Arkansas State Fair 2017

Arkansas State Fair 2017:

New this year are these Chicken Pot Pie Pockets! It’s creamy chicken pot pie filling in pastry dough that’s deep-fried to make a portable handpie.

Even more portable? This Frosted Flake Fried Chicken.

Another chicken offering is the Bird Dog, a strip of fried chicken that’s nestled into a hot dog bun and topped accordingly. The Dirty Bird version–which is topped with chili–is new this year.

Also fresh to the fair, it’s a Barbecue Beef Parfait. Check out this serving of baked beans, mashed potatoes, and smoked beef brisket all drowned with barbecue sauce. You can even get it “Arkansas-style” if you add coleslaw.

The Spaghetti and Meatballs Burger, which consists of a meatball patty soaked in marinara sauce and covered in Parmesan and mozzarella cheese with two slices of garlic bread for buns, is mighty misleading. Where’s my pasta!?

There it is! The Spaghetti and Meatballs on a Stick is a third-time returning champ. It’s a big, beef meatball with spaghetti wound around it that’s battered, deep fried, garnished with Parmesan, and offered up with a side of marinara.

Another meal in a tortilla, these new Thanksgiving Tacos won the fair’s best-tasting and creative categories. It’s smoked turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and dressing all in a flour tortilla. What, no mashed potatoes or vegetables? Wait…it’s the state fair, don’t answer that.

Another new feast option are these Insect Pizzas. For $10 a slice, you can have a plain slice of cheese pizza topped with crickets, scorpions, mealworms, and more.

Also new, these Chocolate Covered Jalapeño Peppers are served cold, but the spice will heat you right up.

Is a regular cinnamon roll too healthy for you? How about this Cinnamon Roll a la Mode? Well, it’s a hot-baked cinnamon roll topped with a scoop of ice cream, whipped cream, and a cherry on top.

 

Arkansas State Fair 2017:  (continued)

What are these? Nope, not donuts, but Deep-Fried Pineapple Rings. Not sure what they’re garnished with, but I’m betting chocolate and caramel sauce plus some toasted coconut.

Bridging the gap from dessert to dinner, we have S’mores Fries. It’s topped with marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate syrup, and melted marshmallow sauce.

New to the fair, but probably not new to you, is Poutine! It features meatless gravy (!!!) and shredded mozzarella, and it’s $8 for a plate or $10 for a bucket. Speaking of buckets…

Not new but still worth sharing, Grater Taters’ bucket of thinly-sliced and deep-fried potatoes “explode into these cohesive mountains of chips.” It’s $7 for the chips and one topping–chili, cheese, ranch dressing, hot sauce, and bacon–and $1 for each additional topping.

Want more food in a bucket? How about fries…

…and lemonade? The bucket is $12, and the tanker (100 ounces!) is $20 for a first go, or $6 and $12 (respectively) for a refill.

Human for scale.

Another returning favorite are these Gummi Kebabs. It’s $4 a stick, and the variety looks fantastic.

Last but not least? This Salad on a Stick. It’s $6 for two sticks, each featuring lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and cheese with a drizzle of dressing.

Oregon State Fair 2017

Oregon State Fair 2017:

In her coverage of the fair, one reporter for the Statesman Journal proposes the “‘I welcome death’ deep-fried scavenger hunt”. Let’s play!*

Deep-fried cookie dough!

Deep-fried Oreos!

Deep-fried pickles!

Deep-fried Nutella!

Deep-fried ravioli!

*Most pictures are not specifically from the Oregon State Fair, given the relative dearth of fair-specific photos. Still, I thought the reporter’s writing was so worth sharing that it made the lack of fidelity worth it. Unless otherwise noted (i.e. here), all photos are from the fairs specified

 

Oregon State Fair 2017:  (continued)

Deep-fried cinnamon roll!

Deep-fried coffee!

Deep-fried s’mores!

Deep-fried banana split!

Last but not least, these deep-fried bacon-wrapped Reese’s peanut butter cups, which come garnished with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup. Of these, the reporter said:  “This is what I learned at the Oregon State Fair:  We, as a society, have become so numb that we now deep fry bacon-wrapped peanut butter cups. I thought we stopped at deep fried butter. How foolish I was.”

*Most pictures are not specifically from the Oregon State Fair, given the relative dearth of fair-specific photos. Still, I thought the reporter’s writing was so worth sharing that it made the lack of fidelity worth it. Unless otherwise noted (i.e. here), all photos are from the fairs specified

Oklahoma State Fair 2017

Oklahoma State Fair 2017:

CocoFlow’s Unicorn Crepe is filled with raspberry jam, fresh fruit, vanilla cream, and Pop Rock mousse with a sprig of cotton candy on top.

CocoFlow also offers savory crepe choices like Korean bulgogi, Cuban pork, and Monte Cristo crepes.

Another crepe stand, DJ’s Cerme de la Crepe, has dessert crepes like this banana split ice cream crepe. There’s also dinner crepes like smoked chicken salad.

The Oklahoma Pork Council operates a Pork Chop Shop and slings a pork chop sandwich, [pork burger, pulled pork sandwich, and the Hawgzilla.

Porky’s highlights its hot and fresh donut burger.

Rodney & Lisa has this double-stuffed pizza, which the stand’s owner says “is a 3-meat pizza on top of a 3-meat pizza” for over a pound of pizza per slice.

A neat offering are these two-foot-long licorice ropes imported from Spain. They’re stuffed with a filling too, with flavors like berry delight, strawberry banana, and red & black twist.

Silver Dollar Concessions use a secret family recipe to make their cinnamon rolls, each of which are hand-rolled and baked fresh all day. There’s a cinnamon, sugar, and butter glaze on top, but you can add pecans or butter cream frosting too.

 

Oklahoma State Fair 2017:  (continued)

Guiltless Concession serves up ice cream sundaes that top a cinnamon roll, apple pie, chocolate cake, or pile of bananas with ice cream and a choice of toppings. There’s the Bacon Explosion sundae and the Breakfast or Dessert option, but whatever you choose, the owner says:  “Don’t worry about the calories because all sundaes are served with fat free plastic.” A ha, ha, ha… *death glare*

Offered by Bodacious Burritos, these face-sized treats are all vegetarian. Yum!

La Gumbo Ya Ya offers their famous gumbo and red beans and rice on a stick. Why, why, why couldn’t I find a picture of those!?

I did find a picture of this bucket of deep-fried cheese curds.

And deep-fried garlic mashed potatoes served on a stick.

St. Paddy’s Cakes offers breakfast tacos, consisting of scrambled egg, chopped gunners brat, sheep’s milk cheddar cheese, bacon, green onion, tomatoes, and Guinness honey dijon poppy seed mustard.

They also have Twinkie cheddar bacon sliders. Because of course they do.

Indiana State Fair 2017

Indiana State Fair 2017:

If you like your beef with a side of beef, this burger serves smoked brisket on top of a grilled Hoosier rib-eye between buns.

Another Hoosier favorite are these warm apple dumplings. It’s a warm, cinnamon pastry partnered with some vanilla soft serve.

Hook’s Historical Drugstore is a state fair fixture and features old-timey candy and a real soda fountain. Pictured here is a traditional egg cream soda, made-from-scratch with a choice of egg cream flavors (like orange, cherry, vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, blue raspberry, and lemon) mixed with a selection of soda (like Green River, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, and root beer).

Another drink on offer are Dairy Bar’s milkshakes, which come with a s’more on a straw. That’s a new twist on the state fair on-a-stick trope, no?

…Speaking of on-a-stick tropes, here’s Swain’s pizza on a stick. “Actually,” remarks one reporter, “it’s more like a stromboli on a stick.” For the unfamiliar–which included me 30 seconds ago prior to a Google search–a stromboli is a type of turnover made with bread dough or pizza dough filled with cheese, sauce, and cold cuts or vegetables. So it’s a hot pocket on-a-stick covered with more cheese and toppings. Gotcha. Anyway, apparently the paint stirrer-size wooden stick holds the beast aloft.

This Peanut Butter Pineapple Pork Burger was featured on the local news. Is its combination of a grilled pork patty, slab of pineapple, and peanut butter newsworthy? What do you think?

Porky’s Sloppy Joe is made with lamb in a sweet ‘n’ spicy tomato sauce and a cornmeal-dusted Kaiser roll. Despite the name, Porky’s actually serves all things lamb, including baby lamb chops.

Why waste a vegetable when a deep-fried meat stick could do? The Corn Dog Split slices a turkey corn dog through the middle and covers it with traditional baked potato toppings like mac ‘n’ cheese, chili, and jalapeños.

 

Indiana State Fair 2017:  (continued)

Fresh, made-from-scratch French toast is used as the buns for a bacon cheeseburger with all the fixings–lettuce, tomato, onion–and a creamy sweet sauce rather than maple syrup.

Dirty Hippy’s sweet potato tots was one reporter’s choice for best dish of 2017. It serves up deep-fried Brussels sprouts on top of some deep-fried potato tots and tops them with jalapeño nacho cheese, green onions, and hot sauce.

Also deep-fried is a peanut butter jelly sandwich, sans crusts of course. The thick coating of confectioners’ sugar turns into a gooey delight on the sandwich, hot from the fryer.

The Mousetrap Grilled Cheese sandwich, made from Havarti, colby jack, and cheddar, has a cheese pull that stretches forever. It’s served on Texas toast.

Insect pizza takes a “not bad, thick and bready” cheese pizza and turns it fair-worthy by adding crickets, scorpions, and mealworms as toppings. There aren’t many of them, but what is there can get stuck between your teeth. Pass!

Carousel Foods’ famous Double Barrel Burger is “as crazy good as it is just plain crazy.” It’s made with three glazed donuts to separate two bacon cheeseburgers and a hearty scoop of mac ‘n’ cheese.

Last but not least is this unlabeled mystery creation. What could that deep-fried slab on a bun be? Beef? Pork? The souls of the damned howling in despair of ever again finding their car in the gargantuan parking lot? Or perhaps a small bison?

Ohio State Fair 2017

Ohio State Fair 2017:

Every year, Velvet Ice Cream creates a state fair flavor. This time it’s cereal milk-flavored ice cream with a honey graham cereal swirl.

So popular at the fair were tater tots that one attendee claimed they’re “the new cupcake.” Pictured below are Gumbo Tots, but other varieties include Buffalo Tots, Philly Tots, Texas Tots, Greek Tots, Breakfast Tots, Bacon Tots, Poutine Tots, and the one I’m most curious about,Tots ‘n’ Debris.

French Waffles–or at least, what Ohio’s Berry Barn claims as French waffles–are light, crispy, and coated in powdered sugar.

Gobblin’ Gourmet’s Banana Pudding looks like it uses a funnel cake for a base. Because that’s pure state fair right there.

Also pure state fair (and pure Americana) is the Krispy Kreme burger. It’s a perennial and not new to the fair this year, but I’m including it if only for the picture and this quote by purveyor Donut Burger:  “You have your vegetables and everything. It’s sweet and it’s meat.” Yes, because the leaf of lettuce and slice of tomato totally make the rest of it healthy.

 

Ohio State Fair 2017:  (continued)

Another classic? Deep-Fried Buckeyes–the state’s peanut butter and chocolate candy–which come in either plain (but deep-fried) or bacon-wrapped (also deep-fried).

Following this trend is the Deep-Fried Bacon-Wrapped Oreos, also on a stick.

Perhaps the only food served on nature’s stick, the pork chops on offer are “by far the juiciest chop I have ever had.”

For their Deep Fried Tacos, Bailey’s Steakery takes a soft taco–with ground beef, tomato, lettuce, onion, and cheese–toothpicked together and deep fried, are topped with salsa and sour cream.

More absurd are Deep Fried Gummy Bears. A stand from the fair (above) and its creation (below).

Bonus picture from a food blog, not from the state fair, just ’cause it’s pretty. Ironically enough, the blog might serve as a to-do list for state fair purveyors, as since its post in 2011 nearly all of its prophecies creations have come to fruition.

North Carolina 2017

North Carolina 2017:

Cheerwine, the classic cherry-flavored soda famous to North Carolina, now comes in a funnel cake version.

The trend at this fair appears to be deep-fried pie. Here’s Minneapple…

…pumpkin…

…pecan…

…chocolate…

…moon…

…and key lime.

 

North Carolina 2017: (continued)

I’m less clear on what Hickory Tree Turkey BBQ’s Crack ‘n’ Cheese is. Even the State Fair’s website is mum. Any guesses?

This Thanksgiving Egg Roll is described as a “divine abomination.” Bite by bite, it’s a mix of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and cranberry sauce, but what you get in each mouthful is up for debate. It’s served with a side of Bacon Cheese Collard Bites that act as “tender, creamy semblances of vegetables.”

Also new for 2017 at the state fair is poutine.

The Wicked Wafflewich Slider, from Chik-N-Que, crams chopped barbecue chicken and slaw into two crispy waffles and calls it a sandwich.

 

 

North Carolina 2017: (continued)

Arepa Loca won an award for the best new fair food with its Beef Arepa. Tender, flavorful beef packed inside a pocket with more flavors than one reviewer could pick out.

From looks alone, this bacon mac ‘n’ cheese should sweep the awards too.

Ragin’ Cajun’s Deep-Fried Dirty Rice Balls.

They will also offer deep-fried bananas foster, a dish that involves sauteing the fruit in rum and brown sugar.

Miss Debbie’s Specialty Apples offers up caramel apples coated in chocolate and paired with a Krispy Kreme donut. Inexplicably enough, the line’s called “Angry Gobstoppers.” Varieties include pecan streudel, coconut macadamia nut, and chocolate marshmallow fluff.

Another abomination to fruit is this Deep-Fried Watermelon.

Last but not least–and I’ll keep on trying to find a better picture, but since the fair’s going on now, this is the best I can find–is this Pumpkin Pie Milkshake, served inside a pumpkin and made with vanilla ice cream, real pumpkin pie, secret spices, and topped with whipped cream and pie crust crumbles.

OC Fair 2017

OC Fair 2017:

Says the creator of this Krispy Kreme Fried Chicken Ice Cream Sandwich:  “It’s a rare opportunity for people to indulge and eat without worrying about calories.” Maybe for you, buddy, but that’s why I’m here looking at a picture of your fried-chicken ice cream sandwich with jelly donut buns and you’re eating it. I…can’t tell if that’s something I should be proud of anymore.

That same man is also behind these Fried Peanut Butter Meatballs, a beef and pork meatball dipped in peanut butter pancake batter that’s deep-fried and topped with powdered sugar and peanut butter frosting.

The Maui Cowboy comes from another purveyor who claims the inspiration came from commercials for Spam. It’s an all-beef patty and Spam, both grilled and served on a ciabatta roll with ghost pepper cheese, sriracha mayo, banh mi-style carrots, peppers, onions, and jalapeños.

Australia Battered Potatoes, offered by a stand owned by an Australian family. They’re lightly-battered scallop potatoes that are deep-fried and served with your choice of toppings. Pictured is the bacon, cheese, and ranch sauce version.

The aptly-named Pineapple Express sells halved pineapples filed with chunks of pineapple, white rice, and grilled shrimp or chicken.

Texas Tater Twisters offers these Deep Fried Nachos, described as an “out of body experience” that’s “like the Willy Wonka of nachos.” It’s mashed up tortilla and Doritos chips that’s held together with jalapeño juice and nacho cheese, then deep-fried and topped with more nacho cheese.

 

OC Fair 2017:  (continued)

A fair classic, this version of Deep Fried Butter comes with a side of maple syrup that turns the dish into “breakfast in one bite” that’s “like eating a pancake ball.”

Deep-fried octopus. On a stick, of course!

Deep-fried ravioli, also on a stick.

Also skewered, but not deep-fried? Bacon-wrapped asparagus…

..and Brussels sprouts. Leave it to California to make then appearance of health. These sprouts are grilled with olive oil and rolled in Parmesan cheese.

Also Parmesan-encrusted are these Tasi Chips. The Parmesan and garlic variety are one reviewer’s all-time fair favorite. They’re made from white rose San Jacinto potatoes sliced daily, and each paper boat contains about four potatoes’ worth of chip.

The same stand sells the Chili Relleno Pretzel Cheeseburger is a two-time award-winner, including “best in show” because, as one reviewer writes, “it represents everything that’s fun about fair food.” It’s a flavor bomb of a burger and chorizo patty both served on a pretzel bun with jalapeño jam and chile relleno.

 

OC Fair 2017:  (continued)

Here’s the Bacon Chicken Legs with Fries. The chicken’s deep-fried, of course.

This Mexican Funnel Cake uses 60 feet of churros, coiled onto a plate and topped with fresh whipped cream and strawberries. According to one taster, the use of fresh vs. canned (as most booths do) means the whipped cream doesn’t melt over the churros.

Like its Arizona cousin, the OC State Fair also went crazy with the Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes, serving similar creations. Just one vendor alone expects to get through “a truckload” of Cheetoes during the fair. Anyway, a few ones new to the thread are the fries (above) and 2-foot long pecan-wood smoked sausage corndog (below).

Also on trend? The Unicorn Pineapple Bomb arrives like a blast of rainbow confetti, served as either raspberry lemonde or piña colada in a hollowed-out pineapple and decorated with whipped cream, a sour candy rainbow ribbon, and Froot Loops, with Rice Krispie treats and candy-speckled marshmallows skewered on sticks and sticking up out of the frothy broth.

Continuing the trend is Unicorn Nitro Pop. Nitro pop (above) itself is liquid-nitrogen frozen kettle corn, and the unicorn variety (below) is made by a special cotton candy machine that shoots the floss straight up into the air so workers can wind it around the cup of popcorn. The cotton candy is coated with cereal marshmallows, and a unicorn-shaped lollipop is stuck in the cup of popcorn for garnish.

 

OC Fair 2017:  (continued)

It might not look like its unicorn brethren, but these are Unicorn Legs. At least, that’s what Bacon A-Fair owner claims. He had the idea of serving roasted pig’s legs, but front pig legs are so uncommon as cuts of meat that “Suppliers basically said it doesn’t exist. So we joked it was a unicorn. It was elusive. It’s magical because you can’t find it anywhere.” It’s also five pounds of meat that’s been smoked for 10 hours.

Bacon-A Fair also offers bacon-encrusted corn (above) and bacon back ribs (below). The ribs are marinated in a barbecue sauce, crisped over an open flame, and rolled in bacon chunks.

Another favorite? This Cinnamon Roll Sundae (above), created from made-from-scratch dough (below) and turned into a sundae with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, chopped walnuts, and a cherry. It’s described as “insanely addictive” and “one of the best desserts at the park.”

A bonus I couldn’t help but include even though it was technically at the LA County Fair (which means there’s a high chance it was at the OC Fair too). Here’s Chicken Charlie’s Cotton Candy Ice Cream Sandwich. It’s two crushed-down cotton candy patties sandwiching a large scoop of vanilla ice cream, and it’s all rolled in Fruity Pebbles cereal.

Arizona State Fair 2017

Arizona State Fair 2017:

“Amid the corn dogs, turkey legs, and mystery meat nuggets, a truck serving up honest-to-god crepes made fresh to order is an anomaly that borders on suspicious,” writes a reporter for AZ Central. True Love Crepe. A tender delight decorated with butter, cinnamon, sugar, and caramel, plus a scoop of ice cream.

Another surprise? Pasta with meatballs! Unfortunately, it’s probably not a good one. “This is a school cafeteria flashback of the worst kind,” says the reviewer, with bread that’s more garlic than carb, “overcooked spaghetti, candy sweet sauce, and freezer-grade meatballs.”

Yet again a shocker, you can drink fruit from a fruit at the aptly-named Drink a Fruit From the Fruit stand.

A little more in line with the traditional state fair food is the Deep-Fried Tamale on a Stick. It’s what it says it is, deep-frying chile-infused tamale dough that in effect adds a crispy, caramelized shell to a tamale.

Also deep-fried and served on a stick, the Tater Dog is a spiral-cut potato coiled around a hot dog, although this time the deep-frying yields a mushy dog and a grease-soaked spud.

Sticking with the standard theme, the Chile Relleno Dog is a corn dog that has some cheese and green chile in its batter.

Also deep-fried is the “gut bomb of legendary proportions,” a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. A traditional cheesesteak sandwich is made of thinly-sliced beefsteak drowning in melted cheese and served in a hoagie roll. Variations abound, but the cheese is commonly American cheese or, that all-american classic, Cheez Whiz. Anyway, at the Arizona fair, the cheesesteak sandwich is wrapped in a chimichanga and deep-fried.

 

Arizona State Fair 2017:  (continued)

We’ve seen deep-fried avocado at other state fairs, but this version is pretty underwhelming. It’s offered with mix of ranch dressing and salsa on the side.

Questionable at best is the Navajo Taco. Aside from the name, it’s a deep fried pile of dough smeared with beans, topped with ground beef, and garnished with lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheddar cheese.

Since the reporter couldn’t access Baja Lobster’s Lobster Dawg, they tried this Fish Taco which was “surprisingly decent,” taking a grilled corn tortilla and stuffing in a freshly-battered, deep-fried piece of mystery fish, drowning it in chipotle-spiked crema, and piling on shredded cabbage.

And of course, there are Flintstones-sized turkey legs wrapped in bacon.

I’d prefer my Stone Age in the form of this Pop Rocks Donut.

 

Arizona State Fair 2017:  (continued)

The biggest feature of the fair were Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes culinary creations, starting with a corn dog…

…pizza…

…corn in a cup…

…caramel apple…

…and mac ‘n’ cheese burger, all topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes and offered with an assembly-required baggie of lettuce, onion, and tomato.

The biggest feature of the fair were Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes culinary creations, starting with a corn dog…

…pizza…

…corn in a cup…

…caramel apple…

…and mac ‘n’ cheese burger, all topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetoes and offered with an assembly-required baggie of lettuce, onion, and tomato.

The Big E 2017

The Big E, or Eastern States Exposition, represents all six states in New England:  Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In 2017:

Each time I think I’ve seen everything that can be deep fried, deep fried, some intrepid state fair purveyor surprises me. This time? It’s V-One Craft Cocktail Bar’s Deep-Fried Martini. “Few have ever described it as ‘good,’” writes a reporter for MassLive. “But it is an ‘experience.'” Varieties include appletini, piña colada, and chocolate highness.

Fried Mac & Cheese Balls with Bacon are simple, croquette-style balls of mac ‘n’ cheese, deep-fried, and smothered with more cheese and bacon.

Prefer another geometric shape for your carb craving? Try Bacon Mac ‘n’ Cheese in a Cone!

Another conical creation, Waffle Chicken Bites from Deep South Company takes popcorn chicken covered in waffle batter, deep fries it, and serves it in a waffle cone with a maple mustard sauce for dippin’. The portion sizes offered at the fair were even bigger than pictured, according to MassLive.

Broadening our choice of shapes, Storrowton Soup Shack serves its soups in big ol’ bread bowls. On offer are cheeseburger chowder and a zucchini soup. Hot soup on a scorching summer day may be counter-intuitive, so some soups will be served cold. Please tell me that doesn’t include the cheeseburger chowder…

One of my new goals in life may be to eat a food at a restaurant named for that food. These cinnamon rolls from the Cinnamon Saloon could take me one step closer to that nirvana.

Another dream-maker are tots from Tots-a-Lot. Two of the topping options are Loaded Tots (cheese sauce, bacon bits, chives, and sour cream) and Chicken Tot Pie (chicken pot pit filling spread atop the tots).

 

The Big E 2017: (continued)

Classic to the Big E are these Cream Puffs. It’s a dense puff of buttery pastry with sweet cream filling.

Conversely, a state fair spin on a classic food is to offer caramel apples with toppings like Oreos, kettle corn, M&Ms, and Reese’s candy.

The Pork Palace offers this BBQ Sundae. Says one reviewer, who itemized it in the above picture:  “Each layer is another peek into the wonders of barbecue.”

First seen as a Thanksgiving monstrosity, it’s now state fair offering:  The Turducken Sandwich is a patty of chicken, turkey, duck confit, and sausage cornbread grill-seared and served between a grilled cheese sandwich. Adding to the Thanksgiving feel is the sandwich’s cranberry aioli spread.

Moo-Licious offers this Moo-Nut, an ice-cream filled donut turned into a sundae by your choice of toppings. “It’s exactly as good as it sounds,” writes one reporter, who recommends opting for chocolate ice cream and peanut butter cups for garnish.

Mmm… Pizza burger.

The Flatliner Burger is a double cheeseburger so drowned in chili, cheese sauce, French fries, and bacon that it has to be held together with skewers. I submit to you America’s new national anthem.

Nebraska State Fair 2017

Nebraska State Fair 2017:

Thanksgiving in a Bowl is served from a truck. I can’t get much information on it besides what it looks like, and I’m still debating whether that’s a scoop of stuffing or strangely brown potatoes on top.

Jojo’s Gelato has a Gelato Cannoli with a deep-fried cannoli shell stuffed with gelato. Each end is dipped in mini chocolate chips, and drizzled on top are chocolate and caramel sauces.

Jojo’s also has an Oreo Churro, a deep-fried 10-inch chocolate churro pastry with Oreo cream filling inside and a chocolate sugar topping outside.

Don’t let the name fool you. S’mores on a Stick is actually the s’mores Pop Tart battered, deep fried, and served on stick. Well, at least the stick part isn’t a lie.

Nothing says “America” more than “bacon double cheeseburger,” and few things describe “state fair” better than “on-a-stick.” Hardenbrooks Specialty Corn Dogs combines the two with their Bacon Double Cheeseburger on a Stick. The cheeseburger not just contains bacon, it is (dipped in) bacon (batter), then deep-fried, smothered in spicy cheese sauce, and doused in bacon bits.

Less misleading are Ol’ Country Kettle Corn’s Lolly Waffles, which come in a variety of flavors. There’s s’mores, red velvet (pictured), s’mores, cinnamon bun, and Belgium waffle varieties. The waffles can then be dipped in chocolate (milk or white) or cream cheese frosting. Why not all three?

Ol’ Country Kettle Corn also wraps hot dogs in waffles. Their Waffle Dogs use a sweet Belgium and corn meal waffle, to be precise, and top the creation with ketchup and mustard. But why not syrup?

 

Nebraska State Fair 2017: (continued)

King’s Funnel Cakes offers Bacon Cinnamon Rolls, a dish which wraps mini cinnamon rolls in bacon, deep fries them, and serves them on a stick.

The Texas-Size Stuffed Potato is topped with your choice of either chopped brisket, chicken, or pork, plus butter, cheddar cheese, sour cream, onions, and jalapeño peppers.

It’s a little telling that the local newspaper had to explain what paella is when introducing Boki Paella’s contribution to the fair. Their version comes with teriyaki, salsa, hot sauce, ranch, or vinaigrette sauce.

The Tamale Slammer layers tamales with chopped brisket, crushed honey barbecue Fritos, piles of cheddar cheese, and barbecue sauce.

The Big Daddy Dog is an all-beef, 12-inch hot dog served on a Rotella bun. It’s garnished with jalapeño cheese and bacon.

Cactus Jack’s Redneck Rueben takes a seasoned steak burger and slops on some smoked brisket, melted Swiss or American cheese, sauerkraut, and house bistro sauce. One question:  If it’s a Redneck burger, why even allow a cheese other than American?

If this isn’t Nebraska… The Cowboy Mignon is a burger made of ground chuck sausage that’s stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon. It’s topped with a creamy Vidalia onion sauce, fried onions, pickles, and I can’t tell what else. What’s your guess?