Normally, I’d be sharing another simple + seasonal recipe that’s healthy and easy to prepare; most likely a fresh, nutritious side dish highlighting veggies from our summer garden which is doing really well this year, but since The Don’s been in and out of the hospital for the past two months, my heart really hasn’t been into it. I still have a few recipes from the Zucchini Throwdown to post and there’s a ton more zucchini and cucumbers piling up on the kitchen counter waiting for inspiration – maybe this weekend… In the meantime, with the OC Fair in full swing and my serving as one of the judges for the Concessionaires Cup Awards, I’ve decided to devote this week to all things fair and fried!
The theme for this year’s OC Fair is very simply, “Let’s Eat!”, and that’s just what I did yesterday, along with Chef Andrew Gruel of Slapfish, when we shoved our healthy eating habits to the side to dive into tasting the many fried, grilled, smoked, sweet, savory, decadent, heart-stopping, mega-sized munchies affectionately known as fair food.
The Concessionaires Cup is where the concessionaires “strut their stuff”and compete for awards and bragging rights in this annual competition. Andrew and I were seated on the Promenade stage as entries for fried sides, snacks, sweets, grilled foods, and single item “mains” were placed before us. We weren’t shy ( no forks and knives here) … some of the entries are major league massive and require practically unhinging your jaw to take a bite: e.g. Chicken Charlie’s grilled chicken sandwich and the Burger Joint’s Belly Buster Burger. What concessionaires choose to enter varies each year, we didn’t have any of the chocolate covered bacon, fried zucchini, or funnel cakes but I know they’re out there!
The Chicken Charlie’s team delivering entries.
So join in on the fun! For a day, throw caution to the wind and enjoy some of these Concessionaire’s Cup fair food winners:
Trophy for Best Single Item was awarded to Burger Joint’s Belly Buster Burger (below). A very juicy burger with a unique focaccia-like sesame seed bun, the photo doesn’t do it justice – I should have put my hand next to it so you could see that it’s the size of a Chicago deep-dish pizza and could feed a family of 6!
Fried Sides: Australian Battered Potatoes – perfectly cooked sliced potatoes with a crispy batter and your choice of sauces. Andrew liked dipping them first in cool, creamy sour cream and then the sweet, spicy chili for a delicious contrast of flavors, I liked the kick of the jalapeno cheese sauce.
Fried Sweets: Chicken Charlie’s Deep-Fried Klondike Bar – to get the full fair experience you should take a bite of this baby so the cool, creamy vanilla ice cream drips down your chin and you can lick the chocolate drizzled pastry crumbs off your fingers! Sorry I didn’t get a photo of this – but as judges we were there to taste and only had a chance to take a few shots before and after. Visit the OCRegister’s Food Frenzy for photos from last year and more on Chicken Charlie’s devotion to everything fried. Second prize went to the giant Texas Donut’s Maple/Bacon Donut that’s as big as your head:
Fried Entrees: Chicken Charlie’s Fried Beef Ribs– frying adds a surprising, delicious crispy crust to the tender meat swathed in a tangy, not too spicy BBQ sauce.
Grilled Entrees: Chuck Wagon Pork Ribs – the real deal: smoky, tender meat that yields when teeth meet bone – that’s the joy of eating ribs! 2nd prize went to the Monte Cristo Sandwich – grilled cinnamon french toast with turkey, ham, and swiss cheese offers a delicious sweet/savory combination.
Hot dogs/sausages: Pink’s Royal Dog, created when Prince William and Princess Kate visited LA in June; two hot dogs in one bun, topped with mustard, cheese, onions, pickle relish with two slices of bacon and a spoonful of Pink’s famous chili. All the flavors you love and that all-important snap you get when biting into Pink’s world-famous hot dogs. Awarded the Concessionaires Cup for Best in a Bun.
Baked sweets: JP’s Cinnamon Rolls – try them with the nuts on top! They’re in the white Parade of Products building back in the corner.
Fresh Sweets: Terri’s Berri’s Chocolate Madness – lots of fresh berries gives this decadent dessert a healthy component 🙂 along with chocolate dipped red vines, chocolate dipped marshmallows on a stick, and white chocolate rice krispie bars on a stick! Awarded the Concessionaire’s Cup for Best on a Stick, too.
Terri’s Berri’s with their trophy.
The Orange County Fair seems like lots of fun. everything looks great, my favorite is the chocolate madness.
Thanks for sharing Priscilla
How fun that you were a judge Priscilla. We’ll be there the first week of August, haven’t decided on the exact day. Those battered potatoes are calling me, and I think my brother and nephew will love that burger with all those sauces! Thanks for the tips!
LL
@Roxana – That chocolate madness was amazing! And healthy, too – with the berries 😉
@Lori Lynn – Glad to be of help! I could have taken more bites of that burger, but had to pace myself 😉 Have fun with your family at the fair!
wow…lots of fingerlicking food that I would love to eat and spoil myself!
Holy moley! What a selection of amazing, awful, not-good-for-you-but-oh-so-good foods!!!
We never have enough fried or giant food in the UK. Sad. I should move.
@Carolyn – Good thing the fair is only once a year 😉
@Adora – Well, I wouldn’t recommend moving… I guess the obsession with fried and giant food is an American thing 😉
Hi Priscilla! Love all these photos and stories from the OC fair. I gotta make it over there someday! The giant bacon doughnut is particularly fascinating 🙂 Thanks for stopping by “The Daily Dish” and I look forward to following your blog!
@Kristina – Thank you! We share a lot of friends in the greater LA blogging community and I hope to meet you IRL some time soon. Unfortunately, the dates of Camp Blogaway have never coincided with my being in town, so I’ve missed out on a lot of fun, networking, and valuable information!
I heard about the fried Koolaid! How was it? Also looking forward to more of your Zucchini throwdown. I’m actually planning a whole bunch of zucchini dishes in the coming weeks (our garden is overflowing with them too) and plan on sharing quite a few recipes too! I hope you’re well and that the Don is feeling better.
@Victoria – I tried the fried Koolaid – just meh. The Koolaid mix is in the batter so it tastes like Koolaid.. Thx, I’ll be posting more zucchini next week 🙂
@Magic of Spice – Fortunately did not have to taste fried butter, but the fried avocado was good – esp. the pesto-like sauce they served with it!
Oh my! Last year I tried the fried avocado for the first time…the fried butter cracked me up, but did not try. The fair is the time to set aside all of our healthy food obsessions for sure 🙂 Plus they have wine and margaritas 🙂
Priscilla – WOW your local fair certainly has a wide variety of fun foods. Oh how it would be fun just to eat fried food all one day. I have made fried avocado and they are delish. What great times – thank you for sharing! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!!
Hi Priscilla, you must be resting yourself after all that amazing eating! What one dish was your absolute favorite?? Maybe that family size burger or the bacon covered donut?? I’ve never seen a selection of food like that at a county fair, I think your local fair is exceptional;-)
I had my eyes on smoked ribs:)) but everything looks AMAZING! Fairs are so much fun! Have a fantastic week ahead!
My mouth just filled up… I don’t go to food festivals because they will have to roll me out of there… I’ll eat up everything in every booth! 🙂
How fun! That burger and a donut look so giant, wow!
OC Fair sounds like a fun event! I would definitely go if I live in OC… =) It’s fun to see what kind of food is out there – all gigantic food seems very American and it’s fun! I love walking & eating around. Thanks for sharing!