Sunday, August 10, 2008

State Fair Foods

If you've been wondering where I've been for the past few days, I'll share.

Most of the time has been filled with copious amounts of studying (I'm going to be taking the GRE again on Monday -- for the second time in 11 years). Not my idea of fun.

However, we also managed to make it to the Wisconsin State Fair. Which turned out to be VERY fun. We had a great time with the animals (read more on that here), but we also sampled a slew of classic Wisconsin Fair foods. And, of course, for those of you who have never been to this glorious feast of food, we took our camera along so that we could share the wealth.

First, it is the WISCONSIN state fair, so there is no shortage of cheese.
Our first indulgence was a Wisconsin specialty -- the oh-so-delectable fried cheese curds.
After that, we stopped off for some home-made Wisconsin potato chips with bleu cheese (you can tell how healthy our eating was already, can't you?)
We started to get thirsty, so we hopped on over to the Leinenkugel's beer booth for a refreshing honey berry lager.
Feeling like we needed something a bit healthier, we decided to visit the Wisconsin products booth, where we found Wisconsin apples... Never mind the fact that they were covered in caramel and whipped cream!
This really got our sweet tooths going, so we hoofed it over to the opposite side of the Fair grounds to get a cream puff. These babies are CLASSIC Wisconsin State Fair. They make the news every year. And you can't get a thing like it anywhere else.
Stuffed on sweets, we could hardly move. So, what did we do?
We went over to Bennos... a beer tent with bazillions of Wisconsin microbrews. Over the course of the day, we sampled quite a number of great brews, including Furthermore Fatty Boombalatty Wit and Oscura (a new Mexican lager with coffee), Capitol Rustic Ale, Milwaukee Brewery's Louie's Demise, and Sand Creek's One Planet Ale. Yum.
And what goes better with a bit of beer than a classic corn dog?
We left the fair tired, full, and very very happy.

I wish I could say more, but it looks like I should get back to my studying...

Creative Commons License
©BURP! Where Food Happens

12 comments:

  1. Oh my I am in cheese curd and cheese puff heaven! Question: do you have a deep fried twinkie? Thats the hightlight of our State fair and its nasty. Your fair food looks much better!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Amanda -
    I didn't seen any deep-fried twinkies, although there were deep fried oreos...

    Deep fried seems to be a theme at the state fair :) I noted deep fried green beans, pickles, cauliflower, and any number of other delights.

    Oh, yes -- and deep fried macaroni and cheese on a stick! Not sure how they do that!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. OMG, I am in heaven. I adore fair food and that fried cheese business...I'm all over that! Wow!

    Good luck on your test tomorrow! You're going to do great!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hope you said HI to my pal, Gina at the HOT WI Cheese place! She is on my TS team! :-) Sadly, we haven't made it down to the State fair this yr...
    May your brain cells cooperate today on the test! :-)
    Thinkin of you, jo

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's been a few years, but the Wisconsin State Fair used to be one of my favorite fairs (partly because of the delicious cheese and beer).

    Now that I am living in Maryland (our state fair does not compare to yours), I get my fair-food fix at the Renaissance Faires here and in Pennsylvania.

    I love the soft pretzels and smoked turkey legs!

    ReplyDelete
  6. You can't forget cheesecake on a stick and the foot long fried cheese on a stick!

    I love the State Fair, I used to work down there for a distributor and we always got free food. Needless to say, I always gained weight around fair time!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Cathy - You and me are in agreement on Fair food! Thanks for the good luck wishes! I'll let you know how the exam comes out.

    Jen - Thanks to you too! You didn't tell me you had friends working the Fair!!

    DocChuck - The WI State Fair is pretty amazing... though I won't sneeze at soft pretzels in your area!! And a turkey leg is always a welcome delicacy in my book.

    Mel - Um, yeah. State Fair is no place for a diet!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have a friend who moved East from Wisconsin and has much lamented the loss of cheese curds. I remember her mother bringing them in her little Igloo cooler on her holiday visits.

    I totally want to go to the fair with you. I will bring my bib.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I really, really, REALLY want some of those cheese curds! And I'll take one of those beers to wash them down, please.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That post was so well photographed and described, that I was full of all that fair food by the time I finished reading it.

    I'm ALL over that creampuff....

    Good job.


    http://themerlinmenu.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  11. My family used to go to the Wisconsin State Fair when I was little (we'd drive up from Chicago). We have some great pictures of cream puff-covered faces! YUM! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I. Want. A. Cream. Puff.

    Seriously, they look so good! And some of those apples, and the cheese curds...

    I think I need to stay far away from the Wisconsin State Fair.

    ReplyDelete

We're thrilled that you came to visit us here at BURP! Thanks so much for taking the time to write. We're not always able to respond to every comment, but we'll make every effort to answer questions in a timely fashion. We especially enjoy reading about what's going on in your own creative kitchens. So, don't be shy!

And thanks for stopping by!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.