Factory reject.

"Creamy and delicious and baked in a graham cracker nut crust, our new 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has all of the great taste of our Original Cheesecake with 6 net carbs per slice," gushes The Cheesecake Factory Web site. "You'll never know the carbs are missing!"

Yes and no. Odds are, your taste buds will pick up the (safe) sugar substitute Splenda. But they won't exactly be unhappy, what with all those "creamy" detectors on your tongue firing Instant Messages at your brain. (Subject line: "hubba-hubba.")

On the other hand, the next time you step on the bathroom scale you may indeed never know that the carbs were missing. Each slice of 6 Carb Original Cheesecake has 610 calories (without the optional whipped cream and strawberries). That's only 20 calories less than you'd get from a slice of the Original Cheesecake. Think of the 6 Carb Original as an 8 oz. untrimmed prime rib for dessert.

And, like any cheesecake, this one will also make an impression on your artery walls. With 29 grams of saturated fat--a 1 1/2-day supply--it's roughly the same impression as six tablespoons of lard.

One thing's for sure: you'll know that something is missing when you leave The Cheesecake Factory--the $6.50 you spent on a splurge that pretends to be a diet food.

The Cheesecake Factory: [phone].

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