Good Eats & Drinks at the NEW Red, White & Brews Festival
Memorial Day is always a weekend jam-packed with activities. This year is no different as I was invited to California's Great America to experience their NEW Red, White & Brews Festival. Free with park admission, get a taste of Americana with live music from local rock, bluegrass and country bands. If you're interested, be sure to check it out this weekend (June 3 & 4)!And if you're over 21, you definitely have to check out the beer they have on tap-- over 25! Not a fan of beer? They also have about 15 wines available for you to choose from.
With good drinks comes fantastic food. They sell tasting cards for $25 each or you can purchase the items individually for $5.99 each.
From what I can see, the food is on a rotation, but this is what they had available on Saturday, May 27, 2017.
The first thing on the menu is the bacon covered chicken hearts that comes in a skewer for easy handling. Now chicken hearts aren't everybody's cup of tea, but before you get squeamish and chicken out, hear me out!
FACT! Anything wrapped in bacon is good.
Chicken hearts have a chewy texture, which pairs nicely with the saltiness from the crispy bacon and the BBQ sauce that's slathered on the skewer.
Next on the list is the Tombstone Sliders. If you have to pick one to try out, I would have to say this one! This is a shaved brisket slider topped with deep fried jalapenos, charred pineapple and onion strings all on a Hawaiian roll.
Number 3 was my personal favorite, if you can get past having corn getting stuck in your teeth. If it looks like Elote, it's because it IS. You should've seen my face when I was standing at the stall watching them make this. Here I was expecting it to be a small "cob," and they give me an entire ear. Doused in butter and covered in chili powder, lime and cheese, this was a childhood classic that you could find on the streets from your local Mexican guy pushing the heavenly carts through the street.
The name for Number 4 was misleading. They call it jumbo smoked chicken drumsticks, but everything pales next to the corn.
Number 5 is CHA SIU BAO-- cough-- I mean Pulled Pork Bun. But if you've had a Chinese-style BBQ pork bun before, that's the first thing that comes to mind.
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| Warm Apple Pie Bacon & Cheddar Parfait |
The first of the two desserts available, this was decadent and rich and surprisingly savory. The tart apples paired with the sharp cheddar and crispy bacon gave the dessert great texture. And this is great for anyone who don't have a strong sweet tooth because it feels more like the middle ground between your entree and dessert.
If you have serious sweet tooth though, you want to pick the Strawberry Shortcake.
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| Your classic Strawberry Shortcake |
And not to be overshadowed by the food, I'll leave some pictures of the alcoholic beverages we tried out.
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| The wine pours, INCREDIBLY generous. |
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| Ballast Point: Watermelon Dorado IPA |
If that's not enough, did I mention that they have the San Jose Beer Bike available? For an additional fee, climb aboard the San Jose Beer Bike and partake on more brews while you bike around the park. Grab up to 10 friends and sip on your brew of choice and work off some calories for more room for drinks later.
Round out the night with some fireworks!
