trying to make your friends hate you, but you may want to think twice about suggesting this Tex-Mex hot mess. Yes, the "gooey cheese and chilli" that Hooters loads up these nachos with is delicious according to numerous people on Twitter, but healthy, eh, not so much.

The Tex Mex nachos have 1,300 calories, but where they really leave a mark is the 4,510 milligrams of sodium that comes with them. Spoiler alert, that's way more than any person should have in one meal. According to Healthline, the human body only needs around 186 milligrams of sodium to function properly and adults shouldn't eat more than 1,500 milligrams of sodium a day. While it's true that nachos can actually be a healthy snack, it all depends on what you load them up with, and something tells us that Hooters isn't about to swap out the sour cream for Greek yogurt anytime soon.

Hooters might be best-known for their wings, but that doesn't mean that they can't deliver a hefty fish and chips order. After all, dropping some breaded fish fillets in the fryer really isn't any more complicated than doing the same with some breaded chicken wings.

If the fish n' chips platter catches your eye and you think that by going the seafood route you'll somehow be taking the higher healthy road, think again. Like we said — it's fried. Plus, french fries, duh! This seafaring meal weighs in at 1,350 calories, with over half (800) of those calories coming from fat! That seafood choice doesn't seem so healthy anymore, does it? Hooters does give diners the option of substituting those chips for a side salad — but of course, if you drench those leafy greens in creamy Caesar dressing you might not be that much better off.

If you're really looking for a seafood alternative but don't want to completely abandon your love of fried fish, opt for the Baja fish tacos. Even fried, they're still just 850 calories.

Onion rings are a bar food staple and it can be hard to pass up those battered deep-fried golden rings of deliciousness. Be wary, hungry Hooters' patron, for within this tower of fried onion lurks enough sodium and fat to send you into a food coma before the second quarter of the game. Unless your friends have put you up to some sort of cruel fried food challenge, this is probably going to be an appetizer that most people aren't going to order just for themselves. Considering the fat content lurking in this foot-high tower of onion, it's a dangerous item if you plan on following it up with beer and an entree — and be honest, those were totally your plans, right?

The onion rings themselves top off at a towering 1,400 calories (with 970 of those calories being fat), and have 3,320 milligrams of sodium stacked into them. The rings are served with two dipping sauces, and to the best of our knowledge (and according to their nutritional information), Hooters hasn't invented a zero calorie form of ranch. If you simply must have something fried for an appetizer —and you're determined not to share — the fried mozzarella sticks are a more sane 620 calories, and offer less than half the calories of the onion rings. Wait... did we just recommend fried cheese sticks as the healthier alternative here? Yes, it appears we did.

Upon first glance, this burger from Hooters seems pretty unassuming, however reading its description raises a few eyebrows. The Big Hootie is a burger with two patties, cheese, lettuce, onion, and tomato. Hmm, why does that sound familiar? Oh wait, the DD burger! The DD was also a burger that included two patties, cheese, lettuce, onion, and tomato. However, the DD is no longer on the menu and we have an itching suspicion about possibly why. The DD came under fire in 2018 when it was named one of the "saltiest restaurant meals on the planet." Yuck. That's not the sort of accolade any restaurant wants associated with their burgers. Could the DD just be the Big Hootie under a different name?

We can't be 100 percent certain that the Big Hootie is the DD, but you'll definitely be taking your nutritional chances should you order the Big Hootie, just the same. Hooters doesn't even acknowledge the Big Hootie's existence on their nutritional guide! Meanwhile, its doppelganger was a 1,510 calorie and 4,950 milligrams of sodium beast. Perhaps, Hooters' food wizards found a way to engineer the DD's health hazards out of the Big Hootie. Then again, maybe the Big Hootie is just a big burger cover-up.

¡Ay, caramba! Hooters fajita chicken quesadilla is the absolute worst offender on Hooters' appetizer menu. While the buffalo chicken quesadilla won't be getting any nutritional gold stars, its 1,310 calories are still less eyebrow-raising than the fajita chicken quesadilla. This south of the border appetizer totals out at a cheesy 1,520 calories. It's recommended that an adult male eat around 2,500 calories a day, so if you put this thing away on your lunch break, you might want to think about limiting dinner to just a bowl of Cheerios.

While the Hooters quesadilla has almost double the calorie count of the quesadilla Applebee's offers, the real crime hiding in those toasted tortillas at Hooters are the 4,650 milligrams of sodium. We hope anybody who makes the mistake of ordering this thing is part camel, because this salt bomb is guaranteed to have you asking for water refills. Do you heart a healthy favor and pass on this quesadilla.

If you were thinking that the cheesecake would be a smarter option than the chocolate mousse, we're sorry to burst your bubble, but it's really not. The cake does have a 170 fewer calories, so it is a little less heavy in that sense, but the issue is more about taste here. Hooters is of course best-known for the wings and apps. This means that the dessert generally takes a back seat and what your waitress brings out probably isn't going to be anything to write home about.

A 2018 review of Hooters desserts described the cheesecake as "very underwhelming" and without "much flavor." If that wasn't bad enough, the reviewer went on to say that you'd probably be better off picking up your dessert at a gas station. Burn! It looks like the Cheesecake Factory can rest easy on their product, because Hooters cheesecake certainly doesn't pose any sort of threat.

If you really want a sweet treat to top off your meal, then go for the tastier key lime pie. It's only 740 calories and it regularly receives rave reviews from customers. One patron even tweeted that it compared to the real deal in Key West. Not too shabby, Hooters.