Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.

This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.

Food

Breakfast of Champions: Deep Fried Cereal (and SPAM!)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

"Cereal is not jail with milk anymore. It's OUT," said Charles Pheonix in his popular DIY fried cereal video. Southern Cali's deep fry king Chicken Charlie has followed Pheonix's lead, and is serving up deep fried cereal at this year's San Diego Fair.

As if Trix and Cinnamon Toast Crunch weren't unhealthy enough, Chicken Charlie dunks them in a vat of scalding hot fat, and then tops them with syrup. Need some protein? Never fear. He's also re-introducing deep fried SPAM, as well as deep fried PB&Js.

These festivals have become notoriously competitive in their pursuit of outdoing each other's odd fried foods -- doing everything from avocados to Oreos and candy bars. Last year, Charlie even did a fried Kool Aide. A man in Plano, Texas one-upped him with a fried beer recipe, where he injected the liquid into a pretzel before frying.

"Fried Kool-Aid is Kool-Aid-flavored dough balls," he told USA Today. "If I was going to fry a liquid, I actually wanted it to be a liquid."

The fried beer is something we're admittedly curious about, but when it comes to the other items, we'd rather stick to one the many excellent doughnuts here in LA, but if you're morbidly curious, the San Diego Fair goes thru July 4. Chicken Charlie will be bringing his deep fried goodies to the Los Angeles County Fair at the end of August.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today