Behold our annual 100 Favorite Dishes countdown! Every day until the publication of our fantabulous Best Of Issue, we'll list our favorite meals this year in descending order. Enjoy, pass it on, and tune in daily!
There were precisely 23 days of the Orange County Fair this summer. Do you know how many of those I was present for? I'll give one Forker a prize if you guess correctly in the comments.
We experienced a few unhealthy relationships this summer. Among them were the deep fried Doritos, Legendairy peach champagne gelato and a foot-long, pecan-smoked sausage corn dog. However, our truly guilty pleasure involved an item at Grantburgers, located next to the Tasti Chips stand on Livestock Lane. If that doesn't mean anything to you, then look for the end of the Skyride towards Yellow gate next time the fair rolls into town. They will not disappoint.
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Winner of the Best of the Best award in the 2014 OC Fair Concessionaires' Cup Contest, the chile relleno pretzel cheeseburger endured four rounds of judging to be the top food item out of 70 entries.
This beast begins with a base of dense pretzel bun, sturdy to withstand the weight of its contents, and topped with a craveable chorizo patty. A slather of jalapeno jam and sliced avocado shows you where this is headed. Yet we are faked out momentarily by standard tomato and cheese, only later to realize these components are meant to offset our very special guest: a whole chile relleno.
We sang the praises of the burger all summer, pausing only to chow on one with a friend. Mildly spicy, sweet and messy, it satisfied all our burger needs. So messy, devouring one required a picnic table with lots of elbow room to catch occasional bits of patty and drippings. It is a rare day when we go kinda crazy over chile relleno. If you didn't get your hands on one, better luck next time.
The List:
50. Lunch at Big Thunder Ranch at Disneyland
51. Pescado A Lo Macho at Muelle Peruvian Cantina
52. Cemita de Milanesa at La Cemita Poblana
53. Meatballs and Polenta at 320 Main
54. Shellfish (Ốc) at Hien Vuong Da Kao
55. Basic Bol at Boldo Bol
56. Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish Grill
57. 10-Item Plate at Thuan Kieu Noodle & Grill
58. Leche Frita at Cafe Sevilla
59. Happy Hour Sushi at Ginzaya
60. Red Beans and Rice at Disneyland's French Market
61. Consommé from Tacos y Birria El Güero
62. Fried Chicken Biscuit Sandwich at Little Sparrow
63. Breakfast Taco at Sapphire Laguna
64. Husky Burger at Husky Boy Burgers
65. Love Bagel from Koffee Klatch
66. Kouign Amann From The Crema Cafe & Bakery
67. Chili Lime Popcorn From Green Tomato Grill
68. PB & J At Hopscotch
69. Takuwan Sushi from AnQi by Crustacean
70. Ube Ensaymadas from The Ensaymada Project
71. Pork Bánh Mì at the OC Poultry and Rotisserie Market
72. Tacos Gobernador from Mariscos Los Corales
73. Dutch Baby at the Original Pancake House
74. Doughnuts from Sidecar
75. Lengua Tacos at La Chonita
76. Oysters from Carlsbad Aquafarm at the Orange Homegrown Farmers Market
77. Lemon Miso Crab Melt at Umami Burger in Laguna Beach
78. Pani Puri from Adya
79. The Pocket at the Pocket Burger
80. Gyro Sandwich from Paul's Place
81. Slice of Heaven at Pie-Not
82. Taquitos at El Toro Bravo
83. Peanut Butter and Jelly Donut at the Donuttery
84. Dan Dan Mian at Wei-Shian Noodle
85. Beef Burger at Rider's Club Café
86. Smoked Trout at Provenance
87. Small Plates at A&J Restaurant
88. Corn Cheese at Zoomak Asian Bistro
89. Pumpkin Curry at Bhan Baitong
90. Poke at Costco Tustin II
91. Pambazo at Tacos Radioactivos
92. Beef Pho at Pho Crystal Noodle House
93. Breakfast Burrito from Cafe Calacas
94. Koobideh Plate from Grill Cafe
95. Tacos de Cecina from Alebrije's
97. Breakfast Sausage from Da-Le Ranch
98. Any Special Dinner by Old Vine Cafe's Mark McDonald
99. Tres Amigos Burrito from Piaggio on Wheels
100. Bacon-Wrapped Dates from Lola Gaspar
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A contributing writer for OC Weekly, Anne Marie freelances for multiple online and print publications, and guest judges for culinary competitions. A Bay Area transplant, she graduated with a degree in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona. Find her on Instagram as brekkiefan.