mmm-yoso!!!. You are here. Cathy is blogging. Enjoy.
Hi. I know you’ve been waiting for this post. The Mister and I met up with Ms. T. at the front gate of the Fairgrounds the other day.
Where Don Diego greeted us, along with an Olympic looking sculpture. We had come in on the Double Decker bus from the free parking area on Via de la Valle, saving us $9 in parking fees. Its a nice ride and kind of fun. There are also a few old yellow school buses, which are…um…smaller than I remember them being. The buses run every 15 minutes and take you right to the front gate, where you can walk in and see the Midway. 
There are all sorts of stimulating entertainment, sights and sounds, even at the opening hour (10 a.m.).
The concession stands remind me why I came here… 
and I must remember why I came here. To blog!
The Mister brought this to the table first. The deep fried White Castle cheeseburger. 
The innards. It is a White Castle cheeseburger and fries ($~6 for the plate) but we were one of the first orders of the day and I could detect just a slight…um…un-freshness in the taste of the oil used to fry the batter. Not rancid, but not fresh. The fries were excellent though. Oh, and the White Castle (it isn’t called a burger) was, without the batter, just as I remembered. But I usually don’t get it with cheese. The teensy chopped onions and soft mushy bun were good. If I were to grade it, it would get a "C". Passable.
Gosh, the ads on the stands are overwhelming… 
Ms. T chose the healthiest and best tasting meal we had all day-the chicken kabob with pickled turnips and fresh hummus-with the large refillable for $2 (including tax) at any concession stand beverage, the total was $20. The kabob was wonderful-fresh chunks of charbroiled chicken breast, crispy green peppers and sweet onion chunks with a side of fresh, home made(a little chunky/not perfectly smooth) hummus and fresh a bit salty in a good way pickled turnips this was the best overall meal. 
Definitely an A+. Oh, you read the signs, did you? Of course I got the deep fried Spam (~$6). This was excellent. the batter was more waffle or cornmeal- The Mister said like corn dog batter (I have *never* had a corn dog in my life…really) and quite pleasant. Four big chunks (half a can, I’d say) and two slices of canned pineapple along with a sweet and sour dipping sauce. Excellent. I’d give it a B+/ A- only because of that health thing people talk about…people like my Family Physician…(Hi Dr. B at Kaiser!) 
So, we decided to walk off some of the ‘breakfast’ items we ate and look around the Fairgrounds. 
The Midway rides look the same. 
Home Arts has the quilts displayed so you can’t touch them (apparently there was a problem). 
The cake decorating contest entrants were also protected. 
As were the Crafting winners. 
The Palomar College student woodworking competition was particularly interesting to me and I liked this small table the best. It is very well made with curved walnut sides and maple. 
This was a creative floral design, using a lemon sliced water filled base. 
There are weekly floral competitions for various flowers. This one was pretty. 
Oh, back to some food. 
Seriously. The foot long hot dog- extremely good quality. Grade: A. With chili (bottom cup)(Grade:B-; It had beans)(About $5) and a $2 Tuesday special 2 ounce sample of the BBQ beef-excellent (grade: A). OK. You can’t tell the size? 
That’s a Samsung mobile phone on the tray. 
The ubiquitous Funnel cake- top is the $2 Tuesday sample, bottom is the $3 with strawberries and whipped cream regular size. (I liked the plain one better). It’s a sweet and was OK, but I don’t crave sweets. Grade: C
The reason I come to the Fair. The cream puffs. $3 regular size vanilla, chocolate mini $2 Tuesday sample.I love the fresh cream and shell made daily. Can’t get it anywhere around here, or I would. 
More from The floral design competition. 
Finally, an order of Tasti Chips, always a favorite ($5)… Grade:A) I eat the Trader Joe’s Hawaiian chips in the blue bag-regularly. I love good chips.
Then back on the free transportation back to the free parking lot. Another year at the Fair.
You can get discounted tickets at Ralphs with a $10 purchase. ($10 versus $12 standard admission). Most vendors have $2 specials on Tuesdays. I did not try the frog legs. I grew up eating them and just did not want anything else fried. They taste like fishy chicken…Sorry
www.sdfair.com Until July 6