Week 70: Foodieland!
- elenalilamartin
- May 4, 2024
- 4 min read
Week 70: April 28th-May 4th, 2024
I didn't think I'd return to the Del Mar fairgrounds until either horse race season started or until the next county fair, but this week I found myself giving into Instagram ads and attended Foodieland San Diego.
Foodieland is a multi-day event that happens every year. Many cities have Foodieland events, and this was the first time I got to go to the one in San Diego. Here is the San Diego specific Foodieland Instagram page, if you want to check it out. Entry tickets were only like $7 after taxes and fees, so I bought a couple and gathered the troops. We headed up right during Friday rush hour traffic so it took a bit longer than expected. At least the extra time in traffic gave us time to get really hungry.
There were so many food vendors to choose from, as well as a bunch of retail shops with tons of cute stuff. At first, it was a little overwhelming, with a bunch of competing speakers fighting for sound space and many smells floating through the air. We decided to do a lap around the whole event before trying anything. It wasn't too crowded yet so we weren't worried about lines.
We all kept mental note of the places we wanted to check out as we did our investigative lap. Personally, I did not want to fill up too quickly so I started small. I got a classic spam musubi with a sauce that stained my jeans. The pink sauce was their "thing" and didn't seem all that special, but the whole thing was still delicious and worth the extra laundry detergent.
With our lack of decisiveness and eyes bigger than our stomachs, we took a while to get into the groove of things. Soon, we'd tried Brazilian chicken skewers, Filipino chicken and beef skewers, a sample of hot sauce and a few Cutwater cans. All were very good, but we were filling up fast and needed to slow down a bit.
With our hungry tummies slightly happier after a long ride in traffic, I was surprised to find myself tempted to try the grilled balut at one of the tents. I decided against it, but the curiosity remains. Maybe next year.
I saw a couple people holding plates with eggs on them and wanted to ask how it tasted, but didn't want to catch them mid-bite.
It was golden hour, so we squinted our way around some of the retail vendors and "Ooh"-ed and "Aah"-ed at the goods on the tables. There were tons of kawaii-style plushies and merchandise, handmade crafts and jewelry, and a couple vintage clothing spots.
They even had some carnival games and activities, like a bungee jumper and a hamster-ball water pool. We were too focused on food to risk upsetting our tummies rolling around in a plastic ball in a shallow pool or bouncing into the sky repeatedly, so we skipped out on those.
As we wandered and digested some more, a massive alligator head on a table caught my eye. This tent was offering po boys, Cajun fries and frog legs, but what interested me the most were the alligator bites. I made a mental note to circle back to this tent before we left.
Next to the gators was a massive tent with billowing smoke. The line was pretty long, so we checked it out. It was loaded grilled oysters. Tons of people were in line and gathered around, so naturally we had to try some. We got 4 for $22 and should've gotten more, because they were so good. I like raw oysters as well, but these were made with bourbon and black truffle and felt "elevated" in different way.
After another lap around eyeing some funny t-shirts and cute earrings, we needed something sweet. The only reasonable next course of action was to clog our arteries with some deep fried Oreos, deep fried Reese's, and deep fried Snickers. It felt so wrong, but so right.
It wasn't enough to overload my body with deep fried chocolate desserts, I also needed a classic dirt cup with ice cream. We all shared the dirt cup, not because I was feeling generous but because I was worried about getting too full.
The dirt cup reminded me of Berkeley Day Camp and the mud cups we would have for cookout dessert. The warmth of this nostalgia fueled me through the rest of the evening as we explored a little more and headed home.
My plan for next year, if I attend another Foodieland event, is to:
1. Bring Tupperware and a tote bag.
We wanted smaller portions of what we were eating so we could have more room in our bellies, but had no way to save or carry our leftovers safely.
2. Wear comfy shoes and be prepared to eat a LOT.
We walked almost 10k steps (according to my phone's step counter) around Foodieland, and even though we were digesting as we walked, we were too full to try everything.
3. Bring water bottles, sunglasses, and a hat.
Because we went in the evening, the sun was hitting our faces at the constant squinty-eye level. I would've benefitted from some sunglasses and a hat.
If I had any notes for the event organizers or vendors it would be to have smaller portions so people could try more things. Most of the vendors only had full, meal-sized offerings, which wasn't practical for most people who wanted to get a wide variety of food. I think the event could get more traction if they offered a ticket or wristband or something that got you a mini sample of the signature items from each vendor. I wouldn't have minded paying a bunch of money up front to have a guaranteed tour of the offerings from every tent. I didn't even have room to try the gator bites. I'll have to go back next year, or find the same vendor at another event.
Our full tummies and tired legs made us all sleepy on the drive home. Large portions of good food tends to do that to you.
See you next week.
Comments