Manhattan Beach: Hometown Fair Weekend Lives On With Food Faves

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The spirit of the Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair will be alive and tasty this weekend when community members have the chance to eat four favorite Fair foods — Pepper Bellies, Funnel Cake, Tri-Tip Sandwich and Pulled Pork Sandwich — in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the actual live Fair the community knows, loves and looks forward to.

Without a physical Fair to attend this year [the Fair is held the first weekend in October], the all-volunteer Fair board has been working hard to recreate as much of the fun and fundraising the Fair generates for local youth and civic organizations in a normal year when such groups host game and food booths to raise money.

Enter longtime Manhattan Beach resident Michael Zislis and the recipe was born for four of his Manhattan Beach restaurants to craft their own versions of four fabulous Fair foods while donating a portion of the proceeds to the Hometown Fair board's fundraising efforts to issue grants and scholarships this year in light of the pandemic.

"We wanted to do this because the Fair is such an amazing Manhattan Beach community tradition and we wanted to keep it going," said Jenna Ritter, director of marketing. "People are craving some normalcy. We love giving back to the community as much as we can and this was one way to do it."

All of the four Fair food creations — Pepper Bellies, Funnel Cake, Tri-Tip Sandwich and Pulled Pork Sandwich — are available to go from the downtown Manhattan Beach restaurants opting to serve each one. Here's where you can fined each creation:

• Pepper Belly — Brewco
• Pulled Pork Sandwich — Rock'n Fish
• Tri-Tip Sandwich — zinc @ shade
• Funnel Cake — The Strand House

All four restaurants have outdoor dining. Reservations are recommended for The Strand House, Rock'n Fish and zinc. Brewco is walk-in only, according to Ritter.

Each dish has its "own special twist," she noted. The Funnel Cake "is a bit lighter" and comes with freshly whipped cream; Pepper Bellies at Brewco are being made using homemade chili and green onion instead of yellow onion, and the serving is a larger version than what is sold at the Fair; the Pulled Pork Sandwich is a slow smoked pulled pork with a lighter Carolina-style BBQ sauce, and the Tri-Tip Sandwich features zinc's homemade Santa Maria seasoning.

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