Thursday, August 25, 2016

State Fair Food (on a stick)


It’s state fair time and that means it’s time for a fantastic eating experience. When I was a kid in Minnesota the best part of the state fair, other than Machinery Hill where I could climb on all the tractors, was getting to eat a Pronto Pup or several if I was lucky. Pronto Pups, not to be confused with Corn Dogs, are hot dogs, on a stick, dipped in pancake batter and deep fried. They have to be good because, as all kids know, anything on s stick is delicious. For example there’s the Popsicle, the Fudgesicle, the Creamsicle to name but a few. How can you go wrong if it’s on a stick.
Well time marches on and humans are nothing if not inventive. What is available on a stick at state fairs these days? Well, how about deep fried pickles on a stick, deep fried Snickers on a stick, deep fried Twinkies on a stick, deep fried brownies on a stick and of course deep fried butter on a stick. The Minnesota State Fair did serve camel meat on a stick this year but that’s almost normal comparatively speaking. I had a camel burger at the midtown Global Market in Minneapolis and it wasn’t bad.
For those of you who don’t like deep fried foods take heart, there’s always chocolate covered cheesecake on a stick, chocolate covered banana on a stick and for the more adventurous there’s chocolate covered bacon on a stick. For the really really adventurous there’s mealworm covered caramel apples on a stick available at the Arizona State Fair. What in the world were they thinking. There are many more delicious items of course, just Google “on a stick” for a list.
Alas, things, however, have gotten completely out of hand. State Fair food has entered a new realm by simply eliminating the need for the food item to be on a stick. Texas has deep fried beer (they look like ravioli with beer inside) and chicken fried bacon. For that south of the border flavor they had fried salsa (a spicy mixture of jalapenos, roasted garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper dipped in masa all covered in crunchy tortilla chips and served with creamy queso, yum).
But, I’ve saved the best for last. Chicken Charlie’s at the Orange County Fair in California serves two items that, at least in my opinion, top the list. The first is the Krispy Kreme Burger. Take a large greasy cheeseburger, and replace the bun with two glazed Krispy Kreme donuts. It’s been called the world’s unhealthiest snack but I don’t think it even comes close. Chicken Charlie’s isn’t the only place to sell these but they seem to be known as the king of fried foods so they get the credit. The second item and the one to beat, is the deep fried White Castle cheeseburger. Yup, it’s just what it sounds like. It’s a White Castle cheeseburger dipped in batter, bun and all, and deep fried. If you ask how many calories it has you’re not allowed to buy one. I think one of those, an order of deep fried frog legs and a Coke should be just about right. Better make that a diet Coke.