Fair Food 2011

Deep-fried Klondike Bar

More than your child’s blue ribbon, winning a goldfish or watching a tractor pull; the most looked forward to item at state, county and local fairs is the food.

Fair food is in a food group all its own and not to be found on the nutritional food pyramid. Metamorphosed from real food, it is junk food on steroids. Noir movie director Tim Burton could not conjure the weird extremes which have been taken with once reasonably edible stuff.
Nothing is too far out, nothing is off limits, and anything healthy can, and will, be turned into the sinful delights we dream about the rest of the year.

So what’s out there for the official Indiana State Fair Food 2011?

Ice Cream Burger

Fair food royalty, and Indiana-based, Dennis and Cheryl Reas are part of the family owned Carousel Foods. The king and queen of the gastro lab are keeping loyal subjects satisfied with this year’s menu of burgers, including fair attendees' favorite the Donut Burger, the French Toast Burger and the Ice Cream Burger.
Not a typo, folks, this burger comes with its side of milkshake on top. Lift up the bun (if you dare) and you’ll see a chunk of deep-fried, cinnamon-coated frozen dairy product.

Deep-fried Kool-Aid

Keeping pace with the outrageous offerings of last year’s deep-fried butter, the southern Indiana family continue to push the gastro limits with Deep-fried Kool-Aid. Somewhat like a doughnut hole, it is made from a thick batter heavy on the cherry-flavored Kool-Aid powder drink mix. Dropped in fair food-required hot oil, it’s presented sprinkled with powder sugar.

Orangeade Shakeup

Orangeade Shakeups return and are guaranteed to replicate exactly the flavor of the favorite drink from Indy's Tee-Pee restaurant which once sat in front of the state fairgrounds.

Other items in Carousel's arsenal include Deep-fried Brownies, small, molten deep-fried (of course) chocolate treats and a southern helping of chicken and waffles...fair style.

Eggo Chicken

The Eggo Chicken makes its debut on the menu with a deep-fried chicken breast nestled between two Eggo brand waffles. First dipped in an egg wash, the waffles are breaded with crushed Cap'n Crunch cereal and served hot off the grill.
Carousel concession stands are located west of the Pavilion.

Other gastro goodies to ingest on the fair circuit this year are deep-fried, beer-filled pretzels, deep-fried spaghetti and meatballs and for dessert? Deep-fried Tiramisu on a stick…chocolate coated.

*Special note-The food fair crew lost a member recently. Cheryl Reas' father Larry Orme, of Carousel Foods, passed away in March of this year while doing what he loved: running food concessions. His wife Olivia will continue working with the family business.

For more information, events, schedule and tickets for the Indiana State Fair, visit IndianaStateFair.com.


Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer, performing arts and restaurant critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC, and follow her on Twitter @ejmusgrave1 and Facebook. Gotta Go is published in the following newspapers: South Sider Voice, Indiana Weekender, New Palestine Reporter, Pendleton Times Reporter and Fortville-McCordsville Reporter.

Fair Food 2009

It’s that marvelous, wonderful time of the year again – state and county fair time. The 4-H projects are turned in for judging, ribbons are distributed and displayed, rides are bolted together and, best of all, concession booths start selling fair food.

Fair Food Time!

Fair food is in a food group all its own and probably not on the nutritional food pyramid. Much of it started as real food, and then metamorphosed into junk food on steroids. Noir movie director Tim Burton couldn’t come up with the weird extremes which have been taken with once reasonably edible stuff. Nothing is too
far out, nothing is off limits, and anything healthy can, and will, be turned into the sinful delights we dream
about the rest of the year.

So what’s out there? The common pineapple whip ice cream, corn dogs and walking tacos have been upstaged by the truly weird. First, the Snickers candy bar was deep fried, then Oreos, then Twinkies...

OK, here’s the list of food gone crazy at the fairs which I have heard about, seen in person or actually eaten.
First, the kabob items, because at fairs, if the food item isn’t drowned in a vat of hot oil, it’s skewered, right?

Salad on a stick

Salad on a stick – someone figured out how to put lettuce on a skewer. Healthier, true, but where do the croutons fit into this picture? Pineapple spears, Carmellows, caramel-covered marshmallows, and cheesecake
wedges are now on sticks. The newest kabobs to hit the circuit are chocolate-covered peanut butter rounds, chocolate-covered Key Lime pie and frozen s’mores. The last item is, of course, drizzled with chocolate, caramel or other sweet toppings.

Pretzel rods are being dipped in chocolate or caramel, fish are in tacos and mashed-potato martinis are hitting the midway this year.

What’s being batter-dipped and deep-fried? Frog legs, banana pudding wraps and Pop Tarts. Hot dogs are now being wrapped in a zucchini skin, deep fried and called, what else, zucchini weenie. Say that three
times fast.

Deep-fried chocolate-covered strawberry

Chocolate-covered bacon is also deep fried now, as are Jelly Belly jelly beans, Spam, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese-filled sausages, Tootsie Rolls, alligator meat, Pepsi, Coke and, drum roll please, White Castle hamburgers. Yep, the little square guys are battered and oiled up for a fast-track heart attack.

The healthier fare being given the royal-oil treatment are strawberries, pineapple and bananas. Avocados, carrots and green beans have not entered the concession zone, as far as I know. However, there’s always next year.

If you have a favorite fair food, share it with me by emailing a note to elizabeth@gottago.us. Me, I will be right here, figuring out how to deep fry cotton candy.

Elizabeth J. Musgrave is a syndicated columnist, travel writer and theater critic. Catch her as Indy’s Arts & Entertainment Adviser on 93 WIBC and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and at gottago.us. Comments can be sent to elizabeth@gottago.us.