Fried Kool-Aid a hit at fair, Chicken Charlie says

Jonathan Horn

3:33 p.m., June 14, 2011

 

DEL MAR — The deep-fried Kool-Aid is selling like deep-fried hot cakes, according to their famed creator, "Chicken" Charlie Boghosian.

Chicken Charlie's is a staple of fried rations at fairs across the country. It sold 400 to 600 orders of deep-fried Kool-Aid per day the first weekend of the San Diego County Fair. That's about double the rate of previous debut items, Boghosian said.

"That's because it tastes so darn good," Boghosian said of the Kool-Aid.

The deep-fried novelty takes the shape of a doughnut-hole. There are five per order. That breaks down to as much as 9,000 balls of deep-fried Kool-Aid eaten over opening weekend.

Boghosian said Chicken Charlie's has already gone through 150 pounds of Kool-Aid powder and 1,500 pounds of flour. Chicken Charlie's debuted deep-fried Klondike Bars and Pop Tarts in past years.

Fairgoers on Tuesday were also buying up the deep-fried Kool-Aid.

"It starts off tart and tangy, and then finishes really sweet... I love this stuff," said Seth Baldwin of Vista.

"It tastes just like a doughnut ball," said Rashed Karram, who said he prefers the deep-fried Klondike Bars.

Chicken Charlie's still sells the Klondike Bars, as well as deep-fried thin mints and even frog legs.

"I don't know if I have the stomach for that," Karram said of the frog legs.

 

An order of deep-fried Kool Aid Tuesday at the San Diego County Fair. — Jonathan Horn