cheese curds

I went to the Orange County Fair the other day. This is the nice thing about having a flexible schedule- I can, for example, go to the fair in the middle of week and avoid the crowds. Let me start off by saying that I did not go on this ride:

Well, I actually didn't go on any rides. Fair rides kind of freak me out. I think it's their impermanence that sort of scares me. Anyway, even though I don't go on the rides, I still like the fair. Really, I like to go eat the food. I'm a sucker for anything that's deep fried, but just once a year. I started off with a jumbo dill pickle:

Look- it's chocolate covered bacon! Crazy! In case you are wondering, I did not eat this.

When I lived in Minnesota, cheese curds were practically an institution at the fair. The Minnesota State Fair prides itself on serving a variety of foods on a stick (hot dish on a stick, spaghetti on a stick, cheesecake on a stick, you get the idea), but I think that cheese curds are the food that truly deserve the spotlight. In fact, among my friends, it was the food that we most looked forward to eating. Seriously, you couldn't walk more than like 10 feet without coming across a food stand that sold cheese curds. They were simply ubiquitous.

Imagine my sadness and disappointment to learn that cheese curds at the fair are a Minnesota institution (and probably Wisconsin, but I've never been to a fair in WI, so this is just an educated guess). In MN, everyone loves cheese curds; in California, nobody has heard of cheese curds. When I rave about cheese curds, I get odd, puzzled looks in response.

This was the second time I went to the OC Fair, and I decided to just accept that cheese curds just wouldn't be a part of my fair experience. (I bet you can see where this story is going) But then, my friends and I found a stand that boasted "Deep Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds." I never thought that anything from Wisconsin could make me so happy, but I was positively ecstatic. Here I am in deep fried cheesy bliss:

Cheese curds are the best thing to come from Wisconsin.
Look at that: deep fried nuggets of heaven.

While my friends devoured battered potatoes, fried frog legs, and deep fried White Castle burgers, I ate my cheese curds. The nice thing about having friends who have never heard of cheese curds is that I don't have to worry about them stealing mine. I was so excited that I had to call Drew and share my cheese curd excitement. Mmmm, I'm getting hungry just writing about this. Anyway, after all the fried food, we went to see the animals. I saw the cutest baby pigs and silently vowed never to eat bacon again.
I could not pass up a deep fried Twinkie:

I got a new t-shirt! (thanks Carol!)