Some friends told me about an event held in Pleasanton. It had its origin in southern California and it was brought to the bay area in 2018. Got in the car for the hourlong ride to the Alameda County Fairgrounds. Arrived a little after 4pm to a dry 95 degrees. The gates opened at 3pm and runs until 11pm. Entry at this time through the metal detectors and ticket gate was very quick. A contrast to much later in the day when I left.
Modeled after the open air markets of Asia and other parts of the world, shops and food kiosks dot the allocation of space at the fairgrounds. It felt like there were twice as many places to get food and drinks than there were places to get arts/crafts and merchandise. I didnt mind this at all
The larger space is devoted to food, glorious food
Before we can get to the food, I must have a drink. To help cool off from the heat, there are a number of places to get alcohol and non alcoholic drinks.
Beer and cocktails were available throughout. Most of the other offerings were sold in a number of different containers. The most popular being the baby bottles that come in different sizes.
At this place, you get refills with your purchase. The amount of refills depends on the size of drink you buy. From 2 refills at the "small" size to unlimited for the largest size. The very large size is probably ideal for a family of 5.
Three places to get lobster ranging in size from food truck to kiosk the largest purveyor who held court at a corner of the event space. The largest of the spaces and the greatest number of people waiting to order.
Lobster fries to lobster rolls to full on lobster dinners
I forgot to come back to this shack. The skin has always been my favorite part of fried chicken. The spices are typically scattered on the outside of the skin. It has a nice crunch when you bite into it.
Its not the healthiest thing to eat but you cant help what tastes good. Crispy skins with nacho cheese doused all over it, sounds good to me.
Another luxurious item to nosh on is wagyu on a stick
Several food trucks were parked in the middle of the space. While there were some savory items on offer, this would be where you could get your sweet fix. There was ice cream and churros and other dessert foods for the apres meal delight
Many different cuisines on offer from Mexican, Japanese, BBQ, etc
I settled on garlic shrimp over rice. Chose the regular over the spicey version. On the north shore of Oahu, the biggest sweet item is shaved ice while garlic shrimp trucks are ubiquitous.
There is a lack of seating/dining locations in the area where you get your food. Less than 10 aluminum picnic tables for those lucky enough to grab a seat. Fortunately there are grassy areas to lay down a blanket and plop your bottom upon it
Everything is going to be more than what you would normally spend and the food may not be greatest. But you are at the fair after all and cant expect the best quality restaurant food. My dinner was fine but I would have preferred more garlic.
I kept strolling around after dinner to work off the meal. There was stage where performers were lined up for your entertainment
For some other fun, carnival games provided a way to test skill and luck in winning prizes. The usual fare of throwing a ball into a basket without it coming out, ring toss, corn hole, ping pong ball into a floating dish, etc.
The usual prizes of plushies and stuffed animals
Temps dropped to a favorable 75 degrees as I left around 830pm. The lights were up and the lines were long. Not only had the lines at the favorites food locations ever growing, the line for entry grew as phenomenonaly.
With 2.5 hours of operation left in the day, the queue had stretched well into the parking area. My estimates are off but it looked like the time in line would be 1 hour from back of the line to the ticket takers. Since tickets had to be purchased online, numbers of people tapping away on their phones to get their tickets.
A video of the days trip to follow
