The Stephens's 2008 State Fair Food Review....

Gluttons maybe, but we like to see ourselves as Fair Foodies. We love to eat at the State Fair. This year was a bit of a challenge since we have been eating much healthier over the last 3 or so months. Jarrett somehow has lost all my baby weight from Kelsey and then some. So its working out great for him. Believe it or not, we did not eat as much as we have in the past. But i believe we ate back all of the fat and calories we had been shaving off!

Here is our 2008 menu
1) The traditional corny dog (with mustard). This is always our first stop, no matter where we park. Don't even tell us you went to the fair if you did not have a corny dog. To watch my calorie intake, I shared 4 toddler sized bites of my corny dog with Riley. Washed it down with a lemonade. Dogs were great this year. We always seem to burn the tar out of our mouths because they are too hot to eat and we just can't wait to inhale them, but this year the temperature was perfect. Thank you Fletcher's!!!






2) Fried grilled cheese. Where is the picture you ask? We ate it so fast, it was gone before I could break out the camera. It was that good. This was our fair favorite this year. It was awesome. The cheese could have been of a richer quality, but this is the state fair. It also came with 3 perfect surprises - a pickle, shoestring fries and a side of tomato (soup) dipping sauce. We think this may have been one of the top winners in the "crazy fried food inventions for the fair" contest they have listed in the newspaper every year. It was our winner for sure!

3) Tornado taters. Jarrett gets them every year. But this will be our last. It is basically a peeled up potato that is fried (yummy) and then covered in cheese (room temp. liquid-y velveeta - not so great). Don't think we let a crumb go to waste, we are the Stephens family. But we just feel we could have spent our tickets better by getting something else.






4) Roasted corn. Add a little butter sauce and a sprinkle of Tony Cachere's and it perfection. We are a true corn family, creamed, on the cob, off the cob, white, yellow - we don't care. Always a crowd pleaser. Bring dental floss unless you are on your way out the door, its messy.




5) Fried oreos. Debbie's favorite. That's right, #5. The three little pigs had 5 things to eat and were there for 2.5 hours. Would have had cotton candy on our way out, but all the sugar turned our child into a terror and it was time for naps! Back to the oreos. They are the ultimate comfort food for me. I crave them all year round. They don't sound good, but trust me on this. They come out piping hot. So let them cool and don't inhale when you eat them - they are coated in powder sugar and you will choke and blow out powder sugar smoke. Notice that Jarrett is holding his hand out for Riley to give him back his oreo. Sorry, charlie. Didnt happen.



All in all it was a good eating day for us. We do wish we had tried the fried peanut butter, jelly and banana sandwiches. There is always next year!