What happens when a food blogger and a nutritionist head off to see what food is on offer at the Orange County Fair in Costa Mesa? SHOCK, HORROR AND A WHOLE LOT OF FUN , because this is America folks, and its not County fair food unless its big, battered, grease-soaked, carbo and calorie loaded , and deep fried.
Hollywood's world famous landmark Pink's was selected as the fair's top dish creator this year with "The Bam Dog". So whats on top of this hot dog - bacon, cole slaw, jalapenos, cheese, mustard, and onions, and it looked pretty darn good.
Starbucks crazy "Deep Fried Coffee" with its ground coffee inside a doughnut ball , is deep fried in a mixture of oil and bacon fat and then covered with sugar and whipped cream and handed to you in a regular Starbucks cup. Now thats a coffee with a difference.
And then there are turkey legs covered with bacon, cobs of corn jammed onto sticks, covered in cornmeal batter and deep fried in hot oil, deep fried cheeseburgers, and pretty much anything else you could imagine battered and fried. I confess the only things I tried were the bacon stuffed jalepenos and the cheesy bacon bombs, which were both bite sized, which is what I am accustomed to, and they were absolutely delicious.
And from there it was downhill all the way with a "Coronary Combo" of deep-fried butter and chocolate-covered bacon. This isn't just a fried stick of butter, its a churro split in two and filled with a butter stick, which is then placed in the deep fryer until crunchy. This is then topped with a whooping pile of cream. Add to this some chocolate coated bacon and the combo will cost you a mere $10. Or you could try "the Widow Maker" - jumbo sized garlic butter fries, fried in oil, fortified with bacon dripping and drenched in garlic butter. I am having heart pulpatations at the very thought of it.
I was hoping to see medics at each turn, as the thought of all those people eating that much fat was terrifying, but instead, there were just thousands of people having the time of their lives.
Chicken Charlie's $125 caviar Twinkie seemed a little pricey, and I wonder how many people bought them, but they were on offer for anyone with a load of cash in their wallets, and a taste for adventure. And if you were looking for something sweet thats more affordable, there are Mexican funnel cakes, churros, candy apples, and deep fried Oreos.
We made our way to the children's farmyard, had some fun at the kareoke stand, and then headed over to the kiddies funfair. We never managed to get to the adult rides and I am sure if the little ones could have lasted longer we all would have been there until well after dark.
The OC Fair ends on August 16 so get down there for some good old American fun.
