One of my proudest moments representing the pride of southern california eating ability occurred at the Iowa State Fair. One of my vendors was based out there and as part of a client event, they brought us to the fair. My account rep was a strapping corn fed young lady who played a lot of sports and had teased me for months about the weak appetites of SoCal people with their alfalfa sprouts and salads. I had told her I had a big appetite and loved meat and fried foods and was looking forward to eating a lot at the fair. I’m sure when she finally met me in person and saw a slender average height asian, she thought I was full of bs.
We spent the day at the fair and she informed me that she had gotten approval to buy whatever we wanted to eat and to make sure I was stuffed. I politely asked if she would be matching my orders. She gave me a teasing smirk and retorted she was worried I’d be bored and full while she was still eating.
Off we went, ordering food and drink regularly. There was a large variety of fried foods on a stick and in large portions. By early evening I noticed she was starting to slow down while I was still going strong. Finally I asked her if she was ready to tap out and she nodded and wanted to know if I was done. I smiled and said not even close. I proceeded to get another half dozen different food on a stick and devoured all with no problems. She was in awe and finally had to apologize for doubting me and buying into the stereotype of skinny Californians who could barely eat some salads.
All that said, the quality of the food was surprisingly good. I really did enjoy trying all the different things they had. With the expensive fair pricing, it was nice to have it picked up by someone else.