Tuesday, September 23, 2014

The Cherry On My Sundae

Last Sunday I had the privilege to enjoy, among other things, a beef brisket sundae at the L.A. County Fair. Fairs encompass many of my favorite things: caloric food, barnyard animals, colorful lights and attractions, and at least at this fair, wine and spirit tastings.

So what is in the beef brisket sundae you may ask? Well, it's beef brisket atop a heaping helping of mashed potatoes with a cherry tomato on top. It's actually one the healthier options at the fair.  I think I might want to recreate a version of this at home.



Below are just some random fair pictures showing and highlighting what you might expect to see at any fair and some things that were unique to the fair in Los Angeles this year.



Games galore! Why didn't my husband try to win me a Hello Kitty stuffed animal?


I used to like this swing ride when I was a kid, but I don't remember the ones I went on being quite so high! I'm not much of a ride person. I'll just admire them from afar.


Above is the fair's Luminasia exhibit, featuring larger than life Chinese lanterns that glow at night. I didn't see this exhibit because there was an extra charge, but you can see a lot of it from the street.


Luminasia glowing at night.


Unhealthy food galore too! I actually ate pretty healthy during this visit to the fair, save for the bloomin' onion and all of the cheese at the wine tasting events. I was pretty tempted by the 10 pound Nutella and bacon bun shown above or the Krispy Kreme donut cheeseburger.


I was happy to see that this year, the fair expanded its gardening and agricultural section, which brought back memories of the fairs I used to go to in New York. The New York State fair was really dedicated to farm and livestock, as opposed to the more "commercial" feel of the L.A. fair.

I think this is Swiss Chard.


The garden at the fair was quite extensive. Just about every herb and vegetable was represented from corn, to watermelon to exotic herbs. It gave me a lot of inspiration for what to plant in my garden next spring since I now have a "green thumb".


Below are the animals of the farm. I sort of have this strange love of goats. I think I took about 40 pictures of them. These are Hello Katie Girl's top three goat pics for the 2014 fair:




I also spied this very cute bunny.


After learning that we are zoned to have chickens on our property, my husband and I have been mulling over the idea raising "urban chickens" in order to have fresh eggs. (I also love chickens so they would be my pets!) I like the hen house below; perhaps I can replicate it in our backyard if we decide on getting chickens!

In addition to the cute animals, there was also the wine and spirit tastings. I'm always up for wine and cheese. It's fun to taste different gold, silver and bronze medal winning wines. The cheese is great too, but you have to ration it so you can taste a little with each wine. It's hard for a cheese lover such as myself to show some restraint!


We did a few wine and spirit tastings including: value wines, wine and cheese pairings and a class focused specifically on Cabernet. I was also thrilled to meet Wilfred Wong of BevMo fame. (Although he no longer works for them, if you've ever shopped at BevMo you've probably seen his ratings on their wines and spirits.) Below are some of the Cabernet wines we tired, one of which was $100 a bottle, but it was actually my least favorite.


Well, the L.A. County fair ends this Sunday, so if you live in the area your time to visit is almost up.  I can't wait to go back next year to see what food, wine and goats I'll discover next year!


Linking up today with Let's Be Friends Blog Hop

2 comments:

  1. That poor bunny looks so hot but he is adorable!
    I know of people who have urban chickens and love it. And yes, they would be my pets too. :) Looks like you had a great time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad to hear that other people you know love urban chickens! I know some people at work who raise them so I am trying to learn as much as I can. I think the only problem might be how William will react to them!

      Delete

Say hello to Hello Katie! I would love to hear from you!