JAM Reviews The Orange County Fair

The Orange County Fair
Review by JAM

As we near the end of another visit by the Orange County fair to the wonderful city of Costa Mesa, I figured I could take a little look back for those who wanted to reminisce (or be grossed out) and for those that might be heading out for this final weekend at the fair.

Food, Fun, and the Fair

Being originally a Midwesterner, the county fair has always held huge meaning to me. It was the end of summer get together for friends and family where a small county could meet on common ground for competition, sportsmanship, and fun. Back in my youth the fair and being a member of 4H meant projects to do, animals to prepare and show, and money to make through the collection of the fabled blue, red, and white ribbons (or even the symbolic purple of the champions). The California’s fairs may not hold the same mystique for me but it does not make it any less fun. The chance to walk down the Midway, smell the animal barns and the fair food, and check out a couple of awesome concerts (click for the Martina and Julianne reviews) made the fair all worthwhile for this Midwest transplant.

The food… Back in the day, the fair was that magical place that every year shared its culinary delights with us. Bratwurst and milk shakes, cheese curds and funnel cakes, the list goes on and on… So this year I decided to try some new things and share them with my readers and friends. Immediately as you walk into the fair, you are assailed by scents and sights that appeal (and disgust) people as they walk by.

First night at the fair was the Martina concert, reviewed by the amazing female side of JAM, which left me to wander the fair is search of food. Having a wife who attended college in the Midwest, I was given the task of searching for cheese curds. Heck, they sounded good to me too and I spent the next 45 minutes wandering the fair grounds asking for help from bewildered fair workers until finally I found someone who understood my plight. She shared that there were NONE! Seems the California fairs are doing a bit of overlapping and a number of the food booths had to decide which fair to cover, and unfortunately for the team of JAM the OC Fair did not get its cheese curd coverage. So instead I started with the one-two combo of a fried Snickers and fried cheesecake.

I have to admit the fried Snickers did not live up to my expectations, but I think I was expecting too much. I was expecting perfection and got a pretty good treat, but it wasn’t enough. The fried cheesecake though… WOW!!! It was an amazing melt-in-your-mouth good time that was too much for me. Anyone that plans on that at their own county fairs, I recommend the sweetie special as in “Sweetie, share this with me!” Problem is with all that sugar, you kind of need something to fill you up and counteract the sugar rush. Can you say PROTEIN!

The next trip to the fair led to new treats as the idea of fried butter appealed to me for some reason. Maybe it is because I love butter, but it still scared me at the same time. Here is what you get if you order the cinnamon version of the fried butter (I cannot discuss the garlic flavored because I did not try it). They do NOT take an entire stick of butter and deep fat fry it (hey, it’s what I thought, but not true). Think of a mini churro, inject an amount of butter inside, fry it up, place it on a bed of fried crispy chips, and finally add some whipped cream and cinnamon. I had wondered why there was chocolate and caramel squeeze bottles waiting outside the food area and figured I would add a little flavor with the caramel. Note to readers: Add more caramel or chocolate to the chips below. They are tasty and buttery, but I ran out of the caramel sauce and felt deprived, realizing I should have drenched them a little more. Oh yeah, did I mention that I got a side of chocolate bacon to go along with it?

Once again, needing an agent to counteract the sugar I found myself searching for something special. Long ago I had promised myself that I would try frog legs, but never had really had the chance. Well thank you Orange County Fair, because I can now cross it off my list of things to do before I croak…

Speaking of frogs, after the food is done, there’s a cool reptile area in which you can check out some cool snakes and a big frog… Man, those legs would have filled me up.

JAMS Ink on the Orange County Fair

Though it may not be that yearly extravaganza that the Midwest county fairs were, the OC Fair does a real good job standing up to the entertainment options throughout Southern California. Crazy fun fair food, a fun midway with rides for the kids, and a great slate of concerts for people of all tastes in music means that the OC Fair was a fun romp. Check it out when it comes back to town next year, or check out the LA County Fair for some fun in the weeks to come (Sept.4 – Oct.3).