State Fairs

Epicurious.com has just published a list of 10 State Fairs where we especially love to eat: http://www.epicurious.com/restaurants/best_eats/fairs

I don't understand why you listed the Vermont fair and left off the Indiana State Fair. Even the Bloomsburg fair is better than the Vermont Fair. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Vermont and I love their cheese and maple syrup; but their fair is hardly an 'epicurean delight'.

The Big E's creampuff is to die for. Big enought to share so you can eat a lot more different things. Like the funnel cakes.

Ah, food at the Ohio State Fair. Do not miss the barbequed lamb sandwiches sold in the food pavillion by the Ohio Lamb Council. It's not really barbeque, but it is so delicious. The ubiquitous lemon shakeups? Refreshing. I'll tell you some things I miss. They're from the old Danbury Fair in Connecticut. I used to love the sausage, peppers and onion sandwiches, the fried dough with tomato sauce and the squeezed-when-you-ordered-it apple cider.

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

I don't understand why you listed the Vermont fair and left off the Indiana State Fair. Even the Bloomsburg fair is better than the Vermont Fair. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Vermont and I love their cheese and maple syrup; but their fair is hardly an 'epicurean delight'.

Mmmmm. Bloomsburg Fair. Yummy.

Tom

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

I don't understand why you listed the Vermont fair and left off the Indiana State Fair. Even the Bloomsburg fair is better than the Vermont Fair. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Vermont and I love their cheese and maple syrup; but their fair is hardly an 'epicurean delight'.

Mmmmm. Bloomsburg Fair. Yummy.

Tom

And quoting a higher authority than me, Holly has both the Bloomsburg and Indiana Fairs listed; not the Vermont one.

Woo hoo! Iowa State Fair was listed and I can agree, they have awesome food! The fair starts tomorrow!!! My kids love the corn dogs and root beer, I love the lemonade and turkey legs and and and.....hehe.

Have any of you ever experienced the Iowa State Fair???

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

I don't understand why you listed the Vermont fair and left off the Indiana State Fair. Even the Bloomsburg fair is better than the Vermont Fair. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Vermont and I love their cheese and maple syrup; but their fair is hardly an 'epicurean delight'.

Mmmmm. Bloomsburg Fair. Yummy.

Tom

And quoting a higher authority than me, Holly has both the Bloomsburg and Indiana Fairs listed; not the Vermont one.

Another vote here for Bloomsburg Fair! Mr.D-L and I plan our fair-grazing schedule months in advance. Here's their website:
http://www.bloomsburgfair.com/
In years past, on the Food Page of their website, you could post your favorite Bloomsburg Fair Foods, and people from all over would write their favorites and one year, I took notes of those mentioned most often and we tried some great new treats. But last year, some creeps wrecked it by posting nasty and disgusting comments, so that feature seems to no longer be available. A real shame, because it was fun to read what people were just dying to have at the fair and sometimes they seemed so mundane or what you could find anywhere outside a fair, but HEY-- it's what they liked.

The website for the Iowa State Fair with the vendor food listings is:

http://www.iowastatefair.org/foodvendorsbyname.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by mammascookin

Woo hoo! Iowa State Fair was listed and I can agree, they have awesome food! The fair starts tomorrow!!! My kids love the corn dogs and root beer, I love the lemonade and turkey legs and and and.....hehe.

Have any of you ever experienced the Iowa State Fair???

Just a question, and not to challenge anyone's preferences, but can't you find all of these foods at pretty much every State Fair? Corn dogs, turkey legs, etc...I have seen them everywhere.

I wonder if today, the tradition of the State Fair highlighting the agricultural "specialties" of the state really exists anymore, as practically every state is now clamoring to highlight its agricultural innovations, which are pretty much the same across the board....it seems that every state encourages artisanal cheese production, as well as fancy heirloom vegetables, etc. The "Great State Fair" (of New York) has promoted a wide range of produce, meat, and dairy, much of which could probably be found in a number of other states.

Our great Minnesota State Fair starts two weeks from today. This year's newest food addition?! Spagetti and Meatballs on a stick! Can't wait to check it out!

The New York State fair is underestimated- Speidies!! Dinosaur BBQ!!! The Dairy Pavilion has FRESH (milked last night!) cold milk for 10 cents a pop! A couple of good local pizza places have booths too....

You probably can experience most of these foods anywhere but I believe that every place has their own way of cooking things. Here in Iowa you don't find cajun cooking like you would in the south. In the south, I doubt you would find tenderloins like you would here. Every place is famous for their own thing. In Iowa it is sweet corn and pork. Why, I don't know.

For our shows, they mostly have to do with farming. We are known to be a farming state. I think that going to fairs in other states just shows what they are good at. It gives a person the opportunity to appreciate other states for what they are good at. Trying the food is just a plus! As I mentioned...my kids love the corn dogs, I like the turkey legs...just different age preferences I think. I prefer food, and they as kids prefer fun! Our turkey legs are smoked or grilled...a corn dog is a corn dog....I am pretty sure they are almost all made the same way.

I think if you enjoy the fair, you would enjoy seeing the Iowa State Fair. I am not trying to be predjudiced with ours...believe me I'm not as I would love to go to other states fairs...I am just saying that learning what each state is about and trying the things they take pride in might just broaden a persons awareness of culture! I know Iowa doesn't make cheese like Wisconsin...!

I have to agree with Lou!
NYS Fair is great for food.
And really makes NY foods its focus.
In addition to Speidies and Dino BBQ
Don't forget Hoffman hotdogs and Meyer and Ranz
also Giardinelli (sp?) Sausage
Stephen's Greek food
in the Pepsi pavillion is incredible italian pastries
and Greek pastries
Free potato (it might be a dollar now) in Agriculture building
the MILK and ice cream is soooo fresh. Like Lou said...milked the day before. A half pint costs a dime.
Fresh butter, and all things dairy.
Buffalo wings
NY Pizza
Wine! (2nd largest wine producing state next to CA)

I've been to VA state fair and NC state fair recently and was hugely disappointed after grewing up with the NYS Fair just on the other side of onondaga lake from my house.

Some day, I want to go to Wisconsin's...mostly for the CHEESE!

The Iowa State Fair is the ONLY state fair for which Rogers and Hammerstein wrote a musical. Oscar wrote "Our State Fair is a great state fair, don't miss it, don't even delay." No one can top that. I was born in Illinois and live in San Francisco, and next week I will visit the Iowa State Fair again. Iowans, even in those vast numbers, are much too polite to push or shove, making a visit to their Fair a pleasure. Yes, I know food is the main topic here, but I'm constantly impressed with the high level of art at the Fine Arts Pavilion. I've been on the road for a month now, and don't know if my submissions to their Photography Salon were accepted. Please cross your fingers for me!

You don't go to the Wisconsin State Fair for the cheese. You go for the Cream PUFFFFFSSSSSSSSSSS, the flavored milk, and the racing pigs.

http://www.wistatefair.com/home/wsfp/

Twice went to the Minnesota State Fair when visiting friends. Great food, entertainment, and exhibits. Did I mention the food?

My friend goes to the Wisconsin State Fair as often as he can. He lives in California, as do I. I've never been to the California State Fair. For some reason it just doesn't appeal to me - too large of a state to have a decent fair maybe. (?)

Would love to go to the Iowa State Fair someday, as that is where I was born.


Dino

I cannot believe that they left out the Indiana State Fair! The Indiana Pork Producers put on a big feast along with many others. They sell the normal fair food like sugary elephant ears, frosty lemon shake-ups, corn dogs, thick onion rings, spicy Italian sausage (with peppers of course), feather-light funnel cakes, and piping hot cheese sticks. But they also have a lot of local favorites like:

Ribeye sandwiches from the Indiana Beef Cattle Association.
Pork burger or butterfly chops from the Indiana Pork Producers
The grilled cheese and milkshakes is a favorite at the Dairy Bar.
Lamb kabobs, thanks to the Indiana Sheep Breeders Association.
Henry the VIII-sized turkey leg from the Indiana State Poultry Association.

I think the Pork Producers have at least 3 places where they sell their famous Pork Chop dinners! Of course you can get a breaded tenderloin sandwich and every year there is a new fried treat to try. How does a fried Snickers bar or a fried Twinkie sound............

Butch

One has to wonder if every year a new ten "best" is picked, so that every five years, every state has been picked one time as "ten best."

I would think that would be a way to keep readers/subscribers.

Texas State Fair... Corn Dogs, Turkey Legs, Bob's Fries, BBQ Bologna (really), PEDRO's TAMALES!!!, etc, etc etc...
Best day is the last day... vendors start to lower prices and compete with each other... a "going out of business sale" so to speak

quote:

Originally posted by michaelgemmell The Iowa State Fair is the ONLY state fair for which Rogers and Hammerstein wrote a musical. Oscar wrote "Our State Fair is a great state fair, don't miss it, don't even delay."

Don't miss it. Don't even BE LATE!
Being a cheesehead, I'm anxiously awaiting Wisconsin's State Fair from Aug 2-12. I'm thinking of going to Illinois' State Fair, because there's a hook for a magazine article that could well get my writing career off the ground. Details later.

quote:

Originally posted by stricken_detective You don't go to the Wisconsin State Fair for the cheese. You go for the Cream PUFFFFFSSSSSSSSSSS, the flavored milk, and the racing pigs.

http://www.wistatefair.com/home/wsfp/

The maple flavored cotton candy, and the honey, apples & floral exhibits (yes, I'm straight).

quote:

Originally posted by kozel

I don't understand why you listed the Vermont fair and left off the Indiana State Fair. Even the Bloomsburg fair is better than the Vermont Fair. Don't get me wrong, I love the state of Vermont and I love their cheese and maple syrup; but their fair is hardly an 'epicurean delight'.

I do not think Michael made the list, looks like they did.

http://www.epicurious.com/restaurants/best_eats/fairs

Typical of all best lists magazines spread out the national distribution so as not to offend. Same thing goes with best cities, etc. But not including the Indiana State Fair is an injustice.

quote:

Originally posted by mammascookin

The website for the Iowa State Fair with the vendor food listings is:

http://www.iowastatefair.org/foodvendorsbyname.pdf

Updated link. Man, I wouldn't know where to start! Maybe with the Hot Beef Sundae!

http://www.iowastatefair.org/entertainment/fooddirectory.php

quote:

Originally posted by DinoS

Twice went to the Minnesota State Fair when visiting friends. Great food, entertainment, and exhibits. Did I mention the food?

My friend goes to the Wisconsin State Fair as often as he can. He lives in California, as do I. I've never been to the California State Fair. For some reason it just doesn't appeal to me - too large of a state to have a decent fair maybe. (?)

Would love to go to the Iowa State Fair someday, as that is where I was born.


Dino

Dino - As much as I love the WI State Fair, my friends that have moved near the Twin Cities tell me the Minnesota Fair is superior. Part of it is the setting - a park and not a parking lot.

jrp

For many years (may still be) the Minnesota state fair was the largest in the country. You could easily spend 2-3 days there and not get bored. However, as with all fairs, you may be broke.

The Minnesota State Fair is the best attended on a per day basis. It runs 12 days and has an attendance of 1.7 million. I believe the Texas State Fair runs a lot longer and thus has a greater overall attendance. Iowa is the quintessential state fair but its attendance is a little over a million. In size of facility Minnesota is huge. Minnesota benefits from being a large agricultural state with a fair located in a metro area of 3 million people. Minnesota's fair is such an institution that the state legislature made it a law that schools could not start before Labor Day (last day of the fair).

The Minnesota State Fair is the bomb! Made a lot of money there in past years.
The people are wonderful, the weather was alway's reasonable and I never had to eat the same thing twice.
It's been a sort of testing ground for a lot of fair foods and a lot of those end up going main stream. A whole lot of the "new in things" started there.

Indiana and the Ohio state have alway's been good to me too.
Mr. Hoffman hit the sheepster on the nose about the bbq lamp at the Ohio. Melts in your mouth, just the right amout of fat...oh!

Indiana does have some of the best pork and poultry as described by Z66Butch.
I never played the Indiana State Fair without gaining weight.
All the meat producing associations there throw a mean feedbag.
Can't remember the guy's name but there's a fella that use to sell the best chicken on a stick of anywhere I played. Crispy and peppery and fried perfectly everytime. He most likely still does.

This year at the Indiana State fair the Indy-Warren Township Lions in their roasted corn booth are going to offer something a little different.

This year on their sign they are offering roasted ear of sweet corn

or as the sign reads

"For the Dentally Challenged" now offering CUPS of corn.

They are slicing it off the ear into a cup for you to eat.

LOL CK, I better head for Indiana then, that's my kind of corn! Then maybe Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, so much food


LL