Monday, May 21, 2012

The 29th Annual California Strawberry Festival was jam packed with food and crafts

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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