Fat chance: San Diego County Fair lets folks indulge

By: LOUISE ESOLA - Staff Writer | Friday, June 16, 2006 6:41 AM PDT ∞

The battered and deep-fried Twinkie takes the cake in the dessert department, with enough calories to equal a standard meal.
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Main course? The "Colossal" bacon-pastrami-double-patty-with-double-cheese burger packs close to all the calories most people need to eat in any given day.

Wash it down with a ice-cream smoothie and you've got two days' worth of sugar.

Yes, we did the unthinkable. Or rather, what most people don't want to think about when they catch their first whiff of freshly baked cinnamon buns.

The North County Times hit the concession booths at the San Diego County Fair, accompanied by a local dietitian, in search of meals and snacks that reek of calories, fat and sugar because we want to make sure you know what you're sinking your teeth into.

It wasn't a difficult assignment; you don't have to be an expert to know that searching for unhealthy fare at any fair is like looking for sand at the beach. Finding the healthy eats was a lot more like digging for shells. (See box.)

"You can smell the oil in the air," observed Shara Damle, a dietitian with Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, upon entering the main gates, where a small thoroughfare of T-shirt and knickknack vendors lead to a sort of Las Vegas of food booths.

Lighted signs flicker: "Food." Big, bright, pastel murals promise ice cream cones so big you need a cup and a wad of napkins to catch the drippings. Some signs are honest: The colorfully loud "Fatboy Diner" is home of the wildly popular, 4-inch tall Colossal burger. Some are not as transparent: "Charlie's Roasted Chicken" has a expansive menu where more than two-thirds of the choices have taken a swim in the deep fryer: zucchini, olives, avocado, Oreos, Twinkies, cauliflower and much, much more.

Damle offered up this handy rule: Roasted, good. Fried, bad.

"Frying could add up to 300 calories to whatever you're cooking." Roasting, on the other hand, helps drain the fat.

Damle, who spends her days monitoring and preparing special diets for high-risk patients, referred often to a three-page, hand-written report card of the fair's most popular items. Days before her visit, she had gauged calories, saturated fat, sugar, protein and fiber for most items.

Her verdict? "If you have heart problems or diabetes, don't eat anything here."

And watch how much you eat: That burger brings in well over 1,000 calories; the Twinkies, more than 400 calories (not counting the powdered sugar garnish); and the smoothie, up to 900, according to Dalme. That's a lot when the average woman needs just 1,800 calories a day and the average man 2,000, she said.

To most people, however, eating the food at the fair is about as traditional a requirement as whipped cream on a sundae, especially the one that comes on a waffle cone as big as a child's birthday party hat.

And it seems that the fatteningly inventive fare has replaced the bearded ladies and two-headed carnival attractions of days past.

Case in point: This year, cheesecake is being served frozen, dipped in chocolate, and on a stick. In recent years, the battered, deep-fried Snickers candy bar turned heads.

"That's really what we came here for," joked Barbara Beaudin, a San Diego resident who visits the fair each year with her family to see what's new. "We walked in and it was all about the food ---- immediately. Not the rides or the exhibits. Food."

Food booth proprietors, some of whom have worked the carnival circuit for decades, had no qualms about admitting that most of the tasty treats are unhealthy. It's a once-a-year splurge for some fairgoers, they said.

"You get to eat like this on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and in the summer at the fair," said Ronn Brookens, who manages Fatboy's Diner.

"Salads are not a big deal at the fair," he added. "You can go to Jenny Craig next week."

Similar quips were as common as the french fries, optionally bathed in gooey cheese, at more than three booths within sight of each other.

"If you hit two food stands and you add up the calories, you could have a week's worth," joked Ryan Madaus, who runs the Country Fair Cinnamon Rolls.

Some vendors have well-polished responses to the "too fatty" laments.

"There are no calories on the fairground," said Catherine Pignotti, who operates Pignotti's Fish and Chips, where one plate can tip the scale at 1,152 calories, according to Damle's list.

"I tell people, the fryer just burns the fat right out of it," said Charlie Boghosian, who owns "Charlie's Roasted Chicken" and likens himself to a sort of deep-fryer scientist.

"We went to 7-Eleven and grabbed everything we could from the cupcake shelf and came back here to experiment. We tried (frying) the Hostess snowballs and they just melted in the oil," he said. "I have some new things for next year, but I better not say anything."

Damle's eyes widened.

Cautious, she selected the battered, fried zucchini as the most healthful item at Charlie's stand because it, at least, has fiber. "That's a lot better than the Twinkie," she joked.

All kidding aside, Damle said, this food isn't going to cause a heart attack or diabetes at first bite.

"If you are a healthy person already, if you eat this for one day, it's OK," she said. "Plan ahead. If you go to the fair on Sunday, make sure you eat healthy the week before. When you get here, eat an entree, but don't finish it. Have a snack, but share it. If you are full, stop eating.

"People will indulge and that's OK, if it's not every day."

-- Contact staff writer Louise Esola at (760) 740-3527 or lesola@nctimes.com.

A dietitian's top picks for healthy food at San Diego County Fair


- Any salad with dressing on the side, used sparingly

- Corn on the cob, hold the butter and sprinkled with spices

- Stuffed pita pocket, limit the sour cream from Stuffie's booth

- Vegatable sandwich from Roxy's booth

- Baked fish and rice from Roxy's booth

- Pasta with marinara sauce, hold the roll from Pignotti's Gourmet Italian Food

- Roasted or broiled chicken or turkey, remove skin and limit portions

- Fresh strawberry crepe dessert with lite whipped topping from Crutchee's booth

- Frozen banana dipped in thin layer of chocolate from Crutchee's booth

- Strawberries dipped in thin layer of chocolate from Fruit Caboose

Dietician's top picks for most unhealhly fair foods


- Deep-fried anything: Twinkies, candy bars and cookies top the list. Battering and deep frying adds up to 300 calories to food, meaning most deep-fried fare tops the scales at 400 calories or more.

- Burgers and cheesesteaks: can range between 500 to more than 1,000, depending on toppings.

- Funnel cake: 300-plus calories depending on toppings.

- Hot dogs and corn dogs: meats tend to be fat-laden, with 29 grams of fat or more.

- Cotton candy: fat free, but loaded with sugar equal to 10 teaspoons of granulated sugar.

- Cinnamon rolls: 300 calories without sugary frosting and walnut topping.

- Cream-based smoothies: up to 900 calories.

- French fries with or without cheese topping

- Full-fat ice cream

- Thick crust pizza with any meat toppings: around 500 calories depending on topping.

SHARA DAMLE

Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla