The curtain recently closed on the 2016 OC Fair in Costa Mesa, California, after 23 days and 1.3 million visitors. During that time, many carnival prizes were won, and a lot of bacon was taken — at least 350,000 strips.
Bacon appeared in a host of bacon dishes as a mix-in, chocolate covered or a wrapping for zucchini, shrimp or other proteins. Some highlights include:
• 5,000 lbs. of potatoes were baked and wrapped in bacon while 5,500 hot dogs were covered in 20 gallons of homemade Pepsi syrup and served in a glazed donut bun from the Bacon A-Fair booth.
• Chicken Charlie’s FRYBQ served 12,000 lbs. of chicken legs in bacon, 13,000 waffles stuffed with chicken on a stick and battered and deep-fried 40,000 Oreos.
• Bacon A-Fair also served 10,000 French Toast Bacon Bombs.
• Biggys Meat Market handed out 6,000 pork belly bacon dogs while doling out 15,000 lbs. of The Big Rib, 800 gallons of barbecue sauce and a rail car worth of potatoes as fresh-cut curly fries.
“This year’s Fair had a great vibe and energy,” OC Fair & Event Center CEO Kathy Kramer said in a statement. “We enjoyed nice weather on average and our Fairgoers seemed to really love the changes we made with layout and programming. Our customer service ratings were exceptional and we’re proud to have produced this great community event.”
