First Friday: Crazy Fair Food

"It's that time of season, it's that time of year! The Allen Co. Fair is here!" It is so funny how certain jingles are so memorable and widely known. Anyway, it is fair season!

When I was younger I went the the fair once or twice every year. I rode rides, won a few pictures of Haley Joel Osment or dogs, and ate elephant ears. But that was it- elephant ears and an occasional funnel cake. Where did all the crazy "fair food" come from? I didn't go to any fairs in college, however I heard all about the crazy food that was becoming a staple at every fair in the country. That is all anyone talked about. On Lopez's show he had a fair food bracket contest that included things like fried Twinkies, pork parfaits, fried butter, a double cheeseburger in between two glazed donuts, and chocolate covered bacon. Now I love food that is not good for you, chocolate and fried things and some of my faves- but some of it sounded disgusting. So I decided that I had to at least try it sometime. Even if at first you cringed when you heard about it, they always had positive reviews of how amazing it was afterward.

Cut to last year, when it had been at least 6 years since I went to a fair, and I walk into the Allen Co. Fair with Cece on our lunch break. I am expecting it to look crazier from what I remember as a kid but it looked the same...down to where the pizza booth I always frequented was located. So we walked around, had a hot dog and I looked for the crazy fair food so I can try something ridiculous, but everything was the same. It is cart after cart of lemonade, pizza, fries, hamburgers, hot dogs, cotton candy, elephant ears and funnel cakes...the "normal" fair food. So I do not know if it just Lima trying to keep the fair healthier (yeah right, that is only thing to do here in Lima-eat) or if we are just behind the times. Either way there is only one stand that is offering a few of what is to be thought of as normal fair food everywhere else. So I ended up trying a fried snickers....good. Not an everyday snack, but a once a year kinda thing. Not earth shattering as I was led to believe. This year I tried a fried twinkie- and it will be my last fried twinkie.

So in conclusion the crazy fair food not all it is cracked up to be. I would rather come back to Lima and get the normal for here fair food- hot dog, fries and a funnel cake. Mmmm.