The SLY Foodie

Each year we try to make it to the annual fried food smorgasbord that is the LA County Fair. Now, everyone knows that the food makes the fair, at least it does, in my opinion. Sadly, however, I am noticing that the older I get, the less room I have for all these delectable treats that is sure to send you to the nearest hospital for a triple bypass or something. It is probably best to proceed with caution, for both you and your wallet.

So, on to my favorite foods... at the top of the list, is of course, the roasted corn by the Chuck Wagon next to Fairview Farms. There is nothing like this BBQ corn. Nothing. You have the option of having melted butter slathered over the ear of corn, but frankly, how could you not have corn without butter? Then comes the fun and creative part. They have all sorts of condiments you can put on the corn, such as garlic salt, cajun seasoning, lemon juice, pepper, hot sauce, mayonnaise, etc. To quote Rachael Ray, "Yum-O!"




The next things we usually get are the selections at Chicken Charlie's, located across from the bandstand. Like a fair worker said, "they'll fry anything." (That's true, by the way). This year, they had delicacies such as deep fried frog legs, avocadoes, artichokes, zucchini, White Castle cheeseburger, Twinkies and Pop Tarts (yes, Pop Tarts). The deep fried cheeseburger intrigued me, so after a few minutes of indecision, I caved and got it. The first bite was awesome, but the closer I got to the end, the more batter I tasted, and not the actual burger. It was served with some fries, and it was overall so-so.


By this time, we really weren't feeling the fried food love (a sign that we are not as young as we used to be), so we just settled on sharing some deep fried apple fries. Yep, apple fries. It was actually not a bad dish. It's Granny Smith apples cut up like fries, flash fried to seal in the apple juices, then rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with whipped cream. It tasted just like apple pie. Be careful, though - it's really hot! I wish I had taken a picture.

The final dish we were able to tolerate (barely) was the deep fried mushrooms from a booth with a crocodile on the picture. They are sizable white mushrooms (like the ones used to make stuffed mushrooms), deep fried in a batter with a little bit of cayenne pepper for an extra spicy kick. It's served with ranch dressing for an additional charge. This used to be my favorite dish at the fair because I love mushrooms. I'm not sure what it was, maybe it was a combination of high prices and the fact that we were through eating, but it wasn't as good as it used to be.


I was told that there were some people that were there at the fair from the time it opened to the time it closed. Professional fair goers, I guess they're called. To which I say, bleh. The food is really the only reason to visit the fair. But a word to the wise: if you plan on sampling all the fair has to offer, it is best to pace yourself, for the sake of your belly and your wallet.