Original Stonies

Sometimes eating decadently sweet, good-tasting food feels like a sin. Sin can be fun.

That’s especially the case at Original Stonies, a new place in the Northridge Mall food court in Salinas where tempting, deep-fried things come in bunches.

Think funnel cakes ($6.95 powdered; $7.95 loaded), deep-fried Twinkies ($2.95), deep-fried Oreos ($3.50), deep-fried uncrustable PB&Js ($3.99) and, the newest creation, not on the menu yet, the deep-fried Snickers bar (price TBD).

Now, local devotees of America’s decades-long fried food craze don’t have to wait for fairs and carnivals to satisfy their cravings.

Besides the sweets there are hot dogs, hand cut French fries piled with all sorts of stuff, loaded baked potatoes and seafood tacos served on homemade and hand-pressed tortillas.

Not exactly the type of food endorsed by Dr. Oz, but all the toppings are made with fresh produce and housemade sauces.

Owner and mastermind of the operation Sergio Alejo says the overall concept is “ballpark and carnival food” and the motto: “Get your crave on.”

Stonies proves an apt name if you think about it. But Alejo says it had nothing to do with the obvious reference. His fiancé and business partner Elvia Salgado says the idea, name and logo just came to him a while back in the middle of the night.

Being a meat-and-potatoes guy, my first visit I started with a Hawaiian hot dog ($5.99) and carne asada fries ($7.99). Alejo, who runs the place hands-on along with his fiance, insisted that I also try something that’s not on the menu yet, the grilled shrimp taco, which will be priced around $5.99 he says. I said why not? There’s already a lemon – or beer-battered fish taco ($3.50) which he says has been very popular. The other two seafood items are the fish and chips ($8.99) and shrimp and chips ($9.99), also lemon – or beer-battered.

I had planned to eat half the dog, half the taco and a few of the fries so that I would have room for dessert. My plan was foiled by the fact that the hot dog and taco tasted so good I ate them both. I mean, c’mon: An all-beef, quarter-pound hot dog, wrapped in bacon, topped with mango salsa, honey mustard and a teriyaki drizzle on a gourmet sesame seed bun. Sensational.

Ditto on the taco with its plump grilled shrimp, pico de gallo, cabbage, tomatillo salsa and chipotle mayo on a house made corn tortilla. Each is a complete meal for most appetites.

As a side dish, the carne asada fries ($7.99) were a bit heavy for me. It’s really a meal in itself. I barely put a dent in it but I got the general idea. Great flavors – nacho cheese, carne asada, pico de gallo, chipotle mayo, jalapeños and fresh salsa. Spud lovers can count on six other French fried choices, some of the favorites being the pulled pork fries ($7.99) topped with mango salsa, the gorilla fries ($5.25) – nacho cheese, grilled onions and house spread, and the garlic fries ($4.99).

Loaded baked potato choices are the XL asada ($8.99) – butter, sour cream, cheese, chives, pico de gallo, chipotle mayo; XL BBQ ($8.99) – butter, sour cream, chives, pulled pork, mango salsa; XL bacon ($6.99) – bacon bits, butter, sour cream, chives and the XL Nikki ($6.99) – chili, nacho cheese, chopped onions. All are big enough to be a complete meal.

My wife and dining partner had some business to do in Salinas on a Saturday, so we met for lunch and shared the XL BBQ. She liked it a lot and so did I. Tangy and tender pulled pork on a fluffy baked potato and all those fixins’. Not being a volume eater, she took a half of her half home. We also split a porky dog ($5.75) topped with barbecued pulled pork and mango salsa.

We continued our high calorie journey by trying all three deep fried sweets – the Twinkie ($2.95), Oreo ($3.50) and the uncrustable PB&J ($3.99). All are topped with powdered sugar, whipped cream and chocolate sauce, unless you say no.

I had never tried any of that crazy fried stuff before but all of it was surprisingly wonderful. The Oreo softens in the deep frying process, as if it’s been dunked in milk; the cream filling in the Twinkie turns to custard and ends up looking and tasting, oddly, like a fried banana. The PB&J tastes just like a PB&J except the filling gets warm and the bread gets a crust like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Next time I’ll try the hand dipped corn dog ($2.95) made with homemade corn batter or maybe one of the three caramel dipped apples ($7.99) – one plain, one covered with tamarind and tajin and one, the special, which offers a choice of Oreo, rocky road, mixed nuts, s’mores or turtle.

I never really got the decadent fried food craze but I think I’m starting to. It seems the guiding principle is: anything that’s good is even better if it’s fried.

Moral of the story: Stonies is a sin worth committing. Enjoy. If you feel the need to repent, say three Hail Marys, one Our Father and then hit the gym.

ORIGINAL STONIES 1594 Northridge Shopping Center (food court), Salinas. 10am-9pm Mon-Sat; 11am-7pm Sun. 710-1009. www.alejocatering.com