LA County Fair Foodie report – Food Trucks

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Food’s hottest trend rolls into the LA County Fair

photos: we heart this

Welcome to we heart this, the home of the First Official Los Angeles County Fair Foodie, Stef! As her trusty Foodie Assistant, the two of us were treated to a once-in-a-lifetime backstage look at the entire LA County Fair and were treated to a taste of the scrumptious offerings available at the world’s largest county fair.

Of course, giving the hundreds of food offerings found at the fair we couldn’t eat them all – but we gave it a good try! Over the next month (the LA County Fair runs through October 3rd) we will be sharing the latest (chocolate-covered, bacon-wrapped Oreos) and greatest (cotton candy and fried everything) foods found on the Fairplex grounds. And that’s not to mention the surprises, like Mexican Fusion dishes from LA’s hot spots and healthly choices like fresh fruit smoothies.

And since wht has “a little bit of everything and a whole lot of love” we’ll be sharing information we picked up during our “backstage” access, including insider secrets, the best attractions to see (not only educational and fun – they’re air conditioned!) and of course, more animal pictures then a 4-H manual.

Ready to talk food? This year at the LA County Fair you’ll not only find fried delights and sweets galore, but you can also discover the trendy culinary side of LA via food’s next big venue – the food truck. Every weekend trucks will arrive directly from the streets to the LA County Fair, offering a host of comfort foods with cutting edge ingredients and an international flare including The Dimsum Truck, Fishlips Sushi and Buttermilk (click here to see the full schedule).

Stef and I tasted the fares of both of the food trucks parked and serving on Opening Day. We started our food truck experience at Calbi – the home of a fresh and delicious fusion of Korean BBQ in Mexican standards like tacos and burritos. The Kimchee and cheese quesadilla combo was a new taste to me, but surprisingly good (the carbs absorb the tanginess of the Kimchee nicely) and the menu offers a nice variety of meat and veggie options for such a small kitchen.

After a little hot and spicy, it’s time for something sweet and cold and the Cool Haus truck delivered just that! This yummy little company creates “architecturally-themed,” gourmet and all-natural ice cream sandwiches in customizable edible wrappers. With unique ice cream flavors like Brown Butter with Candied Bacon and Sea Salt Caramel wrapped in a choice of cookies, this is one treat you will always remember. We indulged in some Dirty Mint Chip ice cream with a Chocolate Cookie wrap. Yum!

A Street Kitchen veggie taco, a glass of beer and some shade = heaven.

Finally, here’s an insiders secret. There is another smaller, trailer-type food truck that’s parked on the patio at the Wine & Spirits Marketplace (in the Home and Gardens area). Here we found Street Kitchen, offering grilled meats and veggies for tacos and quesadillas, as well as sliders and a take on the classic Philly Cheesesteak. Best of all, the location is ideal – there are tons of comfy seats on the shaded, fanned patio or inside the air conditioned Marketplace. Grab a beer or glass or wine, place an order at the truck and dig in!

Finally, I was pleasantly surprised to find that all of these food trucks offered fare for both the meat-eaters and vegetarians (Cool Haus even offers vegan “ice cream”).

The Attraction You Can’t Miss
Once you are full, it’s time to take your little carnivores and herbivores on some adventures! If you want to see their little eyes get round and big we recommend Jurassic Planet. Something’s amiss at this bio-research facility – what with animatronic dinosaurs busting out of the building and all. Marvel at the mass of the pre-historic creatures (they’re life size), study fossils and ask the on-site paleontologist a few questions. (All in the cool splendor of the air conditioned facility!)

Finally, no trip to the LA County Fair is complete without petting a few animals. Here are a few pictures to tide you over until you can get to the Fairplex and see them for yourself:

Breakfast with the baby yaks.

A sleepy pig.

This goat says “Meet me at the LA County Fair!”

For more information, check out the official site – see you at the LA County Fair!