On Saturday, May 19, 2012, the 29th
Annual California Strawberry Festival opened to a crowd of thousands. Visitors
lined up an hour before the gates opened to get to their prime location faster
– from their favorite food vendor to specialty crafter. As a first timer to
this event, we were awed by the vast amount of people that visit this event. It
was amazing to see the excitement in everyone’s eye just waiting for the gates
to open.
Follow us as we take you along our
adventure at the 2012 California Strawberry Festival:
Walking in from the Red Gate, the first thing you sense is the food!
Oxnard strawberry farmers all had booths and were giving away samples of their
sweet, chilled berries. Their food court is HUGE! And there are tons of
strawberry infused foods like beer, wine, champagne, smoothies, popcorn, and
lemonade or used in everyday dishes like pizza, nachos, crepes, shortcakes, funnel
cakes, and, of course, chocolate-dipped.
Fresh Roasted Corn on the Cob with Real
Butter began our food journey. Bright yellow and brushed with melted butter hit
the spot. The corn was sweet with a juicy burst of flavor in every bite. It was
so good that it didn’t need all of the toppings/seasonings offered like
seasoned salt, grated parmesan cheese, pepper, etc.
Dessert for breakfast? The Works Funnel Cake is funnel cake sprinkled
with powdered and cinnamon sugar, and topped with sliced strawberries,
strawberry syrup, and whipped cream. The funnel cake itself was fluffy yet had
a crispy shell on the outside. The strawberries always worked well with funnel
cake - today was no exception. It had just the right amount of whipped cream
for a sweet, creamy, decadent treat.
The Festival Stage area had lots of shaded seating. Kelly’s Lot (Ventura
County’s own Roadhouse Rock & Blues) has a toe-tapping, bluesy sound that
matched perfectly with the festival. Kelly Zirbes’ voice is cross between Bonnie
Raitt and Melissa Ethridge. We enjoyed savoring the funnel cake while
comfortably seated in the shade of the eating area in front of the festival
stage.
Stone
Fire Authentic Flatbreads was on hand giving out samples of their naan –
original and garlic flavors. Their naan is a little thicker than you would get
in an Indian restaurant, more like the pita bread they serve at Greek
restaurants. It had a soft and chewy texture. With a sprinkle of cinnamon
sugar, it transformed the original flatbread into an instant dessert. But, the
star was the garlic naan. It has a really good garlic flavor, not just a scent
or essence. We have already looked up where we can buy this in our area. Can’t
wait to buy some!
Strawberry glazed popcorn got our interest while walking through
Strawberryland (kid’s area with rides and games). The red glaze reminded me of
rainbow popcorn which they sell in Hawaii. It had a slightly sweet strawberry
flavor, but some of the corn didn’t get the coating on it. They might want to
rent some of those candy coaters (sort of looks like a small cement mixer) next
time. As it turns, you can coat the popcorn evenly. Otherwise, this was a great
idea for infusing the strawberry theme into popcorn.
While munching on the popcorn, we
perused the Arts & Crafts promenade. It was HUGE – with products ranging from
homemade salsas and balsamic vinegars to hand-crafted gifts, clothes, jewelry,
and artwork for sale. It was a great way to walk off the calories and plan for
your next food attack.
Napa Valley Noodles served up
California wok seared yakisoba noodles with fresh vegetables in a ginger garlic
sauce. For an extra $3, you can have it topped with chicken. It’s a huge
portion served in an Asian-style take-out box. Everything was perfectly cooked
and the sauce tasted really good, but there was far too much of it on the
noodles. A little lighter on the sauce would have made this perfect.
Totally
Nuts dished out samples of Cinnamon Glaze Almonds with cone-poly bags for
sale from snack size to one-pounders. Just like their tag line, they are “so
good, they’ll drive you crazy”! The glaze completely covers the almonds like a
candy coating reminding me of P-Nuttles but with almonds instead of peanuts.
The cinnamon makes it a little different with a smoky flavor.
To cool down and end our day, we stopped for strawberry smoothies.
Wonderfully fresh, ice cold, and sweet, the smoothies really hit the spot. Expertly
blended to a smooth consistency, we walked slowly back to our car and
reminisced about our fabulous strawberry adventure. We can’t wait to come back
next year and sample the food we didn’t get to try.
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