mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food. Cathy is writing the post for today while Kirk is busy with things, elsewhere.
On Sunday, June 2, I dropped by the County Fairgrounds and the front gate was still being set up.
Two days ago, the front gate was almost ready to welcome thousands of people daily, beginning tomorrow (June 12) until July 7 (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays).
The Theme of the 2024 Fair, is "Let's Go Retro and will be celebrating the music, movies, TV shows, fashion, food, games and fads of the 1950's to the 1990's.
The Exhibit Hall (to the right when you walk in the main gate) is decorated with "Pac Man" logos and is filled with information of the theme- displays of items from the past, video games, music and more.
Last week, there was no Ferris Wheel at the end of the Midway and one specific booth was not yet set up.
But that is all taken care of now.
Similarly, the path toward the Infield, with rides for children, garden and farming education displays has also been made ready for visitors.
This booth looks interesting; I think the French Toast/ice cream combination sounds yummy.
Then again, I noticed this on one of Chicken Charlie's booths…
Many of the rides and booths were not not yet set up because they had all been at the Los Angeles County Fair which had its run in May. That Fair closed on Memorial Day and everyone had to pack up and move to the Del Mar Fairgrounds and set up while waiting for inspections.
The Fair Website has a link to some of the new foods which will be sold this year. There will be celebrity judges tasting and judging each of these concoctions on June 14, but knowing that you can choose and plan ahead is a good thing.
***Notable on the (recently updated) Fair Website is "Taste of the Fair"- on Wednesdays and Thursdays only, all food booths will offer, for $5, a 'sample size' of a certain item they sell. Here is a link! The last time the Fair offered food samples was $3 Thursdays in 2019.
My second post will feature items The Mister and I find interesting.
//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
There will of course be rides, games of skill, demonstrations, entertainment stages, sales booths, a Speakeasy (Disco themed) and exhibits showcasing skills of local residents.
Home Made has been judging crafts and setting them up for display.
The quilts this year are beautiful.
The collections are, once again, eclectic.
There were many entries in the Preserved Foods Division.
The Baked Goods Division had more entries than last year.
Of course, the Theme of the Fair is encouraged for all crafts, collections, and even food entrants!
So much to see and do and enjoy- the start of summer.
San Diego County Fair Website, open June 12-July 7, closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Opens daily at 11. Purchase tickets for the Fair and Parking online (or there is free parking at Canyon CrestAcademy-the other location, Torrey Pines High School, is undergoing some construction; many signs directing you to the new location, about one mile away) with a discount code from Vons/Albertsons.
It was a very large portion! Though you can see how thick the kitchen is slicing the tendon and pork ear now. Eating some of the pieces of tendon was like trying to bite into your flip-flops! The pig ear was crunchy and manageable. The smacked cucumbers were better than what I'd had here previously, with a decent amount of salt. The chili oil based sauce wasn't quite as spicy as I recalled and it had a hint of sweetness and more soy sauce, which wasn't a bad thing.
Soon enough my plate arrived. I loved the colors on my plate. The rice was fluffy and fragrant, the adana kebab, while not as full of various spices as the version during Sultan's heydays was surprisingly moist, tender, and very beefy.
Other than that, this was a nice meal. A nice reacquaintance to an old favorite, a place like I mentioned so many times inspired us to 
Well, so that gentleman I ran into while 
Located in one of the larger strip mall areas with plenty of parking,
the interior is quite large. When we got here, there was plenty of seating which quickly filled by the time we left.
The menu is quite large. 
It comes with hard-form rice paper atop a bowl of hot water for dipping and a plate of green leaf lettuce, mint, cilantro, sliced cucumbers, pickled daikon and carrots, pineapple and, of course, fish sauce. Side note- the water does not have to be warm to get the rice paper to a soft-form. This was filled in fresh flavors and fun to construct while chatting.
As soon as we sat down, I ordered a Banh Xeo-Vietnamese Crepe ($15.95). It takes extra time to prepare.
This rice flour crepe is filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, onion slices, and mung beans. It is also served with the plate of greens (minus the pineapple). Wrapping a bit of everything in a lettuce leaf and dipping it in the fish sauce (another 'build it yourself' meal) makes for crunchy, tasty bites.
On the "Stir Fried Noodle" part of the menu, we went for it and ordered Hu Tieu Ap Chao Hoac Mi Dao (don) Thap Can-crispy egg noodle stir fried with baby bok choy, broccoli, carrot, onion, meat and seafood (chicken, char siu pork, shrimp, imitation crab, calamari and fish cake) in a garlic sauce. We haven't had crispy noodles in a long time and this was so very satisfying. The combination of flavors and textures in each bite was something we had missed.
Under "Broken Rice Dishes" on the menu, we chose Com Tam Tau Hu Ky- Steamed broken rice with ground shrimp wrapped in tofu and a char-grilled pork patty ($15.50). This plate was also quite a good size and everything was fresh in flavors-the char on the pork patty was excellent. 
As always, we order hot tea. The charge is only $1 each for the pot.
There are so many television sets in here. Each seat at each table has a view of at least two, even outside on the patio.
Here are a couple of tabletop menus.
The Mister ordered a Happy Hour Group Modelo (16 oz) for $4. I had a taste and it was nice.
We were here on a Wednesday and ordered six 'wings' for $1 each (there were nine flavors (three mild, the rest indicated heat)) and we chose the Honey BBQ. Nicely sauced and topped with sesame seeds, accompanied by celery, carrots and a good housemade Ranch dip. All drums, no flats and quite a good sized serving.
The Happy Hour fried Lemon-Pepper Zucchini ($7.99) was another sizable serving. Light breading, crisp fried and not greasy, the crunch as well as the very pleasant fresh and not seedy zucchini was great tasting on its own and very pleasant with th Ranch dip and housemate marinara. 
The Oggis Stix ($7.99). Pizza dough brushed with garlic olive oil and toped with mozzarella, parmesan and parsley were also served with the housemade ranch and marinara dips. This was kind of a wonderful, decadent bite. since we are watching our carbs; we did take about half of this home and it reheated well.
Here is another tabletop menu- Monday-Friday lunch from 11-2
Here's a cup of potato-cheese soup (add on $2.99). This was very nice on the cool day we were here.
The half balsamic chicken salad ($9.99) was accompanied by a (giant) garlic knot; much fancier than a slice of bread. Spring mix topped with grilled chicken, candied walnuts and Gorgonzola and a house made balsamic vinaigrette.
We decided to try a half flatbread ($6.99) and chose the Charcuterie-Sopressata, Genoa Salami, pancetta, pepperoni, green onion, mozzarella and shredded parmesan. This had Oggis 'pizza sauce' instead of marinara and was a tad 'spicy' but nothing to complain about. I liked the crisp, thin crust and flavor meld.
Along with some Veggie Eggrolls. All part and parcel of the lunch specials we ordered.
Well, my favorite sandwich here is the Chinese Sausage Sandwich ($9.99), I get it with a fried egg ($1.50), easy on the mayo, extra toasted. While it's on the "bready" side, getting the roll extra toasted enhances the crustiness and diminishes the potential for sogginess as Tadian, even when I ask for easy on the mayo will have too much of it. I enjoy the meaty lup cheong, which has a nice salty-porky-sweetness. The egg adds more savory tones and the avocado tempers things down. To me, the onions add a good pungency and is necessary, as is the mild sweet acidity of the tomato. Everything has a part to play here.
I know this wasn't the "sesame" version, but the light color was a bit of a shock. The plate included some fairly dry and chewy rice and a green salad with a standard issue wafu style dressing. The greens were fresh and crisp. The tentsuyu, tempura dipping sauce was a must have for the chicken.
The coating was light and crisp, the chicken itself was very moist and tender, a pleasant surprise since this is chicken breast. The flavor was quite mild, thus the dipping sauce is a must for adding savory-umami tones to the dish.
