The Delaware County Fairgrounds are filled with many smells, most of them coming from wonderful food. Fair food is one of the best parts of the county fair, and the vendors this year didn’t disappoint. I sampled five different foods from independent vendors.
Gator at Crackerbillies
This stand features mostly hand-breaded, fried foods. Their specialty is the gator, which comes with fries for $11 or on a stick for $8. Everything is cooled to order in a spicy breading. They also have fried pickles, fish, shrimp, hot dogs and cheese sticks.
I had a sample of the gator. Both the meat and the breading were very flavorful. The only downside of the gator was that it was a bit chewy. It’shard to describe exactly what it tastes like. The moistness of chicken is very much there, but it really holds no other resemblance to it. It’s something that you’ll have to try for yourself.
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5.
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Po-Boys at The Big Easy: New Orleans Cuisine
New Orleans Cuisine is aone-of-a-kind booth that has authentic New Orleans style food. One of the owners is a New Orleans native, and draws on that experience for inspiration for their cajun-style food. They are more than happy to give you information on the food, which some people may not be familiar with.
From this booth I sampled the Shrimp Po-Boy, which is $7. Several hand-battered shrimp are served in a very soft roll with cajun mayo, lettuce and pickles. They also have a Red Beans, Rice and Sausage Bowl for $6.
The Po-Boy was incredible with the soft bread and the crunchy shrimp balancing each other perfectly. I was still thinking about it the next day. The texture was wonderful and the spiciness of the cajun mayo and shrimp breading was balanced by the lettuce and pickles. I normally hate pickles on sandwiches, but I did not even notice them on this one.
The best thing about the food here is the sweet tea. It’s real, southern, sweat tea that is well worth the $2 you will spend on it. I tend to be a bit of a snob when it comes to tea, but the taste of this was clean and sweet. You don’t get the nasty aftertaste like you would with some sweet teas.
Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5.
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Bacon Donuts at Dev’s Deep-fried Madness
The name of the stand says it all. They offer a wide variety of fried food, even some things that you would never think could be fried. They have two different kinds of pickles, Oreos, Snickers, Milky Ways and Twinkies; all of which are deep-fried in a soft funnel cake dough. The owner recommends the hot pepper cheese cubes. The majority of these fried foods are $4.
The most intriguing item on the menu is the bacon doughnut. It includes two regular doughnuts with two doughnut holes covered in cinnamon sugar, icing and bacon crumbles. It’s a decent-sized meal for a small price, only $3.
The doughnuts were very fluffy and moist. The cinnamon sugar, icing and bacon crumbles all come together to create a one-of-a-kind flavor. The bacon was a little overcooked for my tastes and they fell off the pastry easily. However, with a price point that is $3 it’s well worth it.
Rating: 3 out of 5
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Pineapple Lemonade Shake-up at Goodwin Family Products
Any fair you go to will be latent with stands selling Lemonade Shake-ups. It is something that I always make a point to get, but it can be hard to narrow down your choice. Some of them will be way too bitter and will kill the joy of the drink.
I chose a Pineapple Lemonade shake-up that I found to be the perfect solution to my issues with shake-ups. The pineapple takes the sour kick out of the lemonade and makes it a very smooth drink that can be enjoyed with a meal or on its own.
The shake-up is around the same price as at other booths, $5 for a large and $4 for refills. They also offer some pork rinds and wheat wheels, at $5 for a large bag.
Rating: 4 out of 5
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Sirloin Tip Dinner at Wagner Food Service
This stand is something you can’t miss. The first thing you notice is the smell of the food cooking. They cook it in large cast iron skillets at the front of the booth for everyone to see. They have sandwiches and a veggie plate, as well as sides.
The star of the show is the sirloin tip dinner. A regular costs$9 and a large costs$11. Mushrooms on top are an extra $1. Drinks are $2 and $4.
The meat, mushrooms and onions are extremely tender and flavorful. This are laid over a bed of red potatoes, which are soft and buttery. The staff is more than willing to give you a sample of the meat so you can see for yourself before committing to a plate.
The only bad thing is it is a little messy. But it’s a generous portion that will fill anyone up. This was my favorite food of the day. It was the perfect mix of fair food and a simple, good meal.
I may have dreamt about it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
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While this is just a sampling of food, there is still much more to eat at the fair and it’s worth a stop. Admission is $5 for a car load of people, or $2 for a walk up.
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