No, not food that is only so so… I’m talking about that wonderful cuisine served from trailers and tents under the wonderful summer sun.
I’m not really into the fad fried food of the year, but there are some standbys that I absolutely love.
My daughter eats very healthy 99% of the year, but fortunately she wanted to share that 1% with me over the holiday and asked if I’d take her to our city’s 4th of July festival.
In about one hour’s time we managed to eat… Roasted Corn dipped in a large vat of melted butter, then applied any of the various salts, seasonings, and peppers available. Grilled Asian Pork and Chicken with what I would assume was a Hoisin sauce glaze… basically a Satay but about a foot long each. I had a hand dipped corn dog where the batter was like a wonderful corn bread. She had cotton candy. We finished off with an amazing freshly fried elephant ear covered with enough sugar and cinnamon to send even a borderline diabetic into a coma.
Our plans got changed so we didn’t get to go back the second day to get the usual Polish Sausage, Gyro, or Rib Eye Sandwich.
The “teriyaki-chicken-on-a-stick” is my fair food staple. Sometimes the glaze is too sweet, but when it’s good it’s great, and it’s good much more often than it’s not.
I MUST have a corn dog and I usually get a combination of bbq, gyro, polish sausage depending on how hungry I am, how big they’re making it, and how long I’m there for. I end it with another MUST: Funnel Cake.
My biggest problem is that there is so much great food, and so little time.
Several years ago I got a slice of Pizza that was amazing… fortunately it turned out to be a local place that is now my favorite for NY style pizza (Bella’s for anyone local). Last year I had some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. This year there was a Cajun place that smelled amazing but I didn’t get a chance to try it.
I will hunt down the smell of smoke for a BBQ joint as well - in hopes that a wayward Texan or Carolinian has set up shop for the month in Orange County, CA.
I wasn’t very adventurous at the Alameda Co. Fair yesterday–just had a corn dog and some lemonade. I see they have lobster and shrimp “corn dogs” now, which doesn’t sound too appetizing to me. When I made my pilgrimage to the Iowa State Fair, I feasted on a Pork Chop on a Stick, garlic corn-on-the-cob, a “Gizmo” sandwich and one of the fabled deep fried twinkies.
My kids loved the funnel cakes we got at a recent town festival so much they decided they needed to make their own. Luckily my kids are mostly teenagers so I was able to let the 15 year old loose in the kitchen with just a reminder to not leave hot oil unattended. I did help him thin the batter out when the recipe came out too thick (I think he and the recipe writer probably measured the flour differently.) They came out great.
We also made corn dogs at home recently. Those were delicious.
Elephant Ears go by different names in these parts. With butter and honey it’s a scone. With taco toppings it’s an “Indian taco” or “Navajo taco.” I have no idea why. I assume for the same reason that someone would call French toast French toast. It sounds exotic.
I had my annual Reuben eggrolls just a few days ago. They were fair (har!).
Pro tip: That liquid butter can at the corn tent is likely hot water with a couple inches of butter melted on the top.
Not around here. The corn booth is usually run by the local Loins club and half of the people there know the people running the booth. While I was waiting in line I saw them drop in 4 sticks (1lb) of butter into the can.
I stumbled into heaven when I went to the Feast of San Gennaro Street Festival in NYC last year. There I discovered deep fried oreos. I have not been able to replicate that amazing experience since. So I’m taking you with the face with me this year and we’re going to eat until we explode.
I also had the best slice of buffalo chicken pizza there. Yum yum.
One pound is barely anything in the column of butter that the bucket would need. A quick search indicates that a pound of butter is about two cups. I think the butter dip cans are at least half a gallon and is probably more than twice that size.
Nothing that comes from a fair food booth would surprise me.
:eek: