San Diego Spotlight : 2 Very Different Fast-Food Spots Share Good Tastes

To the list of the culinarily conflicted, which includes Adam and Eve and Jack Sprat and the missus, we now can add Dr. Daily and Hamburger Mary.

Dr. Pat Daily, a cardiac surgeon who serves as director of cardiovascular surgery and co-director of the cardiopulmonary transplant program at Sharp Memorial Hospital, recently opened Daily’s, a health-conscious eatery in the Golden Triangle designed as the prototype of the country’s first low-fat, “healthy” fast-food chain.

At about the same time Daily’s served its first bowl of three-bean-and-corn chili on a bed of brown rice, Hamburger Mary’s, a small chain with restaurants in Honolulu, Seattle and several other Western cities, introduced all-beef chili and gloriously juicy hamburgers at a pleasant patio near the corner of 3rd and University in Hillcrest.

Other than the fact that both places make terrific destinations for lunch, they have absolutely nothing in common. To call them diametrically opposed in philosophy would not be inaccurate, though both espouse good, flavorful food. The point of Daily’s is that healthy eats need not be drudgery, while Hamburger Mary’s simply celebrates the attractions of basic American fare. But there is no doubt that adherents of Jack Sprat, who could eat no fat, will lunch at Daily’s, while followers of his wife, who could eat no lean, will find Hamburger Mary’s ultra-rich nachos irresistibly keen.

Daily’s recipes are the fruit of a collaboration between clinical dietitian Patti Tveit Milligan, a specialist in cardiac and sports medicine nutrition, and chef Gregory Anne Cox, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who most recently served as executive chef at New York’s Sam’s Restaurants, owned by actress Mariel Hemingway.

Without exception, their dishes include 10 grams or less of fat, and/or count 20% or less of their calories from fat. That the menu includes a hot fudge sundae is testimony both to this pair’s ingenuity and to the modern miracle of nonfat yogurt.

Daily’s attractions are numerous, ranging from the grilled eggplant and zucchini sandwich and the fruity “morning glory” yogurt shake to the unusually pleasant (for a fast-foodery) appointments, which include an architecturally interesting interior and plates and flatware, as opposed to the cardboard packaging and plastic cutlery encountered elsewhere. There are even baskets of blooming plants on the tables.

Vegetables and high-fiber foods like lentils, brown rice and sweet potatoes (baked and drizzled with a maple “cream” of yogurt, syrup and pumpkin pie spices) appear prominently on the menu, but Daily’s is not vegetarian.

The sandwiches--all enclosed in pita-like bread pockets--range as far as beef and peppers with salsa, although the chunky lentil, vegetable and brown rice sandwich seems more in the Daily’s mood. The albacore sandwich, moistened with yogurt rather than mayonnaise, is on the quiet side; cucumbers and Romaine lettuce, torn rather than shredded, cascade from the sandwiches. Best of the bunch is the eggplant-zucchini combo, layered on baguette spread with roasted pepper puree. This has to be the only fast-food place anywhere that sides sandwiches with a Morrocan-style carrot salad.

There are also salads, lightly dressed and beautifully fresh, such entrees as grilled chicken breast and a steamed vegetable plate, fruit “smoothies” and yogurt shakes. The “morning glory,” quite good, blends yogurt with orange juice, bananas and strawberries. The chocolate banana shake also goes down well, but not, it should be noted, with the tuna sandwich.

The emphasis on quality and freshness is both apparent and heartening, and prices are quite in line for a fast-food operation. Salads and sandwiches range from $2.95 to $4.25.

Hamburger Mary’s kitchen would be hard-pressed to come up with lentils or brown rice on short notice, but the hamburgers are sensational and the patio, walled but sun-splashed, makes a terrific spot for a quick or leisurely lunch. The same menu is served in the evening, when the restaurant takes on more of a nightclub atmosphere.

To quickly characterize, Hamburger Mary’s specializes in huge portions served on small plates, so that salads rise to double the heights of the bowls and sandwiches have names like the “hamendous,” a fair description of the tasty, tremendously tall layering of slabs of home-baked bread, pineapple and grilled ham.

Burgers, of course, are the mainstay, and Hamburger Mary’s serves them not on buns, but on the guest’s choice of multigrain or Hawaiian-style sweet bread. On the whole, the multigrain seems the better choice. The patties themselves are fat, juicy and dripping with flavor; choices range from the unadorned “Maryburger” to perhaps the best choice, the “Billy Burger,” dressed lavishly with Cheddar and Monterrey jack, crisp bacon, grilled onions and thousand island dressing. This one is most easily eaten with knife and fork.

The “Bird of Paradise,” also huge and sloppy, layers warm slices of good turkey breast with bacon, avocado and Cheddar, and once again is a pleasure. The grilled chicken sandwich, spiced up with a grilled Ortega chile and a peppery sauce, offers less, and the entree of weak-tasting grilled chicken with ghastly rice “pilaf” leaves much to be desired.

The restaurant’s basic approach is reiterated by the french fries (served with all sandwiches and hamburgers), which are greasy but crisp and delicious, and such snacks as home-fried potatoes buried under molten Cheddar and the “machos,” a huge bowl of tortilla chips weighed down with cheese, chili, chile peppers and black olives. All other nachos pale by comparison. The creamy, well-flavored lemon cheesecake, served in an immense wedge, is not so much garnished with whipped cream as entombed.

This extremely casual but trendy Hillcrest restaurant includes both outdoor and indoor bars and offers dancing at night.

DAILY’S 8915 Towne Center Drive, Golden Triangle 453-1112 Lunch and dinner daily Salads and sandwiches $2.95 to $4.25. A meal for two, including a yogurt shake and tax, about $12.

HAMBURGER MARY’S 3rd Avenue at University Avenue, Hillcrest 491-0400 Lunch and dinner daily Hamburgers and entrees $4.25 to $11.25. A meal for two, including a glass of wine each, tax and tip, about $20 to $35. Credit cards accepted