{"id":13223,"date":"2013-08-01T12:59:53","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T19:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/?p=13223"},"modified":"2015-07-19T17:43:52","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T00:43:52","slug":"get-it-at-the-orange-county-fair","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shescookin.com\/get-it-at-the-orange-county-fair\/","title":{"rendered":"Get It! At the Orange County Fair"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n Only 9 more days to catch the Orange County Fair! It’s hard for me to believe, but there are actually a lot of people who have never been to the fair. If you’re one of them, you’re missing out on a summer’s worth of fun all in one place. There literally is something for everyone, young and old, crazy thrill-seekers or not. And, what’s special about the Orange County Fair is it is one\u00a0of the few homages to traditional Americana that we have here in the southland. The OC Fair\u00a0retains the atmosphere of a county fair from yesteryear, but what’s old is new – especially if, as a child, you were deprived, for whatever reason, of the annual social affair of the summer known as the county fair complete with farm animals raised by 4H young 4H members, a cattle and pig auction, local farmers showing off the best of their produce, a real live cowboy rodeo, crashing bumper cars, dizzying rides, and special treats like cotton candy and funnel cakes – memorable experiences of adventure, excitement, scary, fun, coming of age stories special because it only happened once a year – at the county fair.<\/p>\n When it comes to fair food, you can indulge in gargantuan, fried, bacon madness and chalk it up to your annual “it’s the fair” splurge. Everyone loves to talk about what’s the fried rage this year – so here you go: look for the 2-foot long corn dog, Cheesy Bacon Bombs from Bacon A-Fair<\/strong>, the Waffle Dog and Deep Fried Cookie Dough from Chicken Charlie’s<\/strong> and, my personal fave, the Cheese Jalape\u00f1o Chips with Ghost Chile Sauce (above) at Tasti Chips<\/strong>\u00a0(Centennial Farm and near the Action Sports Arena ) who has also added a heaping Dirty BBQ Chips with shredded beef and all the fixins to their menu and some awesome Angus Beef Burgers with their famous Oh Mommy Bacon Jam and new Ghost Chile Sauce at their Grant Burgers concession.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Bacon A-Fair<\/strong>\u00a0(located in Park Plaza) uses good quality dark chocolate which makes all the difference in their Chocolate Covered Bacon and Chocolate Covered Peanut Bacon Banana.<\/p>\n New this year is the Wild Boar on a Stick and Cheesy Bacon Bombs<\/p>\n Chicken Charlie’s <\/strong>(Main Mall and Family Fair Way)\u00a0rules the fair every year with a killer fried item – this year it’s the Waffle Dog and Deep-Fried Cookie Dough. Fair favorites, Fried Avocado and Fried Frog Legs are still on the menu and Chicken Charlie’s also offers a lot of healthier choices which is what I usually go for since I’ve already done my share of damage at Tasti Chips \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Vegetarian and healthier options available at Chicken Charlie’s<\/strong> Pineapple Express<\/strong>: Deep Fried Avocado is the bomb, Chicken Skewers, Shrimp in Pineapple and Maui Sliders (teriyaki chicken).<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0Another great thing about the fair is that you can enjoy it purely as a spectator, or you can become an active participant by entering one of the myriad competitions<\/a> and just possibly create a memorable experience that you’ll remember fondly for years to come. Some take the competitions\u00a0very seriously, but you can do it just for FUN<\/strong><\/span>! Especially for children, being an entrant adds a whole new dimension that’s rewarding and definitely extends enjoyment beyond the thrill of the gravity-defying rides and eating the latest deep-fried marvel: thinking about what to enter, the preparation, meeting the deadline, delivering your entry to the fair before it opens for the day; and best of all – the competition and finding your entry to see if you’ve won a ribbon!<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n In the past, I would be at the fair at 7:00 a.m. at least one or two of the Tuesday mornings to enter tomatoes, green beans, or zucchini from our garden in the fruit and vegetable category. I was a blue ribbon winner for green beans for several years running and College Girl was a winner in the agricultural area and a multiple winner in the juvenile art category over the years. In the past few year, I’ve graduated to judging and have tasted dozens of sweet & savory tarts to determine a winner, tried more crazy fried concoctions than I care to mention to select a deserving fair food vendor for the\u00a0Concessionaires award<\/a> and, this year, I’m lending my taste buds to the Vegan Kitchen Challenge on August 8th.<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Entering homegrown vegetables, baked goods, artwork, collections, etc. to be judged at the fair is a fantastic, rewarding summer activity for kids (and adults). Youth categories<\/a> include: Photography, Crafts, Service Projects, Fine Art, Jewelry, Collections, Creative Writing, Foods, Table Setting, Farm & Garden, Floral and Livestock. And the best part is you don’t have to be Best of Class, there are categories for the Largest and Ugliest and, besides reinforcing some old fashioned values and knowing where food really originates from, your kids will get a big kick out of running over to the agriculture section to see their homegrown lemons or whatever on display and discovering whether they won a first, second, or honorable mention ribbon. A lot of honorable mentions are given, so your chances of earning a ribbon are pretty good!<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Don’t miss the Centennial Farms area nearby where kids can get close to some real farm animals and be sure to make your way towards the back where, if we’re lucky, there’s a mother pig who has recently given birth and you can watch the antics of the tiny piglets.<\/p>\n
\nYou can see why Tasti Chips’<\/strong>\u00a0chips and Grant Burgers<\/strong> have been a fair favorite since 1974!<\/p>\n