The fair is back at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The theme for this year is "Let's go retro," and along with the classic fair games and rides, San Diegans always look forward to the food.
You can always find traditional corndogs, hotdogs, deep-fried Oreos and bacon-wrapped pickles, but thanks to the fair holding its Fair-tastic food competition, plenty of new items were added to the menu this year.
All food concessionaires were asked to enter their culinary creations into three distinct categories: wow, theme and new, with 41 new menu items added.
The competition will be held on Friday, June 14. Below are some of the semi-finalists.
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Here are some of the new foods you can find at the fair this year:
Drinks:
On the left is the Surfin' USA Party Milkshake by Fruit Caboose which is a frozen lemonade blended with sweet homemade vanilla soft-serve with a graham cracker rimmed souvenir mug and finished off with a cherry on top. In the middle, you have the Mango Mayhem by Boba King which is a creamy mango slushie with mango popping boba, topped with whipped cream, gummy peach rings and a Mango Cherry Big Stick Popsicle. The drink on the right is from Moms Bake Shoppe with their 50/50 Brownie Parfait.
On the left is the Disco Pop Shake from TJs Ice Cream made with classic grape soda and vanilla ice cream, swirled with whipped cream and dancing grape Pop Rocks. In the middle is the Dreamsicle Pussing Trifle from Farmer in the Del which has layered house-made vanilla cheesecake, local fresh orange mousse and salted graham cracker crust. Topped with sugared orange, whipped cream & dreamsicle ice cream pop. On the right, is the Strawberry Dream from Boba King which is strawberry fruit syrup, blended with non-dairy creamer and ice, poured over a bed of strawberry bursting boba and topped with strawberry crunch and a strawberry Pop-Tart.
San Diego County Fair 2024
Desserts:
On the left is the Cookies and cream funnel cake from Fried Food Factory. The funnel cake is drizzled with powdered sugar and topped with crushed OREO cookies and whipped cream. In the middle is the Dole Pineapple Paradise Butter Cake Sundae is butter cake topped with Dole Pineapple soft serve and vanilla soft serve swirl, surrounded by fresh-cut strawberries, Ghirardelli caramel, coconut, and topped with whipped cream and a cherry on top. On the right, is the Freeze-dried fruit rollup that is stuffed with cotton candy from Sugar Puff Candy.
On the left is Le Crookie from Mom's Bakeshoppe.Its a buttery croissant filled with a cookie. In the middle is Beignets from Breads of the World. On the right is a Cream Puff from Funnel Cake by Chicken Charlie which is fresh whipped cream sandwiches between two small funnel cakes.
Foods:
On the left are Spam Fries from the Boba King that are accompanied by a trio of sauces like sweet Thai chili, spicy mayo and teriyaki sauce. In the middle is Maui Chicken from Chicken Charlie's which is grilled teriyaki chicken bites served over a mound of buttery sticky rice over fresh, sweet pineapple chunks. On the right is Mexican Street Corn Pizza from Pat's Pizza. It's a pizza topped with sprinkled with a blend of mozzarella and queso fresco, topped with fire-roasted corn, dusting of chili lime seasoning, a dash of cilantro and then baked. That is then topped with Mexican Crema.
On the left is Hot Peach Crispy Chicken Sandwich from Farmer in the Del. It has fried chicken with hot honey drizzle and juicy local peaches, bleu cheese slaw, candied pecans on a buttered brioche bun. In the middle is the Fried Green Tomato Burger from Blue & White All American Classics which is a battered and deep-fried tomato on a 1/4-pound hamburger with chipotle sauce, lettuce and cheese. On the right, is a Mondo Beef Birria Cheeseburger from Tasti Burgers. Its a soft brioche bun with chipotle mayo, pico de gallo, and cabbage slaw, 1/3 pound fresh beef patty, shredded beef Birria, consommé, Hatch green chili cheese sauce, and pickled red onions.
But that is not all, there are still a lot of new food options being offered this year at that fair. To see a full list, click here
