reviews via Twitter . If social media is an indication , the Double Down is developing quite a cult following . '' Maynard said . But does the adage `` any publicity is good publicity '' hold true ? `` Stunt food has been a part of restaurant life probably since the first time a chef put a napkin over a customer 's head in order to serve him a whole , rare , roasted ortolan , '' -LRB- a legendarily decadent meal of a fatty bird , bones and all -RRB- wrote Sam Sifton , The New York Times restaurant critic . If the past is any indicator , the Evil Knievels of the fast food realm have worked . Though their calorie count is a lot more Evil than Knievel . St. Louis-based Hardee 's Food Systems Inc. rolled out its now-infamous Monster Thickburger in 2004 . The self-proclaimed `` monument to decadence '' features two 1/3 pound Angus beef patties , four bacon strips , three slices of American cheese , and mayonnaise on a buttered sesame seed bun - and clocks in at approximately 1,420 calories and 107 grams of fat . For Hardee 's ,
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- When it comes to fast food , the big chains ca n't help going over the top . April brought consumers the Double Down heard around the world -- a bunless bomb o ' meat from KFC touting the slogan `` It 's real . '' Bloggers taste-tested it , The New York Times 's restaurant critic reviewed it , it was a top trending topic Twitter alongside the likes of Justin Bieber - and after two weeks , did the company 's Double Down wager pay off ? The stakes are high indeed , especially after KFC 's sales fell 5.8 percent in 2009 , according to food industry research firm , Technomic . `` Unfortunately , we are not able to provide sales information , '' KFC 's Public Relations Manager , Rick Maynard , told CNN . Those numbers only become available from Yum ! Brands , the chain 's parent company that also owns Taco Bell and Pizza Hut , during its quarterly reporting . `` It -LSB- the Double Down -RSB- continues to generate a tremendous amount of online buzz , from videotaped taste tests on YouTube to real-time , in-store