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You can hop on a mechanical bull, eye the monster trucks, or listen to En Vogue or a tribute K-pop band in concert at this weekend at the Alameda County Fair. You can also experience culinary adventures with 100-plus food and drink options that may spark enjoyment like the nightly drone show at the Fairgrounds in Pleasanton.
Have you ever tasted a chocolate-coated waffle on a stick with sprinkles, a slice of pizza quesadilla, or ancient spices on Persian kebabs? Exclusive to this year’s Fair, new Foodies Choice items range from creative to crazy and fun. Hot dogs, though, still rule at the Fair.
“Like a hot dog at the ballpark, a corndog at the Fair spells tradition,” Dean Williams, owner of Dean’s Dogs, told me. Worthy of an Alameda County gold medal, Williams has sold cornmeal-coated hot dogs on a stick at the Alameda County Fair for 55 years.
Before embarking on a hot dog hunt, we sought new global flavors. The food truck of newcomer Kabobi Persian Grill is conveniently located near the Carnival and main shopping buildings. Kabobi means “kebab guy” in Persian, and the tender chicken kebabs were our favorite.
With Persian specialties, you get a lightly garlicky yogurt dipping sauce and a packet of sumac. This red, citrusy spice has an ancient history that brightens the mixed beef and lamb kebabs. Zarab, the signature Kabobi drink, is made with lemonade, mint, sparkling water and saffron, a spice cultivated in Iran (Persia) for millennia.
To continue the culinary journey, selections include returning stands such as The Sleek Greek, Zanos Italian Grill, and Mexican food at Mamma Marines and Pepe Marisco.
The Foodies Choice competition
Since 2024, I have assessed my culinary fortitude while sampling brand-new creations during the Fair’s Foodies Choice vendor competition. Fairgoers vote for their favorite designated food or drink item by July 5. I sidestepped sampling the Elvis Presley Sandwich with peanut butter, sliced bananas and bacon by Just Cheezin’ but tried several other fun items.
I headed first for sweets because that is what often happens at the Fair. After all, funnel cakes are the second most popular food purchased at the Fair after corndogs.
Sweets by J’s Foodies Choice is a Dipped Waffle Stick. The strawberry Ruby Rose version is not overly sweet, and the one dipped in Belgian Callebaut chocolate looked good. Owner Erica Quintero is a second generation vendor at the Fair.
Her father has operated the Pepe Moriscos stands for 25 years. Quintero, though, likes serving items such as Dubai Chocolate Strawberries Cups and Gansito cakes, taste-alike fried Twinkies.
Who doesn’t have room for a cookie? Beware of the Main Squeeze, a new, strawberry lemonade cookie at The Dough Show that is a whopper. Ingredients include a sugar cookie, topped with strawberry, lemonade and lemon zest-infused cream cheese frosting, and two Golden Oreo cookies, partly crumbled in the icing.
The Donut Smash Burger seemed like a sweet-savory mashup for which I was not quite ready. Pepe’s created the Quesapixsa, a meme-worthy name for a pizza-like quesadilla topped with jalapeños and dabs of tomato sauce.
I sampled the Spam Wonton Taco at Boba King. A large, fried wonton shell held diced Spam, Japanese barbecue sauce, coleslaw, spicy mayo and cilantro. With three tacos to an order, the crispy wonton and seared, savory bits of Spam makes for a surprisingly satisfying snack.
Hot dogs galore
Amador Valley High School graduate Ashlee Roberts loves Fair corndogs.
When she took her British husband Mike Roberts to the Fair last year, she handed Mike his first corndog. He famously said, “I thought it was a novelty that hinted it would be all right. But it surrounded me with trans fats and a tummy ache. It was the purest form of empty calories.”
Corndogs may be rare, disliked or called American dogs abroad, but variations on the hot dog theme abound in the U.S.
During a recent trip to Chicago, my companion hungered for one of their famous hot dogs. Though I ordered mustard and not, heaven forbid, ketchup, I broke the rules by asking only for sauerkraut. Chicagoans expect Vienna beef hot dogs to be bundled with neon-green relish, yellow mustard, sliced tomatoes, diced bell peppers, celery salt, and topped with dill pickles and sport peppers overflowing their poppy seed bun.
At a Chicago food festival several years ago, I sampled a Chicago dog and decided that one was enough. I mentioned Chicago hot dogs to my neighbor, Andy Obert, whose wife is a nutrition consultant. “We don’t eat them often at home, but I like Fair hot dogs. With Chicago style, it’s like a salad on a hot dog,” Obert said.
Everything on a Chicago hot dog is raw and crunchy. But at the Fair, you can get a West Coast Weenies hot dog with fried onions, peppers and pickles that is a close second.
I posted photos of Chicago and their favorite hot dog on Facebook. My friend Cathy Robison, who moved from Pleasanton to Arizona six years ago, immediately commented about the bright green Chicago-style relish she found locally and now enjoys on hot dogs at home.
Robison fondly recalls her once-a-year treat at the Fair: “We liked Dean’s Dogs because they had the biggest corndogs.”
“Not much has changed since we started selling jumbo corndogs here in 1971,” said Dean’s owner Williams, who lives in Brentwood and whose family works with him. “We offer only mustard, ketchup, relish and raw onions. You won’t find jalapeños, pepper sauce or pickles on our dogs.”
You can order a pickle corndog with the hot dog tucked inside a fat dill pickle at Hand Dipped Corn Dogs. According to server Roxanne West, guests order this Foodies Choice about 70% of the time. Hand Dipped serves only chicken-turkey corndogs and plain hot dogs.
At the Korean Shack located next to owner West Coast Weenies, the Sweet Churro Corndog is the Foodies Choice option. The corndogs are dipped in various coatings from crushed hot Cheetos to Korean potato blend or cinnamon sugar.
At the end of our food adventures, we met a couple whose goal was shopping. While pausing to lunch on plain hot dogs and curly fries, they reminded us that you can’t go wrong with a plain hot dog — it will give you energy to continue Fair exploring.
No matter where you are headed, fair warning, you may get hungry.
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in Deborah Grossman’s Tri-Valley Foodist blog for PleasantonWeekly.com, LivermoreVine.com and DanvilleSanRamon.com.
This weekend’s fair highlights
Check out the World Cup Watch Parties on Friday and Saturday. Big O Tires evening concerts feature En Vogue on Friday, A Tribute to Demon Hunters on Saturday and Banda Maguey on Sunday. Two Monster Truck Shows are held daily on Saturday and Sunday.
A special Time Capsule Ceremony will be held on Friday when objects related to the Fair and more are placed in a capsule to be opened in 50 years. On Saturday, a Rubix Cube Competition and separately ticketed WineFest are held. A Fiesta at the Fair and Lowrider Car Show are on tap for Sunday.
