On Labor Day Weekend, the LA County Fair returned for another month-long run of petting zoos, thrilling rides, and fried foods you wouldn’t dare eat on any other occasion.
To spare you from having to try every single thing on the menu at the fair, I visited* to sample some of the foods that will be served over the next few weeks. For this Fair season, you’ll find food trucks, fried Kool Aid, and plenty of other things that are finger licking good. BYO Wet naps!
The fair is leading a convoy of trucks to the fair for the weekends. Look for four trucks including…
- Piaggio on Wheels, an Argentine taco truck serving empanadas, skirt steak tacos, chimichurri, sausage and lomito sandwiches, and dulce de leche.
- Crepes Bonaparte, serving traditional French crepes
- Calbi Tacos and Burritos serving their namesake dishes stuffed with BBQ beef short rib, chicken, spicy pork, shrimp & tofu
- One more truck that I can’t recall at the moment! 😀
Chicken Charlie’s has a great big kitchen at the Fairplex that I imagine is full of deep fryers and hundreds of gallons of vegetable oil. The sole reason: frying everything you can think of!
Of course I had to try the Totally Fried Kool-Aid. These golden brown and slightly red orbs were served piping hot with a dusting of powdered sugar. Inside the crispy shell, the fluffy insides were the color and aroma of strawberry Kool Aid. The flavor was reminiscent of pancake puppies with a sweet, fruit essence.
Also from Chicken Charlies is a new way to cook and serve ribs: frybecue. In this case, pork ribs are dip fried and then drenched in a slightly spicy barbecue sauce.
Continuing the meat theme, Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ has all of the proteins covered and smokes all of their meats in a wood fired pit. That includes ribs, turkey legs, and sliders.
If you’re wondering how much plates are going for, check out this listing of prices from Big Bubba’s to get an idea.
After a few plates of hot and spicy eats, look for something cool to drink. My suggestions: the strawberry margarita with Jose Cuervo tequila or the spiked lemonade made with Sailor Jerry’s Rum.
And for dessert, look for the Old Time Ice Cream stand to check out classic ice creams. If you want something nutty, go for the cheese cake bar covered with chocolate and nuts.
The LA County fair only comes around once every year; enjoy it while you can!
- http://www.lacountyfair.com
The fair runs Wednesday to Sunday until October 2
* Just so you know, all of the items I sampled for this review were provided compliments of the LA County Fair during a media preview event.