While First Lady Michelle Obama travels the globe to tout healthy eating and often speaks about the goodness of berries and veggies from her White House garden plot, her husband seems to delight in road trips that involve oversized, sugary or fatty local specialties.

President Barack Obama visits Ross Restaurant in Bettendorf, Iowa, Tuesday, June 28, 2011. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Tuesday was no exception. On a visit to Bettendorf, Iowa, President Barack Obama made an unannounced stop at Ross’ Restaurant, a 24-hour eatery that boasts the Magic Mountain (grilled Texas toast topped with ground beef, French fries or hash browns, homemade cheddar cheese sauce and onions) and the Volcano (the Magic Mountain plus spicy chili on top), according to the White House pool reporter, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico.

The restaurant is owned by Cynthia Freidhof, who met Mr. Obama at a town hall meeting in August, 2008. She had described Ross’ signature open-faced sandwiches at the event, and he had promised to stop by someday.

Fast forward nearly three years: The president arrived shortly after noon, surprising the lunch crowd — and Ms. Freidhof. “How are you doing? We came to order some food,” said Mr. Obama, who soon was holding a giant cinnamon roll. (Check out the picture.)

“I’m not sure I’m going to be able to eat one of these,” he said…