Caviar at the OC Fair? You know there’s a catch

For this year’s OC Fair, the deep-fry enthusiasts at the Chicken Charlie’s booth will debut their latest creation, a mix of sophistication and sweet indulgence — the deep-fried caviar Twinkie.

Charlie Boghosian, owner of Chicken Charlie’s FryBQ in San Diego, came up with the culinary crossbreed. He and his employees have been longtime food vendors at the OC Fair, having sold their fried goods to the event’s guests for 20 years.

“I’m a big seafood guy,” Boghosian said. “About a year ago, I tasted my first caviar and I liked it. Since then, whenever caviar came up, I wanted to taste it, learn it.”

During his experimentation with the fish egg delicacy, Boghosian said he found that all brands tasted salty though some had a sweet side that he enjoyed.

Around the same time, he and his Chicken Charlie’s employees were trying to create a new food combination for the OC Fair. They already knew it would be one-half Twinkie.

“We tried a hotdog with a Twinkie,” Boghosian said. “But then I thought, since I was learning about caviar, how cool would it be to use that?”

The sweeter-tasting Black Lumpfish caviar became his final choice while matchmaking for the Twinkie.

“I found that the taste of the Black Lumpfish would complement the fried Twinkie,” Boghosian said. “It’s salty with a sweet aftertaste.”

In honor of the OC Fair’s 125th anniversary this year, Chicken Charlie’s will offer the culinary hybrid at a special price of $125.

Those who are brave and curious enough to try this invention can expect to see a carefully fried Twinkie with 1 ounce of caviar spread on the top.

Chicken Charlie’s will still serve past favorites such as deep-fried Slim Fast bars and bacon-wrapped pickles.

According to Boghosian, only he and a few of employees have tasted the caviar Twinkie. He said it is a treat Chicken Charlie’s is ready to serve.

“I cannot wait to offer it to the people of OC and see their faces when they bite into their first caviar Twinkie,” Boghosian said. “It’ll taste like you took a bite of the ocean.”