Fair Food Preview

New food items at the 2012 SD County Fair

by Erin Jackson

Posted Monday, June 4, 2012, 08:00AM

The San Diego County Fair opens this Friday, and promises to bring another season of thrills, and I don't mean the new zipline course. I'm talking about the food: the deep-fried, cheese-stuffed, bacon-wrapped food.

Some of the new items include the "Caveman Turkey Club" (pictured above) -- which features a full pound of bacon wrapped around an extra-large turkey leg. That meaty monster is available at Bacon-A-Fair, where you'll also find the "Manly Gourmet," a bacon-wrapped sausage stuffed with mushrooms, artichokes, and smoked mozzarella, and the "Meat Lovers Hot Dog on a Stick", a deep-fried, beer-battered, bacon-wrapped hot dog.

And though cheese, bacon, and giant hunks of meat prevail, not everything will bust your gut. Also new this year are two vendors selling healthier options. The Lobster Shack will be dishing out steamed lobster tails, and Pineapple Express will offer grilled shrimp and chicken, served over rice in a hollowed-out pineapple.

Chicken Charlie's, everyone's favorite fryer, has a few new items for the 2012 season, including deep-fried cereal, deep-fried pork chops, and deep-fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Other sweet options include cookie dough on a stick at the Gingerbread House, red velvet funnel cakes at Funnel Cake Express, and the Del Mar Diner (in Plaza del Mexico) is serving up deep-fried Tang, perhaps in hopes of capitalizing on last year's breakout hit: deep-fried cherry Kool-aid.

Reno's Fish 'n' Chips has a few items that sound promising: sweet potato tater tots, and "beach fries", french fries topped with yogurt (fish taco sauce) and salsa, while Pignotti's Pasta is offering new bread bowls that you can fill with pasta or salad.

For a closer look at some of the new items and returning favorites, take a look at the slide show below. You can also get a full run-down of the new grub on the Fair's webpage.

The San Diego County Fair runs from Friday, June 8th to Wednesday, July 4th. The Fair is closed on Mondays, except for July 2nd. Adult admission is $13, kids 5 and under are free. For more information about dates, hours, and admission costs, click here.