I like to read food blogs that display oddly interesting and slightly grotesque foods. More often than not, these foods are deep fried. Also, they're available at county fairs. And this past Sunday, several friends and I made the trek to Pomona(!) to the L.A. County Fair.
I used to go to the Del Mar Fair when I was growing up (it's called the San Diego County Fair nowadays, and that's just weird). But as a kid I was more concerned about the carnival games and the rides. Today, it was all about getting the grub.
And did I get the grub today.
This was the first sign to catch my eye coming into the fairgrounds.
Corn Dogs are pretty much required fare here (PUN). And these dogs are huge. HUGE. And for $7, they better be.
Quick note; From the time we entered the parking lot to the time this picture was taken, about 10 hours elapsed, give or take 2 or 3 or 8.5. My point is, if you plan on going anytime soon, give yourself plenty of time. Anyway, back to the food...
So you know that picture of the deep fried rattlesnake bites that I posted a while back? Well, we saw them at the fair but, they are not cheap. I saw a dish for $11, my friend Susan saw one for $14, and I'm sorry, unless these snakes are covered in bacon, I'm gonna pass.
However, I did not pass on this:
This is the Deep Fried Snickers Bar. According to my friend Peter, this was the craziest thing he had at the fair. The first bite is gooey.
And then you see the insides and...well, that pretty much sums it up. It tastes as it looks.
Next item up was Cheesecake On A Stick:
There really is no subtlety with fare foods. This really is a cheesecake on a stick. Cheesecake dipped in chocolate, topped with almonds, on a stick. It was awesome, but at this point I reached the moment where I "hit the wall".
And then we reached this booth:
Look at this menu. LOOK AT IT!! I spent a good 5 minutes staring at this. I was shocked. I couldn't decide what I wanted. Thankfully, I went with five other people, so...we tried most of the items here, such as:
Deep Fried Avocados. Not bad. There are some Deep Fried Tomatoes too, but..sorry, I'm still not eating them. Even if they are deep fried.
Deep Fried Coke. I tried a little, it too was not bad. Peter liked this. It's an interesting taste. By the way, I washed this down with Coke. Not weird at all.
Deep Fried Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Sandwich. Word has it that Elvis Presley ate these every day. And now he's dead. I had about 3 bites of this and then I gave up.
Deep Fried Twinkie. OK, after eating so many fried goodness, everything started to taste the same. I really couldn't taste this. It did nothing for me. It couldn't have been that bad, right?
And this is ultimately where I said no more. We all wandered the various exhibits, spending a lot of time around the farm animals. Some of the pigs on display were enormous, and all I could think of was, "mmm, bacon."
Oh, and some of the foods I passed by on our way out were Deep Fried Cupcakes and Chocolate Dog On A Stick. Sometimes I wish that I was a cow. That way, I'd have four stomachs. That way, I could probably eat a little more than what I did today at the fair.
I recommend the fair to anyone with an adventurous appetite, or if you're looking for an alternative to the major theme parks in Southern California. But be warned, there are massive amounts of people, you'll end up paying out the ear for your meals, and several areas of the grounds smell like total ass.
But you'll never forget your time at the L.A. County Fair.
