While the majority of us may stand before our pantries and refrigerators, staring deeply at the shelves while attempting to build an innovative and delicious dish out of the ingredients on hand, the wizards of the OC Fair must snap their fingers to summon a savory new dish.
Well... There's probably lots more that goes into the process beyond easy finger-snapping, but the OC Fair concessionaires do make it look a little effortless. Come fair time, year in and year out, the interesting foodstuffs get an early spotlight -- the new Cherry Pop Rocks Donut qualifies here in the "interesting foodstuffs" category -- and we fair goers vow to be more creative in our own cookery.
Creative? "Wacky" is perhaps a more fitting word.
And that challenge to all of the home cooks to step things up has just stepped up: Grantburgers' claimed the tip-top spot in the fair's Concessionaires' Cup Contest.
What's the contest all about? Food vendors submitting their very best dishes for pro judging. "The 70 entries submitted by Fair food vendors were first judged on a set standard for Gold, Silver, and Bronze rankings," explains the fair. The Gold-ranked items were further judged on creativity, originality, and "value for menu price."
Local chefs and cuisine mavens weighed in, including OC Fair demonstrator Ernest Miller, so the buds doing the tasting were of the toniest variety.
And the burger itself, which combines three flavorful components not typically found together on the same plate? It's "a towering sandwich with a spicy chorizo patty, jalapeno jam, avocado, tomato, cheese, and a whole chile relleno in a soft pretzel bun."
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Yep: a whole chile relleno. That works by us. You, too? Thought so.
Want to sample this inspired bit of culinary kookyness for yourself? The OC Fair is on in Costa Mesa through Sunday, Aug. 10.
Our only question is this: Will you chase your burger with that Pop Rocks donut, which is truly and honestly real?
