If you were following LA Foodie’s Twitter stream this past Friday, you might have noticed a bunch of rapid updates right around 4 PM. That’s because on Fridays, from 12 Noon to 4 PM, nearly all of the food vendors at the OC Fair participate in something that I like to call, “Many Mini Snacks.” The OC Fair’s theme this year is “Let’s Eat,” so we did. For four hours each Friday, you can get snack-sized samples from most of the vendors for two bucks. Lest you think that’s a rip-off, think of it this way: Would you rather spend ten dollars on a gigantic brick of french fries, or would you rather spend that ten bucks on a roughly equal amount of five different things? For me, the choice is easy. Variety is the secret blend of eleven herbs and spices of life.

You can click on each title below for a link to the original tweet. Whee! It’s like time travel!

We hit as many places as we could before the 2 PM deadline, and this is what we ate.

Pulled pork from The Chuck Wagon

Hold me closer, tiny portions

Moose Tracks Dippin’ Dots

That dish is pretty shallow, but how many frozen ice cream pellets can you eat at one time? I wonder if anybody has ever had a Dippin’ Dots eating contest before. If not, somebody should.

Roasted corn from the roasted corn guy

This was sold as a “half-ear,” but come on — that’s a whole ear. Loud and clear.

A tiny slice of pizza

Just like mom I used to make in college. To be fair, this was actually a pretty good slice of shitty cafeteria pizza. But I mean that with all sincerity.

Chili cheese fries

Chili cheese fries taste awesome. We don’t eat them because they make us hate ourselves for three to four days afterward. The solution: “$2 Chili Cheese Fries: The Right Amount of Chili Cheese Fries Every Time!”

Australian Battered Potato

The national fried potato slice of Australia. Look it up.

A refreshing adult beverage

I was getting tired. And thirsty. And sober.

California Roll

Settle down… it was fine. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get sushi at an outdoor fair again. But it was fine.

Kettle Corn

Kettle corn. You gotta get kettle corn, right?

Nutella crepe

Do you think that the Nutella crepe feels sorry for the other crepes?

Shaved ice

Yeah… it wasn’t very good. What can you do?

Bratwurst

That’s not a weird angle. It’s a tiny little sausage. [joke machine inserts joke here]

Ten Pound Buns

This is “The Classic,” which is a toasted slice from a gigantic ten-pound loaf of bread, topped with cheese and broiled. Cheese on sourdough bread tastes awesome.

Deep fried Kool-Aid

!ALERT! The deep fried Kool-Aid is not part of the $2 promotion. But I figured that everybody would ask if I tried them, so here ya go. I tried them, and they were… fine. It’s a fried ball of dough that’s flavored with cherry Kool-Aid. So it’s gonna be good, but nothing about the Kool-Aid-ness of the preparation made them particularly unique.

That’s right, dear reader, it’s LA Foodie’s first on-location podcast, recorded live at the Eat Real Festival in Culver City during Carmageddon weekend! (Can we make Carmageddon an annual thing, by the way? The freeways were clear and everybody had fun around their own neighborhoods. Just sayin’.)

LA Foodie, Episode 8 by LA Foodie

Jackie attempted to eat our business card because it had a burger on it. She also ate a hot dog she got from a man in an unmarked van. FACTS.

This week, our guest is cinematographer Fred Schroeder! Listen in as we rove the festival sampling some of LA’s finest local fare — from bacon to beer, from pulled pork to plachinta (winner of the inaugural LA Foodie “Name That We Feel Bad For Misinterpreting” award) we try out as much as we can and ask everybody about the rest. Plus, witness the debut of our new feature chronicling our search for LA Foodie’s Top Dog Hot Dog. Maybe I just need to put this in pictures. We talk to that crazy girl above and eat a lot of this…

The birth of Pig Candy.

Need more convincing? Check out the gallery below and enjoy the visual feast!

Fred Schroeder attempts to convince us to eat something other than bacon.

Keep those mustaches foamy, everybody.

Photo Gallery:

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

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Normally, there would be a new podcast today (Friday). But never fear — a new show is only a few days away. Ben and I will be at The Eat Real Festival all day Saturday talking with vendors and recording an all new podcast that will publish on Wednesday of this week. It’s gonna be awesome, but if you can’t wait, check out one of our older shows via the podcast player in the side bar, or you can always…

If you listened to Episode 6 of our podcast (and if you didn’t, there’s no time like the present! Here, I’ll make it simple for you…)

ANYWAY, if you listened/are listening to Episode 6, you’ll hear us diving into some delicious cookies from Isabella’s Cookie Company. The company is based in Redondo Beach, but sells cookies all over the region. We had a chance to talk to the founder of the company, baker Jennifer Palmer, about why she got into this crumbly business, where it’s been and where it’s going…

LA Foodie: Hey Jenn! What made you decide to go into the cookie business?

Jennifer Palmer: I have always had a passion for baking. Cookies are perfect, because you can be as creative and adventurous as you want with ingredients.

LAF: How has the cookie business changed since you got into it? Or has it?

JP: Everybody loves the comfort a cookie gives – cupcakes and macaroons come and go, but cookies are a classic that will remain a favorite, no matter what the current dessert trends are. Flavor combinations such as a ‘savory & sweet’ cookie have become a popular trend. There’s also a demand for more creative, adventurous flavors beyond the classic chocolate chip cookie. It seems like the cookie connoisseur’s palate is constantly evolving, and we try to stay one step ahead.

LAF: I love some of the “savory & sweet” combos I’ve tried, but I’ve definitely had a couple of that weren’t quite up to snuff. Have you ever come up with a recipe that just didn’t work?

JP: We try to make a test batch of something weekly, and of course, there is always a recipe that just falls flat. So far, we have not had to put any of our cookie varieties ‘out to pasture’. We are still trying to nail the Orange Creamsicle cookie. I think I am on test batch 7 now!

LAF: Ooh, the Creamsicle Cookie sounds very intriguing. What’s the cookie you’ve introduced that’s gotten the strongest reaction out of people, negative or positive?

JP: The Hot Chocolate cookie has gained the most attention. It is a spicy chocolate chip cookie with both cayenne and chipotle. The combination of the two ingredients introduce varying heat sensations in different parts of the mouth to give this cookie that extra kick. It goes great with a cold glass if milk. If people like sweet and spicy, and they try a sample, they usually become addicted. If a person thinks it is just a plain chocolate chip cookie, they will be in for quite a surprise.

LAF: Despite the name, have you ever considered branching out into other baked goods?

JP: We have! We now make brownies for the Los Angeles food truck, The Sweets Truck. Additionally, we make brownie and red velvet cookie cake inclusions for a local gelato company. We’re also in the final stages of relaunching our granola line, and currently offer co-packing to companies and private labeling.

LAF: The temptation of the non-cookie world was just too much to resist. One last question: What is your proudest accomplishment as a baker of cookies?

JP: Watching the smile on a person’s face when they take their first bite of our cookie. Cookies recreate that comforting feeling of being home in Mom’s kitchen. Cookies make people happy. We make people happy.

LAF: I can vouch for that!

Thanks for talking with us, Jenn! To find where you can pick up some of her delicious Isabella’s Cookies, check out the website at www.isabellascookies.com! (and to see what they’ve got, look at their great “cookie legend” below…)