Last weekend, I took a trip to the Florida State Fair with Justin and my mom. This was quite the experience for me, because even though I’ve lived in Florida (off and on) for bout 10 years now, I have never been to this event. I know, I’m kind of ashamed of myself as well…
It was quite the experience, y’all. People were EVERYWHERE!
We were almost instantly overwhelmed by the amount of rides, exhibits, and food stands.
Dude – this ride looked like so much fun, but I’m quite sure that I would have tossed my cookies on it…or on this one…
I’m not going to lie – I really wanted one of those rastafarian bananas…
All three of us had made sure to attend the fair on an empty stomach, as we were eager to engorge ourselves on numerous fried goodies. But…where do you start on a fried-food frenzy?
Funnel cakes?
Deep fried bacon? Say whatttt?
Fried green beans?
Corn dogs?
Our first food-related decision was made when we spotted baskets filled with beautiful ribbon fries – my mom’s favorite! We had to have some.
Verdict? Delicious, of course…
Then, we cleansed our palates with a sample of fresh kettle corn…
We considered paying $2 each to witness the freak show…they claimed to have 60 different attractions…including a woman who gave birth to a snake child. I mean: who doesn’t want to see that?
Instead, we ventured through the midway in hot pursuit of a creation we’d been hearing a lot of talk about…
Yes – it exists…
Yep – that would be a bacon cheeseburger…with a Krispy Kreme donut as the bun. EVERYONE was buying one. I can’t lie: I was fascinated by them…
A pregnant woman in line behind us actually ordered hers with a chocolate dipped donut on top. Really???
Anyway, this stand had some other creations other than the Krispy Kreme burger. They also had pancake burgers, french toast burgers, a burger that featured a scoop of fried ice cream on top (eeek), and another creation that we had to try: the chicken Eggo sandwich.
Basically, it was a fried chicken sandwich with cheese and bacon…with deep fried Eggo waffles as the bun. I mean, you can’t go wrong with chicken and waffles, right? Justin prepared himself to dig in…
I have to say, I was skeptical at first, but it actually tasted really yummy! It was a good combination of salty and sweet. Justin managed to eat the entire thing (with a little help from me of course).
After that particular indulgence, we decided to peruse some more food stands before having some “dessert.” Pig roast, anyone?
Turkey leg?
Then it was time to get serious: we needed something sweet. We were mesmerized by this guy who was rolling and cutting the longest cinnamon roll ever…
I considered the frozen cheesecake…
However, in the end we ultimately decided we HAD to eat some deep fried candy bars. None of us had ever experienced one, and we were beyond curious to try them.
We found a stand that offered a sampler platter for $8. We thought it was a perfect thing to buy and split between the three of us!
First up: deep fried chocolate chip cookie dough. Ohhh the gooey goodness!
Next, a fried Oreo…
The deep fried Snickers bar looked like a corn dog at first, but was oh so much better than a corn dog!
As we passed the sampler around, there was a lot of powdered sugar flying in the air…and a lot of finger licking…
Justin’s favorite candy in the sampler was the deep fried Reeses.
This was a one time only indulgence, but it was oh so ridiculously good!
Oh – and note to self: don’t breathe in through your nose when eating deep fried candy. It goes up your nose.
Do you attend your state’s fair? Is there a particular specialty food that you like to indulge in? And, more importantly: what kind of deep fried treat would you most like to have?
I get fried pickles every fair I go to! Soooo good!
That chicken sandwich looked yummy though!
Oh god, all that deep-fried candy looks amazing, I’ve been dying to try the fried oreos but never had the chance!! And randomly, one of my favorite things to eat at the fair are those huge turkey legs! YUM!!!!!!
1. I am insanely jealous that your state fair is in FEBRUARY. Ours is in August!
2. That waffle sandwich actually looks pretty darn good.
3. What is deep fried “butter”? I saw it on the signs with the other fried food — does that mean a “Butterfinger” bar? Or maybe I’m just not hip to the varieties of fried fair food? 😉
I first discovered fried Oreoes when I was in college – the biggest state fair in PA was right in my college town (yay, Bloomsburg!). I was instantly hooked. They are absolute heaven. Disgustingly terrible for you, but absolute heaven. Another favorite? Fried mac and cheese. They used to have it at T.G.I. Friday’s.
HOW HAVE I NEVER BEEN?! Bah. We don’t get down to Tampa nearly enough. I actually looked at dates this year and we obviously can’t make the week day ones and we were always too busy on the weekends.
breaks my heart.
So jealous.
our MN State Fair {dubbed as the Great MN SweatTogether} is held in August- I go EVERY YEAR, multiple times 😉
MY FAV is DEEP FRIED PICKLES! yummmmmm
Oh my gosh I’m having heart attack just looking at all those delicious, fried goodies. That chicken waffle sandwich looks incredible! Mmmm.
I went to the NY State Fair in Syracuse a few years ago.. they had a wine slushie area there. Oh yes – frozen wine drinks. So. Good. I may have indulged 😉
Steph – WINE SLUSHIES!!!?!?!?! Those need to get into my life, STAT.
I would def lose my cookies on those rides! Ohh how I LOVE fair food. Sooo yummy.
There’s a food truck here that has deep fried mini cupcakes & they’re delicious! It always cracks me up when I hear people say they’ve never seen or had fried candy, bacon or other crazy things since I’m from Oklahoma where everything is fried! The fair is setting up in Miami right now, it’s right next to my university, so we may have to venture out there.
Mmm, frozen cheesecake sounds amazing! I’m not sure how I feel about the Krispy Kreme hamburger, I guess I’d have to be in the mood. LOL
PS — Yes!! Wine slushies are amazing! We had them last summer in July when it was disgustingly hot outside, it hit the spot. 🙂
That looks like so much fun! And that deep fried cookie dough looks amazing!
This post fills my heart with GLEE. Eating fair food is one of my favorite things in life. Deep-fried Oreos are my go-to!
oh man, fair food is just the best! That chicken sandwhich actually looks really good, but how can they ruin a perfectly good Krispy Kreme by putting a burger on it! acckk!
The turkey legs would have been at the top of my list, I am such a carnivore!
Oh my gosh, fair food! I go to the fair most years and then fall into a food coma. But, for that once a year treat it’s worth it. I love fried pickles, fried green tomatoes and funnel cake. Mmm…
OMG…you have me so hungry and SO wanting to cheat on my diet! I avoided the fair because of it. I am glad you had a great time though. So, did you eat the donut burger? I have to say I am curious and will probably eventually split one with the Hubby. Maybe next year..
oh my gosh that is all so insane! I think I would die of a heartache after one day there! BUT I would die very happy! I think I need to hit this up sometime! (Although it’s 1000s of miles away so it will take sometime…)
Oh my gosh, I LOVE this post! I’m kicking myself for not going down to Florida for the fair, because that looks like a fantastic time! Not only that, but I think I’m going to have dreams about that waffle chicken sandwich. That sounds absolutely amazing! Loved the photos – thanks for sharing with us!
I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooove state fair food. Of course, it makes you a fatty mcgee but i love it anyway!
We always do a crazy meal night at the fair once a year, it’s so fun! We love the Fried Chicken Krispe Kreme Sandwich… they use a jelly filled krispe kreme and a chicken patty and we just think it’s damn delicious!