State Fair

I went to the Mississippi State Fair today. I asked Nickey on the way there what was her favorite State Fair food. She had never been to a state fair, so she really couldn't answer that. However, she's heard of fair food and she's been to similar events, so we discussed several things about fair food on our ride.

1. Corn Dogs. They have to have just the right proportion of batter to a good meaty dog. Often times, they are mostly batter and unfortunately, held down in old grease too long to be tasty. We didn't take our chances today.

2. Anything on a stick. We did try this. Nickey chose Alligator on a Stick (is that REALLY what it is? I don't think so). It was tasty, though. I had a pork chop on a stick. Tough, dry and not near flavorful enough for me. Disappointment and it went in the trash after the first several bites. Waste of money. I wanted to go the "Lost" booth... it claimed to find anything lost: children, purses, etc.... What about my money??

3. Cotton Candy. I admit, I ate two bites of this sugary confection. My friend Meg's mom bought her some and I snatched a couple bites of the pink. Meg went straight to the blue. She's 9 years old, what do you expect? It was good. I knew better not to eat any more. As a kid, my friend Kim and I ate so much cotton candy we made ourselves violently ill and had to leave Memphis early from a shopping trip... my Mimi was SO upset with us! I digress...

4. Deep Fried Anything. OK, I didn't make the BEST food choices today, but it was a State Fair, for crying out loud. I HAD to have something deep fried. I chose Onion Chips and Mushrooms from Penn's. The batter on them was great, and they were originally vegetables anyway. But, I didn't finish either of them. Just wanted the taste of them.

5. Walking Tacos. Every good Girl Scout knows what these are. Maybe. Just in case--I've always known of them to be a snack size bag of Fritos, opened, with some seasoned taco meat thrown in, along with any extra fixin's such as shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, salsa, etc. I had seen a sign for these earlier in the day. Nickey had never had one, or knew what they were. After a second pass through the food vendors, I was determined to find the Walking Tacos. Of course, she insisted it was simply a figment of my imagination. I was hell-bent to prove her wrong. Those of you who know me know I REALLY like to be right! Thank God, I finally found that vendor! And, of course, Nickey was obligated at that point. What a disappointment! Some great big toenail looking Fritos in a cardboard boat topped with a small spoonful of chili with tons of wilted lettuce and some nasty sauce poured on top. Yuk. Yes, I know it was yuk because I tried a bite.

6. Funnel Cakes. I didn't have one. Not because they weren't available. The best funnel cakes I've ever eaten came out of the Theta Rho booth at the Delta Fair in Kennett. And they were even better when I suggested that we start using a powdered sugar glaze on them. I miss those good ole sorority days!

7. Caramel Apples. We didn't eat those either. But, we talked about them. For some reason unbeknownst to her, Nickey pronounces "caramel" CARE-uh-muhl except for when she's talking about apples. Then, it becomes CAR-muhl. I understand.

All in all, I think we didn't do too bad on our fair food choices. Seriously, it could have been MUCH worse! I walked past that chocolate chip cookie dough booth several times!