It started off as a simple idea. While trying to figure out our summer vacation, we eventually landed on the idea of just going down to visit my parents for a week or so, and as one of the things to do on the vacation, go to the State Fair. It has been years since we had been there, and the kids should enjoy it well enough. Milking cows. Petting zoos. Racing pigs. Carnival games and rides. Horses. Corn dogs.
Mmmm...corn dogs! I do love me some corn dogs! And while there, I should really try their fried Snickers bars too. I bet they come on a stick.
As a matter of fact...I should try EVERY food that comes on a stick there!
So that is my plan. This upcoming Monday, I will be touring the state fair grounds, and everywhere I see them offering food on a stick, I will be eating it. Now, I will only be eating one of each kind of food. For example, they have about 300 different vendors selling corn dogs. However, I will just be eating one corn dog while there. Same goes for ice cream treats, I will not eat every single variant of ice cream bar/popscicle that they make, just one.
I will then document each food on a stick with pictures of the food on a stick, the location at the fair that it was purchased, and then a mini-review.
I did a scouting mission, to see what my task is going to entail.
I'm afraid I severely underestimated man's ability to put food on a stick. This may have been a Very Bad Idea. Wish me luck!
(Future dated to keep it at the top of the blog...)
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
State Fair!
Alright. Here we go. Food on a stick mecca! I managed to get through 14 different food on a stick. Consumed, priced, photographed and rated (on a scale of 1-4 sticks)...JUST FOR YOU!!!
1. Brat on a Stick
We hit the fair around 11, and one of the very first booths we came across had the bold sign "BRAT ON A STICK"! Genius!!! Like hotdog on a stick, but bigger! What they used for the base was a Johnsoville Cheddar Brat, and, I have to say, everything at the fair was downhill from this taste treat. This was easily the best thing I ate at the fair.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 4 Sticks
2. Pickle on a Stick
What can I say. It was a dill pickle on a stick. Cold, crunchy...but it was a just a dill pickle.
Cost: $1.50
Rating: 2 sticks
3. Kikkoman BBQ Brandy Steak Samples
The only reason this one is included is because they gave me a toothpick to eat it. Little bitty samples of steak, marinated in some new Kikkoman marinate. Pretty tasty, and it was on a stick
Cost: Free
Rating: 2.5 sticks
4. Egg on a Stick (AHHH!!!)
Yes, thats right. A hard boiled egg on a stick. I can thank the women at the Brat on a stick wagon for this one. It was in a part of the park that I most likely would never have gone to, but my wife told them about my quest, and they gleefully pointed me to the Egg on a Stick stand.
I stood there in horror, not believing my ears. Egg. On a stick.
I can't STAND eggs! They make me want to throw up! But...I had to. I just had to...
I almost didn't do it. I almost ended my quest right then and there. But I did it. I took a bite of the egg on a stick. A good sized bite. And immediately washed it down with a big gulp of tea, and then promptly gave the rest of it to my wife to eat. DISGUSTING!!!
Cost: $1.00
Rating 0 Sticks (ICK!)
5. Pizza on a Stick
Ah! Something to get me past the egg on a stick horror! Basically a calzone wrapped around a paint stirrer. It was pretty good, but became impractical to eat once you got down towards the end. A bit on the dry side too, for pizza.
Cost: $8.00
Rating: 3 Sticks
6. Cajun Shrimp on a Stick
This was a really tasty dish. Shrimp and onions on a stick, with a breading, deep fried (of course) with a little bit of a kick. And everyone that I came across while I was eating this was all like "Wow! Where did you get that!" I should have gotten an advertising commision!
Cost: $6.00
Rating: 3.5 Sticks
7. Pork Chop on a Stick
False advertising!!! I wuz robbed! I spotted the sign for pork chop on a stick, and rushed in to buy one. I get back to the table with my family, and take a couple of bites, and it was really good. I unwrap a bit more, and soon come to realize that the stick that I am holding onto is not in fact a stick, but a bone of the pork chop. Now, we had already established that it had to be an artifical stick, and so I (regretfully) gave the rest of the pork chop to my wife, because it was very moist and extremely well flavored. I include my rating here, just because I did eat part of it. But once again, I plead ignorance in breaking the rules.
Cost: $6.00
Rating: 3 sticks
8. Steak on a Stick
After the pork chop on a stick fiasco, I walked up to the girl behind the counter and asked, "So...is your steak on a stick on a real stick? Like a wooden one?" She looked at me like "Duh!" Anyway...steak was purchased, and was quite the disappointment. Dry, not much flavor.
Cost: $5.50
Rating: 2.5 sticks
9. Corn Dog
Ah yes! The corn dog! The crown jewel of fair food! I was so looking forward to this one! And my dad told me I needed to go to one specific corn dog stand, Voses. Best corn dogs in the fair.
So I grab one of their dogs, and take a bite. And went "Huh?" Took another bite, and it was still "Meh." While the corn dog coating was fine, the dog on the inside was decidedly soft and mealy. It was a decidedly inferior corn dog. Not even mustard was enough to get me to finish it. Even those microwave corn dogs were better than this thing.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 1.5 Sticks
10: Alligator on a Stick
I was quite surprised to see this one walking down the midway, but it fit the bill, so I had to try it. Quite tasty. Nice spicy cajun batter on it, big helping. Two of my kids tried it, and liked it too.
Cost: $5.00
Rating: 3.5 Sticks
11. 3 Musketeers on a Stick
Evening was winding down, and it was time to start in on dessert. We wandered back to the first stand we bought the Brat on a Stick from, and sampled their candy bar offerings. I wanted a Snickers, but Thing 1 wanted to try it too, and she doesn't like peanuts so we went with the 3 Musketeers, deep fried in corn dog batter. I must say, it was actually quite good. The corn dog batter actually worked quite well, surrounding the melting candy bar. The stick became useless after about the second bited, though, as there was nothing solid for it to hold onto, so I had to kind of eat it off of the paper holder.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 3 sticks
12. Twinkie on a Stick
At the same time we got the candy bar, we got a deep fried twinkie. Not a big fan of Twinkies, but It was there, and unique, and I had to get it. The odd thing about the twinkie is that the cake part of the twinkie kind of disappears into the corn dog batter, leaving you with a corn dog shell with the filling stuff lying molten in the center. Overall, not very pleasant, and the stick was once again useless after the first bite. Ate about half of that one.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 2 sticks
13. Mozzerella on a Stick
(Missed getting the picture of this one...sorry.) Saw this one as we were getting ready to leave the fair, and had to grab it. A mozzerella stick dipped in corn batter and deep fried. In a word...disgusting. Somehow, it seems like this should be good, but in the end, it was really nasty tasting. It's not like mozzerella sticks you get at Applebees or some shit. It was just blegh. No seasoning at all. Ate about half.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 1 stick
14. Fiddlestick
Last stop of the night. Yep. It was a hand made ice cream bar, served on a stick. Watched the young lady cut out the block of Prarie Farms ice cream, and hand dip it in chocloate. Asked the young lady why it was a fiddlestick. She had no clue. She just worked there. Very good ice cream bar. But then again, how hard is it to mess up ice cream and chocolate? Gave most of this to Thing 1.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 2.5 sticks
So. Total cost of food purchased: $49.00
I know I missed a few foods, like chicken on a stick, and a pig pretzel on a stick, but I just ran out of time to get to them. It was a fun experiment, and my family enjoyed finding weird things for me to eat. I spaced it out over the day, so I wasn't totally stuffed at any point during the trip. Will I do it again? Maybe. Might add onto it throughout the year.
1. Brat on a Stick
We hit the fair around 11, and one of the very first booths we came across had the bold sign "BRAT ON A STICK"! Genius!!! Like hotdog on a stick, but bigger! What they used for the base was a Johnsoville Cheddar Brat, and, I have to say, everything at the fair was downhill from this taste treat. This was easily the best thing I ate at the fair.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 4 Sticks
2. Pickle on a Stick
What can I say. It was a dill pickle on a stick. Cold, crunchy...but it was a just a dill pickle.
Cost: $1.50
Rating: 2 sticks
3. Kikkoman BBQ Brandy Steak Samples
The only reason this one is included is because they gave me a toothpick to eat it. Little bitty samples of steak, marinated in some new Kikkoman marinate. Pretty tasty, and it was on a stick
Cost: Free
Rating: 2.5 sticks
4. Egg on a Stick (AHHH!!!)
Yes, thats right. A hard boiled egg on a stick. I can thank the women at the Brat on a stick wagon for this one. It was in a part of the park that I most likely would never have gone to, but my wife told them about my quest, and they gleefully pointed me to the Egg on a Stick stand.
I stood there in horror, not believing my ears. Egg. On a stick.
I can't STAND eggs! They make me want to throw up! But...I had to. I just had to...
I almost didn't do it. I almost ended my quest right then and there. But I did it. I took a bite of the egg on a stick. A good sized bite. And immediately washed it down with a big gulp of tea, and then promptly gave the rest of it to my wife to eat. DISGUSTING!!!
Cost: $1.00
Rating 0 Sticks (ICK!)
5. Pizza on a Stick
Ah! Something to get me past the egg on a stick horror! Basically a calzone wrapped around a paint stirrer. It was pretty good, but became impractical to eat once you got down towards the end. A bit on the dry side too, for pizza.
Cost: $8.00
Rating: 3 Sticks
6. Cajun Shrimp on a Stick
This was a really tasty dish. Shrimp and onions on a stick, with a breading, deep fried (of course) with a little bit of a kick. And everyone that I came across while I was eating this was all like "Wow! Where did you get that!" I should have gotten an advertising commision!
Cost: $6.00
Rating: 3.5 Sticks
7. Pork Chop on a Stick
False advertising!!! I wuz robbed! I spotted the sign for pork chop on a stick, and rushed in to buy one. I get back to the table with my family, and take a couple of bites, and it was really good. I unwrap a bit more, and soon come to realize that the stick that I am holding onto is not in fact a stick, but a bone of the pork chop. Now, we had already established that it had to be an artifical stick, and so I (regretfully) gave the rest of the pork chop to my wife, because it was very moist and extremely well flavored. I include my rating here, just because I did eat part of it. But once again, I plead ignorance in breaking the rules.
Cost: $6.00
Rating: 3 sticks
8. Steak on a Stick
After the pork chop on a stick fiasco, I walked up to the girl behind the counter and asked, "So...is your steak on a stick on a real stick? Like a wooden one?" She looked at me like "Duh!" Anyway...steak was purchased, and was quite the disappointment. Dry, not much flavor.
Cost: $5.50
Rating: 2.5 sticks
9. Corn Dog
Ah yes! The corn dog! The crown jewel of fair food! I was so looking forward to this one! And my dad told me I needed to go to one specific corn dog stand, Voses. Best corn dogs in the fair.
So I grab one of their dogs, and take a bite. And went "Huh?" Took another bite, and it was still "Meh." While the corn dog coating was fine, the dog on the inside was decidedly soft and mealy. It was a decidedly inferior corn dog. Not even mustard was enough to get me to finish it. Even those microwave corn dogs were better than this thing.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 1.5 Sticks
10: Alligator on a Stick
I was quite surprised to see this one walking down the midway, but it fit the bill, so I had to try it. Quite tasty. Nice spicy cajun batter on it, big helping. Two of my kids tried it, and liked it too.
Cost: $5.00
Rating: 3.5 Sticks
11. 3 Musketeers on a Stick
Evening was winding down, and it was time to start in on dessert. We wandered back to the first stand we bought the Brat on a Stick from, and sampled their candy bar offerings. I wanted a Snickers, but Thing 1 wanted to try it too, and she doesn't like peanuts so we went with the 3 Musketeers, deep fried in corn dog batter. I must say, it was actually quite good. The corn dog batter actually worked quite well, surrounding the melting candy bar. The stick became useless after about the second bited, though, as there was nothing solid for it to hold onto, so I had to kind of eat it off of the paper holder.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 3 sticks
12. Twinkie on a Stick
At the same time we got the candy bar, we got a deep fried twinkie. Not a big fan of Twinkies, but It was there, and unique, and I had to get it. The odd thing about the twinkie is that the cake part of the twinkie kind of disappears into the corn dog batter, leaving you with a corn dog shell with the filling stuff lying molten in the center. Overall, not very pleasant, and the stick was once again useless after the first bite. Ate about half of that one.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 2 sticks
13. Mozzerella on a Stick
(Missed getting the picture of this one...sorry.) Saw this one as we were getting ready to leave the fair, and had to grab it. A mozzerella stick dipped in corn batter and deep fried. In a word...disgusting. Somehow, it seems like this should be good, but in the end, it was really nasty tasting. It's not like mozzerella sticks you get at Applebees or some shit. It was just blegh. No seasoning at all. Ate about half.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 1 stick
14. Fiddlestick
Last stop of the night. Yep. It was a hand made ice cream bar, served on a stick. Watched the young lady cut out the block of Prarie Farms ice cream, and hand dip it in chocloate. Asked the young lady why it was a fiddlestick. She had no clue. She just worked there. Very good ice cream bar. But then again, how hard is it to mess up ice cream and chocolate? Gave most of this to Thing 1.
Cost: $3.00
Rating: 2.5 sticks
So. Total cost of food purchased: $49.00
I know I missed a few foods, like chicken on a stick, and a pig pretzel on a stick, but I just ran out of time to get to them. It was a fun experiment, and my family enjoyed finding weird things for me to eat. I spaced it out over the day, so I wasn't totally stuffed at any point during the trip. Will I do it again? Maybe. Might add onto it throughout the year.
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