by John Hardaway (@CoachHardaway)9/27/2023 9:05:52 AM
posted in: Skordle Sampler | 1,815 views
The family and I headed to the State Fair last Saturday afternoon for our annual food pilgrimage.
We have improved our experience and efficiency every year and this year made it in and out in a little over 2 hours!
For the second year in a row, we parked on the far northwest side, came in that entrance, headed south along the western column of food trucks towards the Big House, hooked a left inside the Bennett Event Center to cool down while crossing over to the eastern column of food trucks and fair games.
We then headed north along the eastern column towards the Farm Expo Center and then back out the Northwest Entrance, making one big loop.
It worked very well and will probably be the strategy moving forward. It covers all our main stops without ever having to double back or pointlessly wander around the Fairgrounds.
I must add, for high school basketball fans, the new Big House is coming along quite nicely with a lot of the initial framework completed. It will be interesting to see the progress made when we get to state tournament time in March.
As for the food and drink stops, they were the usual suspects.
First, and always first, the #1 must-get fair food staple, the corndog from Poncho Dog!
The best corn dog that I eat - all year long - will be this one from the State Fair, hands down. We all went with the $10 Jumbo Dog instead of the $6 regular dog and this seemed to be a great decision for everyone involved.
Our next stop was for Roasted Corn, another family favorite!
When it comes to roasted corn, each person has their personal favorite toppings, but it all starts with the melted butter bath dip prior to adding your seasoning.
I normally go with garlic salt, seasoned salt and pepper. Other members of our party went with just classic salt and pepper, while another loved parmesan on their roasted corn.
Before our last food stop, we played some Fair games, “where everyone’s a winner” seems to always work on the crowds.
Our entire family settled in for a water toy spray target game with hopes of bringing home a big toy. Well, sure enough, I brought home the victory and my kids were able to select the giant Jamaican banana toy stuffed animal.
The last food stop was the Indian Taco stand.
As I wrote in last year’s blog, I was very disappointed in the Indian Taco last year because it was severely lacking any noticeable meat.
It was my sincere hope that the 2023 Fair would be a different story regarding what used to be my second-favorite food item.
Some of my friends who went before I did this year told me that the Indian Taco was still lacking any noticeable meat. The suggestion of one of my closest food advisers was to request “Meat and Cheese only” so that any possible beef couldn’t hide under the lettuce and tomatoes, which I thought was a solid suggestion.
I was presented with an Indian Taco of fry bread (so good), beans and cheese.
*SIGH*
This was a sad day ladies and gentlemen and the Indian Taco as I fondly remember it will no longer be on the annual rotation because there is no longer meat/beef on it.
I will probably just go with the plain fry bread, which is always excellent.
Where is the beef?!?!?!
Also, I want to share an important piece of advice with all you lovers of State Fair Lemonade:
They are not all the same!
Even some of the food/drink stands that claim to have “freshly squeezed lemonade” are not actually selling that at all so beware next time.
I would highly suggest two things to make sure that you are getting the honest to goodness best stuff:
• Look for Browns Lemonade Stand- there are several throughout the Fair and they only sell fresh squeezed lemonade.
• Make sure the lemonade has pulp pieces inside the container and your lemonade isn’t from a fountain or tap because this is not the real thing!
It’s syrupy and too sweet and not good at all. Just find the Browns Lemonade Stands and you will be in good shape- trust me! I think I drank about 6 large lemonades this year.
In closing, the annual trip to the State Fair was a great one once again!
The corn dog, roasted corn and fresh squeezed Browns Lemonade hit the spot like they always do! It’s really hard to beat the State Fair Food tour in September in Oklahoma.