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If you’re a regular reader of this site, you know we have a special love for really great local food, which we showcase in our monthly Fresno Flavor video series.
One restaurant we’ve highlighted is Benaddiction. This ridiculously amazing spot in northwest Fresno is known for its huge, hearty breakfasts, particularly its Eggs Benedict dishes. Although Benaddiction uses fresh, local, and natural ingredients, it’s not exactly recognized as a place for healthy food options—until now.
Benaddiction in northwest Fresno is great food with a rock ‘n roll edge
Benaddiction and Dethrone MMA are located in the same Bullard and Marks shopping center, and they’ve teamed up to create a special healthy-option food menu for the restaurant. Several staff members at Benaddiction work out at Dethrone, which offers nutritional counseling to members, so the partnership made sense for both businesses. Owner and Chef James Caples agreed to create the new menu though he says he doesn’t officially work out. “I lift 50-pound bags of potatoes,” he says. “It’s the chef’s workout.”
Caples had free reign to create his menu, but he worked with Dethrone owner Jason Kraft to make sure it fit the gym’s nutritional guidelines. The result is “Dethrone’s Menu for Skinny B*tches,” a tongue-in-cheek name Caples came up with.
Sweat like a pro
Dethrone MMA began as Dethrone Base Camp in 2009, and was opened by Jason Kraft and former UFC title contender Josh Koscheck. The gym offers programs in boxing, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai/kickboxing, wrestling, and High Intensity Interval Training (H.I.I.T.). I got a special, up-close look at that last thing thanks to Kraft, who let me join a session (and I’m still sore).
H.I.I.T. cardio is a 35-minute class that is made up of 15 split rounds: you do one minute on an Air Assault Bike then one minute doing a floor exercise. These range from kettle ball swings to medicine ball “halos” to V-ups to standard push-ups.
The constant rotation means you aren’t stuck doing a really tough exercise for too long. But believe me, you still feel the full impact of what you’re doing (I admit I had to take a nice, long break mid-class to catch my breath. I’m middle-aged and out of shape, and that’s just facts.)
The truly unique thing about the H.I.I.T. class is the inclusion of screens on the wall that demonstrate each exercise for you as it’s happening. So, if you’re a novice like me who doesn’t know workout terms, you can watch someone doing V-ups on the screen as you do them. According to Kraft, Dethrone is the only gym in town that has this.
Dethrone MMA co-owner Jason Kraft stands under one of the screens that shows workout moves in real time
While I was at Dethrone, I saw people of all ages (there was a kids’ class happening when I walked in) and abilities sweating and working hard. According to Benaddiction co-owner Krisse Mansfield, who works out at Dethrone, gym staff encourage eating meals with healthy carbs when you’re working out, and that helped inform the new menu options.
Eat like a champ
Back to that healthy menu. I was invited to “taste” the menu, but what I actually did was eat four full meals instead. I think that sums up how delicious everything was.
As you may know, Benaddiction’s menu items are named after song titles. See if you can guess the artist before reading it in the photo descriptions.
Ironic
Max’s whole wheat honey toast, avocado, balsamic-pickled onion, sunny side-up egg, shaved watermelon radish, toasted sesame seeds, Himalayan sea salt, and cara cara orange vinaigrette.
This was by far my favorite of everything I tried. Everything worked together wonderfully, and I particularly appreciated the addition of the sesame seeds and dressing. Also the name—which is how Caples describes his creating a healthy menu.
Ironic (Alanis Morissette) is Benaddiction’s version of avocado toast
Songbird
Egg white omelet featuring balsamic-marinated onions and peppers, diced tomato, Cremini mushroom, spinach, and avocado. Comes with a side of seasonal fruit from the Vineyard farmers market.
Songbird (Fleetwood Mac) is named in honor of Caples’ wife, Natalie
Body Movin’
Breakfast salad featuring spinach, bacon, tomato, a poached egg, and Hollandaise.
Body Movin’ (Beastie Boys) is a ton of protein in a bowl
Flake
Grilled salmon, zucchini, squash, tomato, sesame seeds, and “drunk” pineapple (pineapple crushed and marinated in spiced rum).
Not being a fan of fish, I was surprised at how much I liked the flavor of Flake’s (Jack Johnson) salmon
While at Benaddiction, I also got a look (and taste!) of some new, not-so-healthy menu items. Most notable was the Because I Got High Burger, a tip of the hat to 4/20. This monster includes a hamburger patty topped with bacon sauteéd with brie, a fried egg, and maple syrup stuffed in brioche bun dredged in cinnamon vanilla French toast batter and grilled (dear god).
I didn’t try the burger but I did get a taste of Kokomo, which Caples says is basically “a pineapple upside down pancake” that includes drunk pineapple and whiskey caramel on top. While Benaddiction appreciates its rep as a place for great eggs, they’re also quick to emphasize their amazing and fluffy pancakes.
I can attest to their pancake abilities—I ate most of the Kokomo despite being stuffed after eating everything on the Skinny B*tch menu. It was that good.
Kokomo (Beach Boys) “isn’t a real place,” Caples told me, but the pancake is real, and amazing
The partnership between Benaddiction and Dethrone MMA demonstrates the importance of sweating hard and eating well. Staying healthy doesn’t mean depriving yourself of going out and enjoying a well-made meal.
I appreciated the chance to try the H.I.I.T. cardio class at Dethrone and the new menu at Benaddiction. I very much recommend heading to Bullard and Marks and giving both a try.
Hours and locations
Benaddiction is open Sun-Sat from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is located at 3015 W. Bullard Ave. Visit their website here, and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
Dethrone MMA is located at 3069 W. Bullard Ave. Class schedules are found here. Visit their website here and follow them on Facebook.
