Eat more garlic: From Gilroy to North Plains, fun stinks

GILROY, Calif. - I’ve tried the garlic ice cream. I’ve spotted the giant balloon proclaiming where the garlic fries are. I’ve enjoyed more garlic bread than my weight watching self is proud to say.

I am from Gilroy, Calif., which means two things: I have friends that I consider my family, and I go to the Gilroy Garlic Festival almost every year. 

Festivals are only as good as their people, and the people of Gilroy are wonderful.

This year I was on a mission to try three Garlic Festival staples: a combo plate, garlic wings and sangria. This may seem like a fairly easy task, but let me assure you - it was not.

Trying to keep your pack of friends coordinated around your “have-tos” at the monster-sized festival that is the Garlic Festival is not for anyone who lacks in patience. But for the sake of journalism I made it a point to munch, lick and sip.

There are two types of combo plates to choose from at the Garlic Festival: efficiently named Combo Meal #1 and Combo Meal #2. I went with the first one as it included a pepper steak sandwich, which I remembered from previous years to be very tasty.

The thin Styrofoam plate included a decent sized bundle of pesto pasta, a scoop of calamari in a tomato-based sauce, half a pepper steak sandwich, and two very buttery pieces of garlic bread.

The pesto pasta was yummy, but it’s hard to mess up a carb and pesto duo.

The calamari was delicious, definitely my favorite part of the plate. The calamari was sautéed decent sized shell-like swirls of meaty goodness in a sauce I wish I could have purchased.

The garlic bread had garlic and a ton of butter. I was sold on bite number one.

The pepper steak sandwich on the other hand, was a disappointment. The meat itself was pretty dry, which I swear was not the situation years ago, and it just struck me as lackluster. 

The garlic wings were a new discovery for me, and I am thankful a friend encouraged me in that direction.

So. Finger. Licking. Satisfying.

The wings themselves were meaty, seemed to be of good quality, and not overly fried. And whatever that magic fiery red sauce was, it was delish. The wings paired perfectly with the booth made potato chips and a cup of cheap beer from the beer garden.

The sangria was also a new Garlic Festival experience for me. And I must admit, I went into it with trepidation. When I find sangria that I like, I am very excited. But far too often sangria is too sweet for me. The sangria from the Gilroy Foundation Wine and Wine Coolers booth was a pleasant surprise. It was totally my cup o’ wine mix. It wasn’t too sweet, instantly refreshing, and a good deal at $8 a cup. (The cheap beer is $6 and not even close to as enjoyable.)

In its 34th year, the Gilroy Garlic Festival is held the last weekend in July. Indulge. Overindulge. There are cute girls who walk around and give you free samples of tums and mints.

I think I will let my stomach rest and veggie up before visiting the Elephant Garlic Festival in North Plains, Ore., Aug. 10-12. Garlic is good for you.