New OC Fair Food for 2025

From Dubai chocolate to labubus, we want give you a sneak peak at the OC Fair food for the 2025 season.

Thanks to Melissa’s Produce, we got to meet with Dominic Palmieri, a.k.a. the Midway Gourmet, to talk through the new offerings as the fair opened. Palmieri told us that this year’s new foods focus on new tastes and textures, including not just “crunchy” and “spicy” but also “silky and creamy.”

Sausage “Corn Dog” with Mike’s Hot Honey

Speaking of spicy, Palmieri has introduced a spicy new main course treat at the stand known as Biggie’s. This time it’s a nearly foot-long sausage, cooked corn-dog style (breaded with a corn batter), and then drizzled with Mike’s Hot Honey.

Palmieri notes that Biggie’s will go through 200 gallons of Mike’s Hot Honey during the four weeks of the fair.

“Pork-A-Palooza” Pizza

Next we headed over to Enzo’s pizza stand. There, Palmieri and his team developed a pizza that works in a new texture: crunchy. The “Pork-a-Palooza” pizza features pepperoni, sausage, and chicharrones (crispy pork rind). Then Palmieri drizzles it with hot Sriracha sauce for a fiery finish.

(Fun note: Enzo’s takes its pizza dough seriously. The team lets the dough ferment and rise for 72 hours before baking it.)

Ice Cream Sundae in a Cookie Bowl

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Why add to the landfill with extra cups and bowls when you can eat the bowl? That’s part of the logic (OK, it’s just fun too) behind the ice cream cookie bowl at the Totally Baked! Cookie Joint stand. Totally Baked! serves up ice cream, whipped cream, and hot fudge all in a giant cookie bowl. It’s big enough for two (but we won’t tell if you eat it all by yourself.)

Chamoy Lemonade

Chamoy is a spicy/salty/sweet sauce made from pickled fruit, and it’s one of the hottest food items at the OC Fair this year. At Squeezer’s lemonade stand, you can get a lemonade rimmed with tajin and chamoy, and filled with a mango chamoy drizzle. The chamoy is thick enough so that it doesn’t just disappear into the lemonade; you continue to taste it all the way through. As Palmieri notes, it’s “interactive fun lemonade.”

Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cup

At the Chocolate Strawberry Cup stand, you’ll find loads of fresh strawberries. You can choose from just a chocolate drizzle, or a combination chocolate drizzle/pistachio sauce drizzle, called the “Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cup.” This is part of the “silky, creamy” texture trend that Palmieri touts for 2025. The chocolate doesn’t harden; it stays silky and smooth. (Palmieri expects to go through 12,000 gallons of chocolate sauce for this year’s fair.)

Dubai Chocolate Labubu Popcorn Bowl

And last the grand finale… The Dubai Chocolate Labubu Popcorn Bowl. This is a giant bowl of kettle corn, topped with (once again) a silky chocolate sauce and a silky pistachio sauce. (The chocolate labubu doll chills in the fridge until it’s ready to serve.)

“This is the hottest new thing, every kid wants it,” said Palmieri. Maybe some adults too?

The OC Fair runs through August 17. Tickets must be purchased in advance. Tickets are $13 general admission on Wednesday & Thursday; $15 general admission on Friday, Saturday & Sunday; $9 for seniors 60+ and kids 6-12 every day; and free for kids ages 5 and younger. Parking is $15. The OC Fair’s location is 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, 92626.