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One Bite at a Time at the Dixon May Fair

Eating my way through the Dixon May Fair

Let's talk about the eats at the Dixon May Fair.

Word is around town that the rolled tacos served up at Good Ol' Boys Rolled Tacos are a must eat at the fair and I wanted to find out what all the hype was about.

I'm a taco guy, been eating them since I was a tike. But I have NEVER had a taco quite like this. Let me preface my experience at Good Ol' Boys by saying that the tacos that I am fond of, are the ones sold within the taco food trucks of Napa, Mexican street tacos, served with onions, cilantro, tomatoes and just the right amount of beef in two corn tortillas.

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I've seen these Good Ol' Boys' tacos and to me, they looked like the taquitos that you can buy at the frozen food section at Safeway. However that's where the similarities end.

A Good Ol' Boy rolled taco is simple. Take a corn tortilla, throw it on the grill, fill it with meat, pour some hot sauce on that sucker and you’re good to go. It's a simple little creation and therein lays its beauty.

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Delicious, cheap, fast and filling. At $2 a taco, I could see why people were walking around the May Fair with plateloads of these things.

After the taco, I wondered how the rest of the Mexican food tasted at the fair, but I was also hungry for some seafood. So I compromised and took in a ceviche tostada at Pepe's Mariscos.

The ceviche itself was a tad too salty for my taste buds, but the lime tempered the flavor just enough for me to finish three-fourths of the tostada. The salt made it hard to taste the flavor of the shrimp.

I bought a soda along with my ceviche at a cost of $7.50, a bit pricey for me. But in fairness, ceviche at any Mexican restaurant is similarly priced. 

Moving on. I had a yearning for ribs, the type that are cooked to perfection over an open flame. I found what I was looking for at the north end of the fairgrounds at Big Bear BBQ.

(Side note: How could you not love a name like Big Bear BBQ?)

The ribs at this place were out of sight. Succulent, seasoned just right, and with a dab of Big Bear's BBQ sauce, I was in rib heaven.

I got a plateload of about four ribs -- sans potato salad, dinner role and coleslaw -- and got my munch on. The ribs, although tough in some places, had that great, porky flavor and not too greasy to boot. At $9 for ribs only, this bite was well worth it.

After the feast at Big Bear BBQ, walking off a few of the calories I had just ingested seemed like a good idea. I took a stroll through vendor row, listened to some live music acts and wandered into the livestock area where the auction was still going on.

After walking around a bit and doing some people watching (Dixon really lets loose during May Fair) I answered my sweet tooth at Iron Skillet Funnel Cakes. Although there are many varieties of these things, I went with caramel.

The funnel cake that I had was served with a healthy dollop of whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce. It did my sweet tooth right. 

It was crunchy, fried, soft goodness at its best. However, after eating half of this thing I realized something. These things are crazy sweet!

I chugged the bottle of water I got along with the funnel cake and my tongue felt a little better, but I couldn't finish the funnel cake. It was just too sweet for me. However, it was delicious. Price of two funnel cakes and two bottles of water totaled $9.50.

This too was a pricey eat at the May Fair, and I was sensing a reoccurring theme here. Moving on.

After the funnel cake, my taste buds were a little angry with me. After all that food, they wanted some time off. I tried to appease them by finding the one thing at the May Fair that they have never tried in any shape or form.

And I found it at the Fresh Made Ice Cream stand near the entrance of the fair.

It was there, dear readers, that I saw the poster. It contained a picture of a pickle along with the words chocolate.

I was sold.

For the mere price of $4, I had in my possession a chocolate-covered pickle.

Why you ask?

Because it's the May Fair, I reply.

These guys are rebels, they are innovators, they are May Fair.

This thing blew my mind.

My taste buds (and stomach) could take no more. So it was after the chocolate-covered pickle that my journey through the wonderful eats at the May Fair came to an end.

What was your favorite bite at this year's May Fair?


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