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| The Fat Darrell is intentionally a sandwich of excess. Even creator Darrell W. Butler, now a personal trainer, warns against making it a daily habit. But a nutritionist says it can have a place in a balanced diet. |
By Menger Zheng
Esquire designated it No. 24 on its “60 Things Worth Shortening Your Life For.” The Fat Darrell is something many Rutgers students are eager to try.
It’s also a sandwich with 1,440 calories.
Abena Anokye, a junior majoring in nutritional sciences at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, estimated the nutrient content of the Fat Darrell by using the USDA’s diet analysis tool, the SuperTracker.
Anokye calculated the Fat Darrell's nutrition profile using its ingredients: two chicken fingers, two mozzarella sticks, a quarter-pound of fries, all topped with two scoops of marinara sauce on an 8-inch submarine roll.
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| Prepared by Abena Anokye, a
junior majoring in nutritional sciences at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. |
“I had Fat Darrells multiple times before,” she admitted. “But I am definitely not going back for more after today.”
The USDA warns that the intake of saturated fats is correlated with heart diseases and recommends for individuals of ages 19-70 to consume 130 grams of carbohydrates and 46-56 grams of protein daily.
In short, the Fat Darrell would receive failing marks based on the standards of USDA’s Dietary Reference Intakes.
One Fat Darrell also provides about 3,330 milligrams of sodium – exceeding the daily recommendation by more than a thousand milligrams.
Despite such alarming statistics, Loredana Quadro Ph. D., an associate professor in the Rutgers Food Science department, says it’s fine to visit Grease Trucks once in a blue moon.
“I don’t see how one sandwich can make a person obese,” Quadro said. “But it is important to discriminate between a one-time meal and chronic intake of these sandwiches.
“Students can have a Fat Sandwich if they really do not have the time to cook for themselves, because they are not eating the same thing and same sandwich every day.”
Quadro has yet to try a Fat Darrell.
“I don’t know why I haven’t tried a Fat Sandwich. I just haven’t gone out to get one.”
Menger Zheng is a Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences junior majoring in journalism and media studies, and minoring in English and food science.
