REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK:

They claim it’s less fattening than a McDonald’s Big Mac, but how could it be? A fried slab of chicken sandwiches between two halves of a jelly doughnut?

When Charlie Boghosian and his brother Tony, who run Chicken Charlie’s fried food stand at the Orange County Fair, had the culinary creation tested, it weighed in with slightly fewer calories than the Big Mac, Tony said.

But the Crispy Cream Sandwich, as it’s dubbed, and the other food at Chicken Charlie’s isn’t part of the latest weight-loss fad.

“We try to tell people not to count calories; leave your diets at home. We tell them we fry the fat right out of the food,” Tony said.

When I visited the booth, I went for the new deep-fried stuff: SPAM, ravioli, Pop Tarts and frog legs.

Don’t worry. A paramedic was standing by in case of a coronary blockage.

Tony and Charlie pride themselves on being able to fry anything — it doesn’t even need to be a solid. They’ve fried amorphous materials and liquids like ice cream and cola. The brothers claim they have never been conquered, but it almost happened when they tried to deep fry a marshmallow. No matter what they tried, the mushy blob of sugar disintegrated instantly when it hit the oil.

Not to be bested, Charlie and Tony sandwiched the marshmallow between graham crackers with chocolate and covered it in a very heavy, heat-resistant batter for a deep fried s’more.

They got their start serving fried chicken at the fair about 12 years ago. About six years into it, they decided they needed some kind of dessert.

“The deep-fried Twinkie was the first of all of our crazy inventions,” Tony said. “It’s still the most popular thing we have.”

It seemed to be getting eclipsed by the deep-fried Oreos on Thursday. It wasn’t hard to see why. The combination of a chocolate, cream-filled cookie and crisp, starchy batter, covered in chocolate sauce reminded me of a chocolate-chip pancake.

I caught uncle Matt and dad Brett Miller, who were charged with caring for their nephew/son Seth, caving into the 5-year-old’s whims and ordering him four of the Oreos.

Seth’s mom was absent, and when I asked how she’d feel about it, they sheepishly grinned.

“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Matt said.

I found Nelson and Joyce Matthews feasting on fried SPAM logs. Well, Joyce was feasting, and Nelson was being force fed. Joyce loved the dish because it tasted just like SPAM. Nelson hated it…because it tasted just like SPAM. So why do they bother frying it?

“It gives it that extra something special that you can only get at the fair,” Joyce said.

It was a bit salty for my taste, but tender and meaty.

While I stood near the counter, no brave souls picked up orders of frog legs, but Tony said they’re a hit with the Southern crowd. It’s difficult to navigate through all of the bones, but they’re meatier than you might think. The white flesh is dense and tangy like swordfish. They go perfectly with the lemon and tartar sauce on the side.

The Pop Tarts are a bit too sweet, and the Twinkie is a bit rich to be anything but novelties; but the ravioli — Tony’s personal favorite — is delicious. Filled with ricotta cheese and covered with marinara sauce, the dish is extremely savory, and the fried coating gives it a crunch and allows it to better soak up the sauce.

For more photos, click here.

THINGS TO DO

Funky and furry

Yaz and the Psychedelic Furs will perform at the Pacific Amphitheater at 7 p.m.

Tickets are available at all Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (714) 740-2000, and at the box office.

Watery stunts

H2X Personal Watercraft Racing and Stunts will take place in the Action Sports Arena at 8:15 p.m. A limited amount of free seating is available and reserved seating costs $12.50.

Visual creation

A demonstration of how to create animated movies, TV shows and video games will take place in the Flash and Focus room at 7, 8 and 9 p.m.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.