Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Biggest gross-outs at fair

Chocolate pasta, bacon-wrapped baklava?

Margret Austin:  “I was the only one here for hours.”
Margret Austin: “I was the only one here for hours.”

The gates to the San Diego County Fair officially opened at 4:00 p.m. on June 1. And just like the last 30 years, Margaret Austin of Escondido was first in line.

Bautista family with chocolate pasta

“I woke up at 2:00, caught the bus at 5:30, and was in line by 7:00,” said Austin, just before the gates opened. “I was the only one here for hours.” Austin was heading to the garden show, and then to see “my piggies” at the Swifty Swine Pig Races.

The cardiac-arrest Chicken Charlie’s seems to set the bar for fried fair food. Along with offerings of deep fried Fillet Mignon, and a Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwich, the stand added chocolate pasta.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Bob’s Cobb on the Midway

The Bautista family from Bonita, 42 minutes after the fair opened, was the first to order the chocolate pasta. When asked what she thought of her first taste, Mrs. Bautista, after a long, poignant pause, said, “It's... chocolate pasta.”

Cocoa Cabana

Bill and Marci from Bay Park were the first to stop at Bob’s Cobb on the Midway. “We try to be the first every year, but missed it the last two years.” Bob, the 45-year stand owner, came out from the kitchen to honor his first customers. His BBQ Corn on the Cobb will cost $4.60 this year.

“My mother’s rolling over in her grave,” said Ted Platis, owner of The Mediterranean food stand, started by his parents. Ted’s been working the fair booth since 1973. He was referring to this year’s addition of a bacon wrap on what was his hand-made, traditional Greek baklava.

The newest addition to this year’s fair is the Speakeasy, on top of the grandstand; it offers adult beverages and small-plate food.

One has to be "invited” up to the tropical Cocoa Cabana with a secret password. Here’s a hint. One’s journey will begin in the Theme Building. Go to the bar, and ask for a boarding pass.

A guide will “fly” one through a maze of halls, tunnels, and elevators. The Speakeasy is only open Thursday through Saturday nights, and customers will be rotated out every 45 minutes.

The San Diego County Fair (locals still call it the Del Mar Fair) runs through July 4, but dark on Mondays and Tuesdays except for July 2 and 3.

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Drinking Sudden Death on All Saint’s Day in Quixote’s church-themed interior

Seeking solace, spiritual and otherwise
Next Article

Syrian treat maker Hakmi Sweets makes Dubai chocolate bars

Look for the counter shop inside a Mediterranean grill in El Cajon
Margret Austin:  “I was the only one here for hours.”
Margret Austin: “I was the only one here for hours.”

The gates to the San Diego County Fair officially opened at 4:00 p.m. on June 1. And just like the last 30 years, Margaret Austin of Escondido was first in line.

Bautista family with chocolate pasta

“I woke up at 2:00, caught the bus at 5:30, and was in line by 7:00,” said Austin, just before the gates opened. “I was the only one here for hours.” Austin was heading to the garden show, and then to see “my piggies” at the Swifty Swine Pig Races.

The cardiac-arrest Chicken Charlie’s seems to set the bar for fried fair food. Along with offerings of deep fried Fillet Mignon, and a Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwich, the stand added chocolate pasta.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Bob’s Cobb on the Midway

The Bautista family from Bonita, 42 minutes after the fair opened, was the first to order the chocolate pasta. When asked what she thought of her first taste, Mrs. Bautista, after a long, poignant pause, said, “It's... chocolate pasta.”

Cocoa Cabana

Bill and Marci from Bay Park were the first to stop at Bob’s Cobb on the Midway. “We try to be the first every year, but missed it the last two years.” Bob, the 45-year stand owner, came out from the kitchen to honor his first customers. His BBQ Corn on the Cobb will cost $4.60 this year.

“My mother’s rolling over in her grave,” said Ted Platis, owner of The Mediterranean food stand, started by his parents. Ted’s been working the fair booth since 1973. He was referring to this year’s addition of a bacon wrap on what was his hand-made, traditional Greek baklava.

The newest addition to this year’s fair is the Speakeasy, on top of the grandstand; it offers adult beverages and small-plate food.

One has to be "invited” up to the tropical Cocoa Cabana with a secret password. Here’s a hint. One’s journey will begin in the Theme Building. Go to the bar, and ask for a boarding pass.

A guide will “fly” one through a maze of halls, tunnels, and elevators. The Speakeasy is only open Thursday through Saturday nights, and customers will be rotated out every 45 minutes.

The San Diego County Fair (locals still call it the Del Mar Fair) runs through July 4, but dark on Mondays and Tuesdays except for July 2 and 3.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Poway’s schools, faced with money squeeze, fined for voter mailing

$105 million bond required payback of nearly 10 times that amount
Next Article

NORTH COUNTY’S BEST PERSONAL TRAINER: NICOLE HANSULT HELPING YOU FEEL STRONG, CONFIDENT, AND VIBRANT AT ANY AGE

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader