Knott’s Berry Farm is a local theme park here in Orange County. I grew up having gone once or twice for field trips (roller coasters are obviously physics-related right?), but it was honestly this year that I rediscovered what an amazing park it is and actually started visiting it on a regular basis.
They’re also known for being the birthplace of the boysenberry fruit! Every year, they have a festival where they create boysenberry flavored items along with speciality shows and characters. It’s one of the most fun food festival events in the area! This year (2025), it runs from March 28 to May 18, on select days. I got a chance to try some of the items and wanted to share some rankings in case a Knott’s Boysenberry Festival visit is also a part of your spring break!
Note: Sorry about the lack of photos – new to blogging, I definitely ate before the camera a lot more times than I thought.
Note 2: I will continue to update this post as I go back and try more items!
- Boysenberry BBQ All Beef Meatball Hoagie with Provolone Cheese (7/10) – I think boysenberry works really in a BBQ sauce since it naturally adds in that sweetness and slight tartness. This BBQ sauce was definitely sweeter than a typical BBQ sauce but as long as they’re not too much sauce, the balance with the salty meatballs still works well. The only unfortunate thing was that the cheese was not melted. Glad I tried it but would be ok not getting it again.
- Double Stuffed Baked Potato with Boysenberry BBQ Pulled Pork and Jalapeno Chips (7/10) – The meats at this festival were all really well executed, and this was no exception. The potato was also perfectly cooked, and I love myself any potato so I feel like I can say that quite confidently. The jalapeno chips added another layer of flavor and slight spiciness. Butter and sour cream were also included to enhance the baked potato experience. A solid choice but I’m not the biggest fan of spicy so again, would be ok not getting it again.
- Creamy Boysenberry Grits with Cajun Shrimp (6/10) – While the boysenberry note did not enhance the flavor of the dish, it oddly didn’t distract as much as I thought it would. The purple grits were a bit of an odd color, but overall, the dish had a sweet and savory taste to it. A couple of the shrimps were good, and a couple were chewy and not so good. It was a bit weird but it wasn’t bad and I’m glad I tried it.
- Boysenberry Sangria (2/10) – While ok at the beginning, the taste began to get a bit sickening after a few sips. The boysenberry flavor in this was artificial and syrupy. The aftertaste had notes of intense sweetness followed by grape medicine which was not my cup of tea. To improve it, I would recommend adding more fruit juices and brandy to make it lean more into a typical sangria. I sadly could not finish this drink.
- Boysenberry Dippin’ Dots (2/10) – This had the same boysenberry flavor note as the sangria, artificial and syrupy. Again, not my cup of tea.
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