State and County Fair foods: bacon-wrapped, deep-fried everything

state county fair foods

What are some interesting fair foods?  |  Where can I get them?

What first comes to mind when you think of your local state or county fair?  Is it the bright lights of the Ferris wheel, the sounds of carnies trying to lure you to play a carnival game, or maybe the smokey aroma of giant turkey legs?  Whatever it is, when you spend a day at at the fair, you’re inevitably gonna get hungry and you won’t escape the scent of the latest deep-fried/bacon-wrapped/chocolate-covered food creation.

What are some interesting fair foods?  

Although there are certain types of foods that have become staple foods at fairs (like cinnamon rolls, funnel cakes, corn dogs, candy apples, kettle corn, cotton candy, deep fried oreos, etc.), new & interesting foods are introduced each year.  Here’s a quick and dirty list of some of the more “exotic” foods found at fairs across the country to appease the most adventurous of eaters:

  • alligator on a stick (Wisconsin State Fair)
  • bacon-wrapped PB&J (Tulsa State Fair)
  • chocolate covered crickets and mealworms (Arizona State Fair)
  • cotton candy ice cream sandwich (San Diego County Fair)
  • deep-fried Jello (North Carolina State Fair)
  • deep-fried octopus (San Diego County Fair)
  • deep-fried scorpion (Arizona State Fair)
  • emu tacos (North Carolina State Fair)
  • fried butter (Texas State Fair)
  • fried jelly beans (Massachusetts State Fair)
  • fried dough flattened in the shape of a dead animals a.k.a.”Road Kill” (Oregon State Fair)
  • ice cream nachos with cinnamon sugar chips (Iowa State Fair)
  • Krispy Kreme Fried Chicken Ice Cream Sandwich (San Diego County Fair)
  • lollipop fried bacon-wrapped smoked quail breast on a stick (Texas State Fair)
  • pizzaritto = pizza+burrito (Minnesota State Fair)
  • Rice Krispy treats on a stick a.k.a. Snap, Krackle, & Fluff (Florida State Fair)
  • soda in edible cups with cotton candy/candy apple flavors (Texas State Fair)
  • spaghetti and meatballs on a stick (Wisconsin State Fair)
  • wine slushies (New York State Fair)

Note: Please eat responsibly.  Now sure how?  Follow our guide to “Eat Whatever You Want While Staying Healthy.”  Additionally, if you love deep-fried foods, you might want to switch to a healthier alternative: air fried foods.

Where can I get them?

If you can’t make it to the fair this year, here are some places that serve fair foods all year round:

Minneapolis, MN: Deep Fried Goodness

deep fried goodness fair foods
photo: DFGoodness.com

Seattle, WA: Unicorn

unicorn fair food seattle
photo: UnicornSeattle.com

San Diego, CA: Chicken Charlie’s

chicken charlies fair food san diego
photo:  Chicken Charlie’s on Facebook

Hello! I'm Kristina

Kristina Reynolds is the Founder & CEO of Glutto and an alumna of the University of California, San Diego. She writes articles & posts for Glutto Digest with insights from fellow industry experts. Furthermore, she is the author of The Fittest Food Lovers: How EVERY BODY Can be Incredibly Fit and Still Enjoy Food, a collaborative philanthropic book with proceeds going to charities that fight world hunger.