Fair Foodie Fest: Too Much of a Not-So-Good Thing?

 

You're supposed to eat terrible things at the fair. That's part of the contract. But what if there are no fairs, but you're still craving a deep fried Krispy Kreme donut chicken sandwich.

Well, you've got problems. But nonetheless, fair food has become a crazy exercise in trying to top yourself with something even more unhealthy. It's fun at the Los Angeles County Fair in doses, and then there was the recent Fair Foodie Fest at the Rose Bowl. The idea: A drive-through experience with the chance of ordering all of your fair favorites.

Ultimately, as you see above, Evan went with a massive turkey leg, while below, we also got bacon cheese fries. Honestly, we were pretty tame vs. what we could have gotten. (The longest line of the evening was for a pulled pork sandwich stall.)

What was a bit disappointing is that it wound up being all the same vendor, and many of the stalls had similar food. At least at the fair, the choices are much more varied. Where was Chicken Charlie's?

The key selections: 

GIANT TURKEY LEGS
DEEP FRIED COOKIE DOUGH
MAPLE BACON FUNNEL CAKE
FUNNEL CAKE CHEESEBURGERS
KRISPY KREME DONUT CHEESEBURGERS
FUNNEL CAKES
DEEP FRIED OREOS, SNICKERS, KOOL AID, BUTTER
COTTON CANDY, KETTLE CORN AND LEMONADES
HAWAIIAN CHICKEN TERIYAKI PINEAPPLE BOWLS
Brand new BBQ ZONE featuring BBQ RIBS, BBQ CHICKEN, PULLED PORK SANDWICHES, and MORE
MEXICAN CURLY FRIES with JALAPENOS
CHEESE BACON CURLY FRIES

If you're looking for the Fair Foodie Fest, it's next appearing this weekend at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, Calif. Get your free entrance tickets here.

A Night at the Los Angeles County Fair, 2015 Edition

Deep-fried food, ferris wheels, more deep-fried food, circus acts and yes, another dose of deep-fried food. That's the Los Angeles County Fair, and the Franklin Avenue 4 enjoyed another balmy September evening this weekend taking it all in.



The view of the fair, which was divided into several parts: Carnival, The Farm (petting zoo, heritage mission, pig races and more), Shopping & Attractions, Kids' Zone, Outdoor Living, Home & Garden, Grandstand and Extreme Thrills (Go Karts and bungee jumps).



One of this year's food highlights (although I didn't try it) -- the Fireball-infused caramel banana donut. Not for kids.



I'd argue guacamole is fine on its own, but hey, why not.



I'm just gonna say it: I think you may be missing the point of a Slim Fast bar.



The line to get in the Fairplex was long on Friday night



A highlight: Riding the Sky Ride over the fair. (Think ski lift, but if you fall... there's no snow to cushion the blow).



Free "Live Shark Encounter" show at the "Beneath the Sea: An Underwater Adventure" attraction.



No one was eaten, as far as we can tell.



Another view, of the Kids' Zone (the Garden Railroad and kiddie rides)



The kids' favorite sites at the LA County Fair includes the massive Garden Railroad model train.



A Fox theatre replica at the model trains.



A "Big"-like step piano



Even the Doctor enjoys a good county fair.

One Week Left To Eat Your Way Through the Los Angeles County Fair

Dusk at County Fair food central.

Got a stomach of steel? Then you better get over to the L.A. County Fair in Pomona before it's all over. And this Friday, your questionable eating habits may pay off with a VIP weekend stay at the Sheraton Fairplex.

This Friday, the fastest contestant to take down some of the Fair’s biggest items -- including the 1 lb Big Chic on a Stick, 1 lb Big Rib, Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joes and more -- will score the hotel stay.

To apply, contestants must email their name, age, phone number, email address and hometown city to LAFairFoodFrenzy@gmail.com. All applications must be received by 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25. Selected participants will be notified on Thursday, Sept. 26.

But even if you're not a glutton for that much gluttony, what's a County Fair without ridiculous food? The Franklin Avenue family recently visited to try some of the more famous items on sale there. Here's a look:


The famous Chicken Charlie's. Home to...


...deep-fried cookie dough...


...a sloppy joe between two Krispy Kreme donut halves...


...deep-friend Dodger Dogs...


...deep-fried bacon pickles, deep-fried Oreos, and (what?) a grilled chicken sandwich...


...and deep-fried Twinkies, and more.


Tasti-Chips


My jalapeno-laden (natch) homemade kettle chips


"Ten Pound Buns" -- pizza-like garlic sourdough bread


The various pizza bread concoctions


Including, in the great "live a little" County Fair way, a "bacon Nutella" bread.


Maria ordered the bacon Nutella bread! I passed.


I ordered the buffalo chicken bread, without ranch sauce. Which they proceeded to put on anyway.


A "tri-tip Sundae": Mashed potatoes, tri-tip, BBQ sauce and a tomato. This was quite delicious.


The Blooming Onion booth. Nope, County Fair vendors are not required to post calorie counts.


Even SkinnyGirl cocktails are there. How did this become a thing?


SkinnyGirl wine? Uh... you go ahead and try it.


Food row, in the heart of the park (next to the trains)


It's not a County Fair without some animals.

Read a recap of our 2011 visit here. The L.A. County Fair ends on Sept. 29. The Pomona Fairplex, 1101 W. McKinley Ave., Pomona, CA

Fried Food, and a Whole Lot More, at the LA County Fair

Another Los Angeles County Fair is now history. We battled rush-hour traffic on the 210 -- not an easy task -- on Friday evening, all the way down to Pomona, in order to take in the fair at least once before Sunday, when it shut down for another year. It's impossible to hit everything in one evening (particularly a warm Friday evening, when the Fairplex was packed), but we did a pretty good job with two kids in tow.

We focused particularly on kid attractions and rides, and there was no shortage of that -- from the shark demonstration to the Esmerala's Traveling Circus, and "Jurassic Planet" to "America's Kids." A few pics:


Site of the first-ever roller coaster experience for the Blogger Kid and Blogger Toddler 2.0. It was light-hearted kiddie-level roller coaster thrills, but I still had to hold on to the toddler (who might have slid out of his seat during the curve otherwise!).


This was no ordinary funnel cake. Mocha batter, covered with mocha crumbles, chocolate syrup, powdered sugar and whipped cream. (And from a vendor named "Fat Franky," no less.) So bad for you. Yet so amazing. Hey, when at the County Fair, right?


Speak of the devil... yeah, we hit Chicken Charlie's, and yes, the kids were keen on chicken and waffles. But the chicken is rotisserie, not fried. And Maria and I got hummus and pita with our chicken instead of fries or waffles.


Returning for another year, the "Jurassic Planet" exhibit is always a hit with the kids.


Bungee! No, we didn't try -- although I bet the Toddler 2.0 would have been game.


I'm sorry to say we were (a) too full and (b) not up for a stroke. But a maple bacon donut sounds like something we would have wanted to try.


No, we didn't turn around and eat a GIANT BLOCK OF FRIES SMUSHED TOGETHER. I asked the people at the table next to us if I could take this picture of their eats.


The Museum of Neon Art, soon to relocate to Glendale, had a presence at the fair as well, and hooked up some of its collection to decorate.


If PETA didn't like the City of Glendale's fake float elephant, I can pretty much assume they won't be a fan of this real-life elephant ride.


This kind of thing seems so stereotypical and County Fair cliche, yet here it is: Come See the Freakish-Sized Animals!


But I gotta admit, the shark show -- in which a trainer hops in the water and interacts with sharks -- was kind of fun to watch.


Blogger Kid's favorite part of the entire County Fair: The model railway.