As I prepare for another eating spree of gut-busting fair foods, I’m distracted by a man on stage behind me shouting loudly into a microphone.

He’s not introducing a tribute band or the best in show hog at the San Diego Fair. He’s talking about defibrillators. I pause as I’m about to bite into an eight-inch doughnut lathered in chocolate sauce and Jet-Puffed marshmallow cream.

Is this foreshadowing the fate of my eating escapades? Should I flee my OC Fair companions and hail an Uber ride back to Orange County?

I shake off the possibility that I might need the medical device to jolt me back to life. Despite the indigestion I know lies ahead (I’ve done this for a few years), nothing will stop me from embarking on my annual gastronomic journey.

As most of my readers know, I make the pilgrimage to San Diego each year to preview foods coming to the OC Fair in Costa Mesa. The fair starts July 15, and runs through Aug. 14. Going to San Diego, which typically serves many of the same treats as the OC Fair, allows me to evaluate the new and exclusive items by the Fried King Gurus of the Fair.

This year, I broke another record, tasting 20 outrageous dishes – a burger piled high with candied pecans, bacon and a bratwurst (yes, it had a beef patty too), a bacon-wrapped one-pound baked potato, a “Lord of the Rings” hot dog, and fried chicken stuffed in a waffle. The latter comes, of course, on a stick.

Luckily, I didn’t need a defibrillator at the end of the day. For the ride back home, I tossed down a few Tums to ease the guttural aches.

My pain is your gain.

Here are the new must-try items you’ll find at the OC Fair.

Bacon-Wrapped Baked Potato

I’m going to call it. Mike Peterson of the Bacon A-Fair booth is the Flavor Bomb King of the Fair. Each year he knocks it out of the park with his bacon-infused creations. What I like about Peterson is he thinks like a fair-goer – he creates foods he wants to eat.

So often, the wackadoodle items engineered by vendors are pure gimmicks, never living up to their shock-value names. But Peterson is clutch. When I first heard he was selling a Bacon-Wrapped Baked Potato, I knew he wouldn’t disappoint me.

He takes a 1 1/4-pound Russet potato and wraps it with half a pound of bacon. The potato slow cooks over a wood-fired smoker for two to three hours. This allows the magic to happen as the potato soaks up bacon fat like a sponge. Wait, it gets better.

The potato is cracked open, topped with butter, sour cream and crumbled blue cheese, then drizzled with buffalo sauce. He’s calling it the Buffalo Bacon Baked Potato.

The Bacontarian is another giant potato option. Same toppings, except he replaces the blue cheese and buffalo sauce with grilled vegetables. The affable Peterson said he designed this option for those “people who say they’re vegetarians but need to have some bacon.”

Doesn’t everyone need a little bacon in their life?

Both are brilliant. Had I not had about a half dozen more items left on my fair bucket list, I would have stayed and devoured the entire potato.

Where to find: Family Fair Way near the Green Gate

French Toast Bacon Bombs

The French Toast Bacon Bombs, also at Bacon A-Fair, are Peterson’s sweet follow up to last year’s Wasabi Bacon Bombs. The Flavor Bomb King wraps bacon around a sweet pastry dough stuffed with cream cheese. It’s then deep-fried. The sweet treat is dusted with cinnamon sugar, topped with whipped cream and served with a side of maple syrup.

Remember, Peterson’s bacon-wrapped Jack Daniel’s churro from a couple of years ago? That was delicious, but this is way better. It’s like eating a French Toast/bagel mash up.

Where to find: Family Fair Way near the Green Gate

Cinnamon Roll Sundae

I’m fudging the rules a bit as the Cinnamon Roll Sundae is not new. But I discovered it this year, so it’s new to me. You must seek out this beauty at the Country Fair Cinnamon Roll booth. Owner Dane Baldwin takes one of his classic square cinnamon rolls and tops it with a scoop of vanilla, whipped cream, nuts and – of course – a cherry. It’s crazy good and addictive. I broke my two-bite sampling rule because I couldn’t stop eating it.

Where to find: Livestock Lane near the Yellow Gate. (Note: This is not the cinnamon roll booth inside the building where pushy sales folks hawk mops and mixers. Don’t bother. Go here, instead.)

Pineapple Piña Colada Bomb

If you’re growing tired of fresh-squeezed lemonade at the fair, here is a refreshing non-alcoholic option: Pineapple Piña Colada Bomb. Found at Country Fair Smoothies, this gorgeous drink will make you feel like you’re poolside at a tropical resort. The blend of crushed fresh pineapple and coconut is served in a cored and halved pineapple with an umbrella and a pineapple ring dangling over the rim.

Where to find: Livestock Lane near the Yellow Gate.

Deep Fried Nachos

Somehow I missed the glorious Deep Fried Nachos, which debuted last year at Texas Tater Twisters. After trying them this year, I promise never to forget again. These crunchy fried balls are an out-of-body experience – you will then feel your arteries quiver after a few bites. But it’s worth the digestive distress. Booth owner Nate Janousek put a lot of thought into getting this recipe right. He takes mashed up tortilla chips and Doritos and smothers the crumbles with jalapeño juice and nacho cheese to form a masa. He then stuffs a cube of pepper jack cheese in the dough. The masa balls are deep-fried, creating a golden crunchy exterior. The fried nuggets are doused with more nacho cheese sauce and served with sliced jalapeños. Brilliant.

Where to find: Main Carnival Midway

Bacon Cheddar Brat Burger

Tasti Burger, formerly called Grant’s Tasti Burger, has mastered the art form of piling an insane amount of ingredients on a burger that incredibly doesn’t fall apart. This year they’ve done it again with the Bacon Cheddar Brat Burger. This monstrosity includes a 4-ounce char-grilled beef patty layered with two slices of cheese, a split Nueske bacon cheddar bratwurst, lettuce, sriracha bourbon sauce, bacon, tomatoes and chipotle sauce.

Did we miss anything? Oh, yes, the pièce de résistance is chopped candied pecans. I’ve never had a burger layered with nuts. The move is brilliant because the sticky nuts act like glue to keep everything together inside the sturdy pretzel buns.

Honorary mentions: You can’t go wrong with Tasti’s chili relleno cheeseburger, a 2014 winner of the fair’s internal best food competition. Pair it with scratch-made chips from Tasti’s sister booth, Tasti Chips. Get the Parmesan garlic chips or the chips layered with spicy nacho cheese sauce.

Where to find: Livestock Lane near Yellow Gate

Bacon Pork Belly Dog

Fair mainstay Biggy’s Meat Market set some pork belly consumption records last year when the booth introduced Bacon Wrapped Pork Belly. Fair vendor Dominic Palmieri said he sold 5,000 pounds of the fatty bacon goodness last year.

“It was one of our best sellers of all time,” he said. So this year, he’s is keeping it on the menu, and adding an alternative he’s calling the Bacon Pork Belly Dog.

The half pound of slow-smoked pork belly and bacon is dipped in batter and fried to create a corn dog coating. If you like fried pork and corn dogs, this bacon dog is for you.

Where to find: Main Carnival Midway (Note: After our mid-June visit to San Diego, Palmieri added deep-fried butter to Fair Fix, his other Midway booth. I’ll weigh in on this on my visit to the fair in O.C.)

Lord of the Rings Dog

Oftentimes simple is best, and that’s the case with the Lord of the Rings Dog at Pink’s Hot Dogs.

The legendary Hollywood food stand is serving two specialties this year. My favorite was the Lord of the Rings dog, a snappy beef frankfurter encircled with beautifully fried onion rings and drizzled with barbecue sauce. It’s like biting into a hot dog version of a Carl’s Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger.

For connoisseurs of fire-breathing spice, try the Daenerys Dog. Named after the “mother of dragons” queen in the HBO series “Game of Thrones,” the polish hot link is topped with sauerkraut, onion, radish sprouts and sriracha. It will set your mouth on fire.

Where to find: Country Meadows near Blue Gate

S’moreo

The Texas Donut booth is home to giant eight-inch doughnuts. This year, it is debuting the S’moreo – a doughnut topped with dark chocolate icing and a blend of Oreo cookie and graham cracker crumbs. The ingenious part? Jet-Puffed marshmallow cream is piped across the doughnut and drizzled with more chocolate sauce. The combination of soft cream, crunchy cookies and sweet yeasty dough make for a sugary umami experience. In each bite, every sweet component sings through with no ingredient overpowering the other.

Where to find: Main Mall near the Blue Gate

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The new fries at Chicken Charlie’s

Charlie Boghosian, aka Chicken Charlie, has three new items this year: Chicken in a Waffle on a Stick, Cherry Kool-Aid Hot Wings and Shrimp Fried Rice on a Stick. I liked the wings best – but for the OC Fair, he’s using Orange Kool-Aid, instead.

None of the other items dazzled me. But I was happily surprised by Charlie’s new skin-on fries. They are a vast improvement; we kept nibbling until nearly none were left on the tray.

I’m crossing my fingers on a last-minute food entry by Boghosian, who’s earned a reputation for deep frying everything from Twinkies to Kool-Aid. He’s serving a bag of Top ‘N Go Doritos, and topping the chips with queso blanco, steak and lobster. The luxe surf and turf version? He’s offering caviar and escargot, as an alternative topping combo.

Honorary mention: For dessert, don’t miss the deep-fried cookie dough at Charlie’s. It’s one of the best desserts at the fair. On the healthier side, Charlie’s naked shrimp pineapple bowl is delicious. It’s a halved pineapple piled with grilled shrimp, pineapple chunks and white rice – a perfect meal on a hot day. Maybe pair it with the pineapple piña colada?

Where to find: Charlie’s three booths are in the Family Fair Way section near the Green Gate and Kiddie Carnival, as well as the Main Mall near the Blue Gate.

Talk to us: Do you have an all-time favorite food at the fair? Write in and let us know what you love to eat. Contact: nluna@ocregister.com