What to Know
- Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Through Oct. 25
- OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa
There are fun runs in this world, and there are funnel cake runs, and being able to tell the difference between the two doesn't take too much thought.
But finding a place to run to for a funnel cake, that classic, drizzled-dough delight that's a sweet staple of county fairs? The sort of snack that makes your fingertips shiny and completely douses the front of your shirt in powdered sugar?
Finding a freshly made funnel cake isn't always the easiest craving to fulfill.
But the OC Fair has certainly helped funnel cake fans out in recent months, and Dole Whip devotees, and people who dig holding a sizable turkey leg for the better part of a protein-fueled, smoky-flavored half hour.
For the beloved county fair, which went fully virtual in July 2020, the month it was due to open prior to the pandemic, brought back a lot of fair bites with its OC Fair Food Drive-Thru.
The not-virtual, in-real-life drive-thru, which debuted at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa in early September, was only due to last for a few weekends.
But it has just been extended, right through to Oct. 25, giving those of us who love glee-bringing grub a rare opportunity to pick up roasted corn topped in Hot Cheetos, Dippin' Dots, lasagna eggrolls, funnel cakes, and, you bet, turkey legs, too.
It's happening every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through Oct. 25, and new vendors will join the line-up in October, including Pink's Hot Dogs and Old Tyme Ice Cream.
You can take a look at the vendors here, and the hours, too, and then plan with your fam, the fam that can't decide whether funnel cakes or fried mozzarella sticks are the way to go.
The only answer? Fried mozzies first, funnel cake for dessert.
It's certainly been a year, and no one would have guessed, at its outset, that one of the most popular parts of the OC Fair would keep on keepin' on right into October, months after the event traditionally concludes.
Still hankering for the kind of lip-smacker you've enjoyed while taking a carefree saunter down the midway? There's no midway to saunter down in 2020, but, oh joy, the fun food is right here.
