 "Photo: Glenn Connelly / Photo Editor")
San Diego is the place to be for a number reasons: the weather, beaches, downtown nightlife, the world famous zoo and SeaWorld, to name a few. The list goes on, but if there's one more very important feature to America's Finest City, it's the Mexican food. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic population in San Diego County makes up 30.1% of the total 2.94 million people. For those who aren't math majors, that's nearly 885,000 residents. Maybe that's why there's at least one Mexican restaurant in every community, some with multiple establishments on the same block. From formal dining to $1 bean and cheese burritos served from a shack, there is quite the array of Mexican food in San Diego. The Yellow Pages lists more than 250 Mexican Restaurant located in San Diego, not including free-standing carts. San Diego State students can pick from an absurd 20-plus locations within a three-mile radius of campus. No wonder eating Mexican food is practically unavoidable. Who wants to avoid it anyway? Why would anyone not want a delicious carne asada burrito, with its guacamole, pico de gallo and tender steak wrapped in a flour tortilla? It's filling, cheap and very appetizing. The problem is that eating this burrito is just like eating a hamburger. The outrageous numbers behind the deliciousness are comparable to any other fast food. Current labeling laws pertaining to nutrition facts exempt many establishments from the mandatory labeling regulations. Restaurants that make health claims in various areas such as calcium and osteoporosis, dietary fat and cancer, sodium and hypertension and several others are required to provide nutrition information. Unless these Mexican restaurants want to put "heart healthy" on their menu, don't expect to see their numbers. With the help of a well accomplished chef, the USDA and a nutrients-by-weight methodology we were able to calculate the data of Santana's top three items: The California Burrito, Carne Asada Burrito and Carne Asada Fries. "When restaurant owners want to know the nutritional information of their menu items, I simply weigh out each ingredient in the recipe and rely on nutritional databases to calculate the numbers," Chef Charles Howell said. "Since we do not have the exact recipes for pico de gallo, guacamole, the brand of sour cream and tortilla, the numbers in this study can only be taken as estimates." After weighing each item as a whole we carefully picked apart each and every ingredient separating them into bowls and weighing them individually. Ingredients that were inseparable, such as melted cheese on potatoes, and pico de gallo mixed with guacamole required an additional order with ingredients on the side.
Findings: Carne Asada Burrito: 736 calories, 25.5g fat, 8.25g saturated fat, 740mg sodium, 68g carbohydrates, .96g sugar, 5.4g fiber and 56.58g protein. The one pound California Burrito: Actual weight: 1.15lbs., 926 calories, 37.54g fat, 16.8g saturated fat, 954mg sodium, 94.88g carbohydrates, 7.1g fiber, 3.23g sugar and 50.95g protein. Carne Asada Fries: 2.43lb (unadvertised). Using an additional order with everything on the side we compared the portions in front of us and came up with these results: An astounding 1,522 calories, 76g fat, 29g saturated fat, 144mg cholesterol, 1,514mg sodium, 140g carbohydrates, 23g fiber, 6g sugar and 70g protein. With the help of personal trainer and nutritionist Minh Nguyen at The Sporting Club in La Jolla, we analyzed the collected data. Using a program that calculates client specific diets we entered the data of the California Burrito and found that my numbers for this entrée were about 300 calories less. Significant discrepancies were in the fries and the meat. This means that the Carne Asada Fries could actually be in the 2000 calorie range. A Carne Asada Burrito has a significantly larger portion of meat than a California Burrito but fewer calories with the difference being in the potatoes and the cheese. But according to the software, each of these items has a 1,000-plus calorie potential. Either way, eating one of these burritos is comparable to eating at your favorite burger joint. As tempting as it may be, people who aren't trying to gain weight or maintain a heavier than usual build - in many cases for off-season body builders and other competitive athletes - should limit their intake of 600-plus calorie meals.
