Olivia Russo
News Editor
The Los Angeles County Fair opened on May 2, which means the smell of sweets and fried foods are back until the end of the month. Food stands lined back to back down some lanes of the fair and more sprinkled throughout other sections.
While a lot of the fair food seems to be quite expensive, some of them tend to not even be worth the price. Here is a guide to some of the foods to skip the wait and others that are a must-try.
The first stop I made for food was at Chicken Charlie’s, a booth that has been at the fair for a few years now and has many different ones set up around the grounds. This stand has many deep-fried foods – a staple of most fairs – on top of some regular menu items, including fried avocados and a triple-decker burger with doughnuts as the bun.
I opted to try a sweeter menu item, going with the fried cookie dough at almost $12.
However, the taste is not as good as you might imagine, it feels like biting into a crunchy cookie that is heavily underbaked in the center.
I attended the fair with two of my close friends, Allyson Villa and Janine Sevillana, reactions to the cookie dough were subpar at best.
After eating just one of the bites, it felt like enough. Villa noted that it felt like her stomach was going to hurt later, and not even 10 minutes after, it did.
Later, still feeling the effects from the fried cookie dough, I opted to get the Cowboy Tots, at Rowdy’s which specializes in more meal-based fair foods. They are served steaming hot and feature cheese and bacon inside for $14.
I waited for 20 minutes to receive the food I ordered because the kitchen never received the ticket, all for a tater tot that lacked most of the ingredients it promised.
After exploring, we stumbled upon Funnel of Love, hidden away near the end of the grounds. Like the name suggests, the stand specializes in funnel cakes, another fair staple and my personal favorite.
The stand offers many options including a banana split, red velvet and our choice, strawberry, all in the cutest heart-shape.
The strawberry option comes topped with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle.
Despite the price of $21, the taste was something I will never forget. It changed my life for good, as well as the lives of my friends. We all thought about the treat since we tasted it the first time all throughout the weekend.
Not only is the taste great, but the food is aesthetically pleasing making for the best pictures, for anyone who loves a photo opportunity.
Sevillana even said that she would go back to the fair just to have the funnel cake again.
After the life-changing food, we opted to take a break from eating and visit the animals. While fun at the time, this decision led me to pass on any other foods with meat for the rest of the night, including King Taco. But the pig was so cute, so I am not mad at the choice.
For our last moments at the fair, each of us chose a final food we wanted to try, Sevillana chose a bloomin’ onion from Fresh Fry’s, Villa chose an esquites supreme cup from Chicken Charlie’s and I opted for a strawberry Dole whip from a Dole stand.
The bloomin’ onion was tasty, but definitely not built for a fair, especially since the booth is located where there are no places to sit. The size was too big for three people to have and the price was almost double the price of an appetizer at Outback Steakhouse, ringing in at $14. Sevillana ended up having to toss half of it for these reasons.
Villa enjoyed the supreme cup, which is a dollar extra for an added topping of Hot Cheetos. With the one bite I had and the review from Villa, the warmth of the food helped with the slight chill in the air, but the food itself is hard to mess up. It was small for the price of $12.95, especially since a short trip to La Michoacana would give the same size for much cheaper.
The Dole whip was another highlight from the night.
For a little over $10, the frozen yogurt-like food is dairy and gluten free, making it an inclusive option for many guests. The presentation is great, and the workers pile a lot into the small cup. But the size makes it hard to walk around with, and one spoonful reveals that the inside is hollow.
Large turkey legs and ice cream seemed to be the most popular treat as they were common to see guests walking around with. Chicken Charlie’s also produced a large baby bottle filled with Kool-Aid I passed on due to the $20 price.
However the standout item was the heart-shaped funnel cake, receiving 10 out of 10 possible points from Sevillana, Villa and me.
Olivia Russo can be reached at olivia.russo@laverne.edu.
Olivia Russo is a senior journalism major with a concentration in print/online journalism and a minor in criminology. She is the Editor-in-Chief for the Campus Times for Spring 2026. She has previously served as the News Editor, LV Life Editor, a photographer and a staff writer for the Campus Times, as well as a staff writer and photographer for La Verne Magazine.
Christen Ziska is a staff photographer for the Campus Times and La Verne Magazine. She is a junior communications major with a concentration in public relations. She plans to become a social media coordinator for an NBA team.
