Death by Carny Dog
OC Fair 2008, Costa Mesa
Last weekend we participated in our annual ritual of visiting the Orange County fair in Costa Mesa. Now, I’m no great advocate of the gastronomic wonderland that is your average county fair with whatever they’re happening to deep fry and put on a stick these days. But there is one thing that absolutely keeps me coming back every year, something that the mere arrival of July gets my mouth watering and looking forward to the fair. The thing that makes the whole trip down to the Costa Mesa fair grounds worthwhile is fresh roasted corn on the cob.
There’s just something about corn at the fair, I don’t know what exactly it is. The recipe seems so simple: Take fresh corn, roast it… that’s pretty much it. Yet somehow theirs is beyond anything I can reproduce at home, or anyone else for that matter. They must have a secret, and someday it will be mine! But until then I’ll keep coming back year after year.
One of the best parts about getting corn at the fair is the toppings available. You can fix your corn however you want with a plethora of creative options. You have your basic pat of butter and salt, garlic salt, seasoned salt, lemon juice, chili powder, tabasco and the list goes on. My own needs are pretty basic when it comes to corn, a pat of butter and salt, maybe some seasoned salt if I’m feeling adventurous. But people at the fair get pretty crazy with the condiments. One fellow corn enthusiast swore to me that slathered in mayonnaise and lemon juice is the only way to go. More power to him.
There is a dark side to my fair story though. After we enjoyed some corn, spent several hours walking around enjoying the photography exhibits, livestock, learning about all the products you may have seen on late night TV and listening to some live music, I was hungry. Worse, I was hungry with too many choices. That’s when I broke one of my own cardinal rules: Never buy a hot dog from a carny when you’re desperate!
I’m not proud of it, but I purchased and ate what is without a doubt the worst hot dog in the history of mankind from a pimple-faced overweight woman in her mid-forties. I knew I made a mistake when she handed it to me and I thought to myself “was she wearing any gloves?” I shook my head. Surely anything served from an old RV converted into a kitchen has impeccable food preparation standards. I was being paranoid.
Both the hot dog and the bun tasted like they were left over from last year’s fair. But I have my principles, and one of those principles is when you pay $4.75 for a hot dog you eat it young man. So I did, and my body thanked me for it later.
So there you have it. The OC Fair: Go for the corn, stay for the rides. Avoid the carny dogs.
Subpar 
Sublime
Wonder Bread 
Multigrain
Fancy 
Down Home
Credit Card Pocket Change
Safe No Ingles
Never Again 
All-time Fav
August 21st, 2008 at 7:23 am
While I admit that there are many tasty things at the Fair each year, it was a great disappointment this time. We visited the Fair mid-day on a Tuesday and decided to eat. I wanted BBQ, but not a large meal. We went to one of the main BBQ vendors on the main drag that runs underneath the overhead chair ride. I didn’t want a ton of ribs or a half chicken so I decided on a chicken fajita. It looked and smelled good….but tasted awful. And while the plate was piled high, it turned out that half of the fajita mix was ZUCCINNI! Who puts zuccinni in a fajita??? After I scraped aside this disgusting addition, it turned out that almost half of the fajita was zuccinni. Yuck. I had about 3 bites and tossed the rest in the trash. Never again. My wife and I have decided that from now on we’ll eat before we go and just have a snack (cinammon roll or ice cream) at the Fair.
August 21st, 2008 at 10:40 am
Terry, I agree with you completely. Zucchini in fajitas just sounds evil to me. BBQ in general at the fair I think is somewhat of a gamble. There’s no doubt the food at the fair is very hit-or-miss! I think your idea of eating beforehand and just snacking is probably a good one, although I would suggest eating light as there’s lots of snacking to be done there!