Be it County Fair, Renaissance Fair, Parish Fair, or what have you…we all love fair food. In honor of the Orange County Fair and the LA County Fair which begin shortly, a query. If calories and cholesterol didn’t count, what would you pig out on at your local fair?
Corn dogs are a given, along with deep-fried anything. 
That’s easy: Funnel cake. Unfortunately, most folks around here have never heard of it.
For those who don’t know, it’s basically breaded and deep-fried. Breaded and deep-fried what? No, you miss the point. It’s just breaded and deep-fried, nothing else. Then, you take out out of the oil, and cover it with powdered sugar.
Exactly what I came in to say!
Funnel Cake > all.
Funnnnelllll caaaaake. :gets dizzy eyed:
What? No corndog love? Or giant turkey leg? Or Bloomin’ onion? Or tempura veggies with that tasty dipping sauce? Or BBQ… anything?
I saw something on the Orange County Fair site called a zucchini weenie.
What the hell? Don’t think I’m not gonna try it but still…what the hell? I go a little nutty at fairs and try things I’d probably not attempt to imbibe at other venues.
I guess it’s fair goggles.
Funnel cake
Zeppole > Funnel Cake
You’d think even the wilds of Montana would have heard of funnel cake, it’s a staple of every little carnival and fair that travels the road.
That said, yeah. Funnel Cake!!!
(State)Fair food fave: Pork Chop on a Stick
RenFaire food fave: Toad in a Hole
Amusement Park preference: Corn Dog
Honorable mentions: roasted corn on the cob, Gizmo sandwich, deep fried twinkie
Corn dog or pork tenderloin sandwiches. I’m not one for sweets.
The Deep Fried Butter served at the TX State Fair a couple of years ago made some news (and if you think the concept as-is is about as gross as you can get, think again - in addition to “orginal” you could get it in “garlic, cherry, or grape” flavor.)
Fresh cut French Fries drowned in malt vinegar,a bunch of salt and catsup.
Toad in a Hole
The Blooming Onion. I MUST have my yearly Blooming Onion, with two containers of dipping sauce. (though the onions seem to be getting smaller every year). Those butterflied fries - potatoes - one potato thin sliced in one looong strand and doused with vinegar. Grilled smoked chicken (not with tomato based sauce, they use the white vinegar Cornell marinade) with salt potatoes. Butcher Boys sliced beef sandwiches with cheese and/or peppers and onions. And for dessert - cheesecake sundae, you choice of cheesecake covered with ice cream, caramel or chocolate sauce, whipped cream, nuts, and a cherry. I wouldn’t miss any of that stuff for the world, but of course I spread it out over several visits.
Pork chop on a stick.
At my county fair (coming up next month), this stand is always catty-corner from the pig races. I’ve often wondered if I’m eating a loser. 
For sweet stuff, if I can snatch a bite of someone else’s, my preference is a deep fried Snickers bar or frozen cheesecake on a stick.
No county fair is complete without a corndog, though. One slathered in mustard. Nom. At RenFest, I like the smoked turkey legs.
If the Jewish Food Fair doesn’t count for falafel, I must go with funnel cake.
At county fairs my answer is honestly nothing. Yech.
At Renaissance fairs, the giant turkey leg is what I always look forward to and go for. Then I’m disappointed. It dawned on my recently I haven’t had a delicious turkey leg in 20 years or something. They never seem fully cooked, and they hardly have flavor.
I dunno, maybe the first one I ever had was exceptionally good or, I was just really hungry and drunk.
In California they have these food and drink themed festivals all the time, and each one celebrates a different vegetable or something, so it’s hard to choose. Garlic fest, broccoli fest, asparagus fest… on and on. It’s all good and really bad for you!
Pogos (or corn dogs as you Yankee doodle dandies refer to it as), and poutine. But I seldom get them 'cause i’ll be a fatty…
Ren Faire: steak on a stake. Yowza. A turkey leg LOOKS good, but it is, after all, just turkey.