The Fair Fare Was More Than Fair (West Virginia State Fair Food Review)
As promised, here is my review of the food waiting for you at the West Virginia State Fair. I spent a full day at the fair last Saturday, and I enjoyed all that it had to offer. If you have not been yet this year, it is definitely worth the trip.
But, while at the fair, I also made a point to try each entry into the New Fair Food Contest. The contest crowns a winning dish out of all those making a fair debut. This is the third year the contest has been running, and it is a great annual tradition that encourages creativity. As you will see, some of the entries really took that challenge head on. Below are my favorites, in order:
Gussie’s Carne Asada Street Tacos.
These delicious tacos won the day by far. A crisp, warm, and flaky tortilla holds a perfect mix of shredded beef, parsley, diced onions, feta cheese, aioli, and topped with your choose of red or green salsa. I preferred the salsa verde and found it complimented the sweet and tangy aioli quite well. The tacos were a simple elevated take on traditional fair food that did not disappoint. At a price of 3 for $10, it was also one of the better deals of day.
Gillette’s Pickle Pizza.
I like pickles, but this pizza was heavy on the pickle, and even heavier on the dill. With that said, it was a really good slice of pizza. The richness of the cheese complimented the bite of the pickle and dill, combining to create a flavor I had never had before. This is a great example of why the New Fair Food Contest is such a great idea. The pickle pizza showcases the creative potential of food and the exciting combinations that can result. While I wouldn’t order an entire pickle pizza, I would definitely have another slice.
Trudy’s Dairy World Pumpkin Pecan Ice Cream on a Coconut Cinnamon Crisp Waffle.
In an interesting blend of fall flavors mellowed out by some summer coconut, this sweet treat was the best of the desserts. The waffle cone’s subtle hint of coconut did just enough to remind you that it is not quite pumpkin spice latte season.
Cross Creek Chicken and Waffles.
This classic combo is yet another example of the creative ideas generated from the contest. In this case, it was the ingenious idea to bake the chicken into the waffle and stick a skewer through the whole thing. A perfect fair friendly delivery system. While the chicken was a little on the dry side, the waffle was cooked perfectly and dashed with powdered sugar. Topped with your choice of traditional, jalapeño, or blueberry maple syrup.
China Palace 2’s Egg Rolls.
Another example of non-traditional fair food that really should be a fair staple. In addition to providing a wider more diverse range of food offerings, egg rolls are conducive to fair style eating. Because of their portability and eat-ability, egg rolls are the perfect snack to take for a stroll around the fair grounds. The crust of the rolls was piping hot and perfectly crunchy, but the actual insides of the roll was lacking. However, the filling that was there was well flavored and left you wanting more.
GH Concession’s Maple Bacon Funnel Cake.
Funnel cake topped with bacon and maple syrup screams fair food. And this funnel cake was no exception. The bacon and maple syrup combined to blend together two beloved flavors. It is hard to not like bacon drizzled in maple syrup atop a pastry. The only downside to this dish was the syrup made the pastry sticky and slightly soggy. Also, it could have used more bacon. But to be fair more bacon is rarely a bad thing.
G3 Concession’s Bloomin Onion Buffalo Cauliflower Wings.
I feel slightly guilty placing these “wings” so far down on the list. I might partially be to blame because of my distaste for cauliflower. And while I found the deep fried and buffalo flavor to really be quite nice, the dish as a whole still tasted like cauliflower. The deep-fried shell did not completely mask the rubbery texture of cooked cauliflower. With that said, I still ate several pieces. So, if you like cauliflower, I am sure it would not disappoint.
Apple & Cream’s Chocolate Covered Apple Bites.
Last but not necessarily least are the apple slices covered in chocolate topped with whipped cream and cherries. This sweet snack was a simple classic. It is hard to screw up apple slices and chocolate. A full apple was sliced into thick but manageable slices and the toppings were generously portioned. While there wasn’t much special to this dish, it did its job and did its job well.
These dishes lived up to the New Fair Food Contest expectations, but there is a fair staple that I thought also deserved an honorable mention. Ben-Ellen Donuts. A warm and soft donut coated in brown cinnamon sugar is the comfort food of all comfort foods. Located at the base of the grandstands and for just a buck each it begs the question: did you even go to the fair if you didn’t get a Ben Ellen Donut?
If you go, and if you want to vote for your favorite New Fair Food Contest entry, you can do so on Facebook with instructions on how to vote on the State Fair website. Get out to the State fair this weekend and experience all that it has to offer, especially the food.
