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You may think you’ve done everything and eaten everything at summer fairs. This year’s Alameda County Fair may surprise you. You can watch stunt dogs who have appeared on “America’s Got Talent” or pet a friendly owl. To satisfy your hunger, you can nibble on chicken and waffles on a stick and cool down with a Sunset Sky Ride tequila cocktail or a refreshing red, white and blue shaved ice.
New and classic fair food and events are ongoing until July 7 at the 264-acre Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton, a bonanza of carnival attractions, entertainment, concerts, horse racing, retail, exhibits, food and drink.
For the first time, the fair is hosting “Foodie’s Choice Awards.” Participating vendors have presented 15 “Crazy New Items” and 10 “Red, White and Blue” options for the two award categories. Note that there are over 40 new foods not entered in the contest, so keep an eye out for items such as asada baked potatoes and red, white and blue cotton candy.
The “Foodie’s Choice Award” vendors display a placard where you scan the QR code to vote for your favorites by June 30. The two winning “Foodie’s Choice” vendors receive a trophy and a signage for bragging rights. One lucky foodie who chooses to vote will win a $500 prize to be drawn on July 7.
Another new feature this year is a list of recommended fair food and beverage pairings from corn dogs to lamb gyros on the Food Finders section of the website. The list was provided by Tim Dickert, manager for the fair’s concessionaire, Oak View Group (OVG). A former chef and wine expert, Dickert manages the fair’s alcoholic beverage venues and the Farmhouse restaurant. OVG manages other large county fairs and hundreds of other properties.
I interviewed Dickert about the program in the shaded Wine Garden where he shared three pairings with classic Fair food. As a match for the hearty Farmhouse P-town burger made with chuck and brisket meat and layered with caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato and spicy aioli, Dickert suggested a bold, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, the East Hill Cabernet from Darcie Kent winery. The rich-tasting lobster fries paired well with Abariño white wine from Las Positas Vineyards showing a tropical nose and refreshing acidity. Both Livermore wines are available at the winery pavilion in Building Q. For the pastrami fries, Dickert recommended Elysian Brewing Space Dust IPA.
Food on a stick is a classic, stress-free dining option while wandering the fair. Among many “Crazy New Items” I did not try were the fried spam on a stick, garlic shrimp fries, and sweet and patriotic red, white and blue cake. My first sampling from the “crazy” list was a crispy edged, rectangular piece of pizza wrapped in bacon and mounted on a popsicle stick. I imagined the item as a pepperoni-dotted, fictional pizza delivery guy in a SpongeBob video.
My winning entry for “Crazy New Food” was chicken and waffles on a stick, a delicacy that is not grab-n-go. The waffles are made to order, and the well-spiced fried chicken is served warm. Given the three waffles and three pieces of chicken, this meal-sized treat calls for a plate.
Speaking of portion size, on Thursday June 20 and 27, you can taste a small sample of a specified food at each vendor listed under “$3 Thursday Fair Bites” in the Food Finders section of the website. Examples include a corn dogette (mini corn dog), a half-size Dole whip, or a deep-fried Oreo.
The hearty burger and Cabernet Sauvignon pairing Dickert recommended introduced me to the Farmhouse restaurant where I had never dined. Formerly named The Pavilion and renovated in 2017, the air-conditioned restaurant with patio and window views of the racetrack now has full table service for food from noon to 8:30 p.m. with the bar open until 10 p.m., a popular option for concert goers who amble over from the Lucky Amphitheater for food and drink.
New food served at the Farmhouse includes a birria taco platter and pizzas hot from the new outdoor pizza oven with house made dough and pizza sauce. New cocktails at the Farmhouse and other bars include Mule is My Spirit Animal, a take on the Moscow mule, and the Sunset Sky Ride, a prickly pear version of a Margarita.
After discovering Farmhouse, I headed for the shaved ice stand.
Along the way, I passed the new Fields of Gratitude stanchions which honor local farmers in front of the Livestock Building J. While the Fair features FMX racing and drone displays, Fields of Gratitude highlights Alameda County’s continued ag roots with family farmers such as Koopman Family Beef of Sunol and McGrail Vineyards of Livermore.
At the AgVenture Park, I got up close and personal to Marvin, an Eurasian eagle-owl. We didn’t approach Luna, the Harris hark, who enjoyed flying back to trainer Jonathan Gonzalez on command for a treat. On the other hand. Marvin relished the attention and the petting. Touching his soft and fluffy feathers, I realized the old saw — “light as a feather” — is no joke. The bird looks hefty but weighs only four pounds.
We were fascinated by the Canine Stars Stunt Dog Show. The trained dogs are rescue animals of all ages, sizes, and breeds. Opal, one of the performers who works and lives with trainer Keri Caraher, was featured on America’s Got Talent in 2021 on a creative episode. I watched Opal on another day perform tricks.
Though we know dogs like to chase Frisbees, we had never seen a dog jump high for a frisbee, they fly off the dock and make a long jump into a special dog pool.
I waddled over to the All-Alaska Racing Pigs in the AgVenture Park. This year, I rooted for Strawberry, wearing red with “450 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.” Of course, she came in last.
Back to the county’s agricultural roots, excitement is coming to AgVenture Park with The Farm, a new, two-acre working exhibition farm proposed by the Alameda County Fairgrounds Foundation with a donation of $750,000 from Safeway stores. Ground breaking for The Farm is expected in the fall. Animals will be housed in the Safeway Barn to delight students on school trips. A large garden is also planned with seasonal produce delivered to the OVG concessions — think just-picked lettuce for P-town burgers and limes for gin and tonics.
There is also big news related to live horse racing at the Grandstands. With the closure of Golden Gate Fields, more trainers are housed at the fair, and a combined 900 opportunities for horses to run are open over the four fair weekends. On July 7, the Pleasanton Mile, the oldest one-mile track in the country, the stakes yield $150,000. Foodies can anticipate the reopening of the renovated Stable Café under new management in the fall.
You may wonder why one of the new pizzas at the Farmhouse restaurant is called Mootilda Cheese Pizza. Mootilda is the fair’s mascot who stands by the Green Gate entrance, ready to greet guests from the Tri-Valley, Alameda County and beyond.
