The Quad: ‘Big Fat Fatty,’ a not-so-easy solution to greasy cravings
The Big Fat Fatty sandwich contains a staggering amount of ingredients. (Fat Sal’s Deli)
By Giselle Abcarian
Nov. 6, 2016 2:38 p.m.
It’s 1 a.m. on a Thursday and after all that walking to and from apartment and frat parties, you and your friends are just about ready to call it a night. Your stomach, however, has other ideas, and growls audibly before you can set off on your long journey home. The hypnotic lights of Westwood catch your attention, and your feet suddenly turn toward Gayley Avenue of their own accord.
Your friends follow – no persuasion required – and you all immediately launch into a heated discussion on where to eat. One friend suggests chili dogs from Tommy Taco, another wants a cheesesteak sandwich from Jimmy John’s, two fight for In-N-Out Burger and the others will go wherever they can order fries. You’re suddenly craving all of the above and are struck with a vision of a dish comprising all the best fast food meals. You remember hearing that such a thing exists, and you know exactly where to go to find it.
Created and sold at the famous Fat Sal’s Deli in Westwood, the $49.99 Big Fat Fatty sandwich consists of almost every classic fast food ingredient imaginable, and if you finish it in under 40 minutes, your sandwich is free and you get to design and name your own signature sandwich for the menu.
Before you decide to take on the challenge, let me break it down for you, and expose this dream-come-true for the nightmare that it could become.
Let’s start with logistics. The Big Fat Fatty sandwich can only be ordered if you plan on taking on the challenge at the restaurant, which means that using your Postmates app to order the Big Fat Fatty to your apartment and splitting it between 20 of your friends is sadly not an option. If you do decide to compete, you can just walk in and order it, but you must eat the whole Big Fat Fatty in the allotted 40 minutes. This may sound like a good chunk of time, until you find out what it contains.
Packed between a 27-inch garlic hero are:
- Five cheeseburgers
- A package’s worth of bacon
- Five fried eggs
- A pound and a half of cheesesteak
- A pound and a half of pastrami
- 10 chicken fingers
- 10 mozzarella sticks
- 10 onion rings
- Two pounds of chili
- Two pounds of marinara sauce
- One basket of french fries
- 10 jalapeno poppers
- One cup of garlic aioli
I’ll just let that sink in for a second.
If you’re wondering about the calorie count, the sandwich is estimated at around 14,281 calories. That’s about a week’s worth of food. So if you’re considering a hibernation stint this winter, this might be the challenge for you.
Unfortunately, this could be a costly endeavor, as the odds of actually finishing the sandwich are not in your favor. Out of 700 or 800 attempts, only two people have completed the Big Fat Fatty challenge, and both winners were professional competitive eaters. The other hundreds of people were left $49.99 lighter, with nothing but a strong likelihood of weeklong glycemic index problems to show for it.
[Flavors of Westwood: Fat Sal’s]
If you’re still considering taking on the challenge, at least note the advice of Joshua Stone, owner of a Fat Sal’s locations, before you decide.
“You can’t just walk in (the deli), off the street, on your lunch break with a couple of your friends and take on the Big Fat Fatty and be victorious,” he said in an interview with NBC San Diego. “It’s like walking into the Super Bowl and trying to play quarterback. It’s just not gonna happen.”
At first glance, the Big Fat Fatty challenge may appear to be the answer to your Thursday night prayers, but it’s definitely not as easy as you may think. You might be better off sticking to one of the classic Fat Sal’s sandwiches. Those are already a challenge on their own.
