This is always a bittersweet time of year.

Labor Day weekend marks the end of lazy summer days, barbecues and a good excuse for hitting Dairy Queen late at night. But this weekend marks the beginning of my favorite Orange County food event – the Orange International Street Fair.

Forget fancy restaurant week dining events, food truck stops and tiny food samples served at community tasting events. The Orange street fair is, by far, the best food and beer fest in Orange County.

Admission is free. Menu prices, proceeds of which benefit local charities or school organizations, are reasonable. And the food booths offer a smorgasbord of delicious global foods – from German bratwursts to honey-dipped loukoumathes.

My go-to foods never change. Here’s what I like to devour:

Greek Street: The lines are long here, but it’s worth the wait. Members of a Greek Orthodox church from Anaheim grill chicken, lamb and beef for gyros and souvlaki sandwiches. I love it all. The fried, honey-dipped loukoumathes (pronounced loo-koo-MAH-thes) are my favorite dessert, along with the baklava. The food is prepared by families who have been making these Greek dishes for years, so you’re getting the real thing at a cheap price.

Mexican Street: Go to the booth where the workers are making the tortillas from scratch. Other booths use pre-packaged tortillas. Also try the pork tamales sold at the Apostolic Church of Orange booth. They are meaty and remind me of the ones my mom used to make every Christmas.

German Street bratwurst: For fair regulars, this is often a first stop. The volunteers at Orange Lutheran High School slave over hot smoky grills. The result: a killer tasty brat. “Your street fair experience is not complete without a bratwurst from German Street,” reader Selena Devore told me. (Note: Mattern Sausage of Orange, which also supplies the Viking Truck, provides their sausages.)

Beef teriyaki on Ginza Street: Part of the charm here is the assembly-line of volunteers shoving meat onto skewers before they hit the grill. It’s a sight worth seeing and tasting. The booth, run by Orange Coast Gakuen Japanese Language School in Huntington Beach, said it will be making a new item this year — Gyoza or Japanese potstickers.

Irish Street for beer and entertainment: Hands down, this is the best place to hang out for a cold brew and great Irish music. The beer is the best you’ll find at the fair. You can get a black and tan, or straight Guinness for about $5.

While most booths never change their offerings, fair officials say two new food items will be sold this year: gourmet fries (sold by Orange High School’s vocal team) and ice cream topped with choice of Girl Scout cookies (sold by Girl Scout Troop 11475). I’m definitely adding those booths to my agenda.

Though it is not tied to the street fair, the soon-to-be-open LinX sausage eatery in Old Towne Orange will serve a limited menu during the fair. Owner-chef Scott Brandon will sell a $5 combo meal from a 1971 Airstream trailer set up in the parking lot behind Wahoo’s Fish Taco on West Chapman Avenue.

Brandon said he plans to offer a T.J. Street Dog and a Chili-Cheese Coney Dog. Each sausage comes with the eatery’s signature Belgian fries.

“We are going to do our deal at the street fair to help promote the store and hopefully get open in the next month or so,” he said of LinX’s location at 238 W. Chapman Ave.

The Orange International Street Fair will be held 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The booths are set up in the closed streets of downtown Orange on Glassell Street and Chapman Avenue.

For more information, go to orangestreetfair.org.

Another great food event this weekend is a pop-up restaurant at Whole Foods Market in Laguna Niguel.

Food Network star Adam Gertler is bringing his traveling restaurant – Gertler’s Kitchen – to the store today, Friday and Saturday. Gertler stars in the food shows “Kid in a Candy Store” and “Will Work for Food” and was a finalist on the “The Next Food Network Star” during Season 4.

Over the summer, he has been selling homemade sausages throughout California. His final stop is in Orange County.

The gastropub-style menu, a collaboration with Whole Foods Laguna Niguel Executive Chef Ashley Santo Domingo, will feature links such as pastrami sausage, smoked pork and chicken. The kitchen will also be selling a veggie burger, rockfish tacos, corn, house-made chips and desserts. Prices range from $2 to $8. Cooking demonstrations are slated for 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.

The pop-up will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The Laguna Niguel store is at 23932 Aliso Creek Road.

Contact the writer: nluna@ocregister.com