Columbus Foodie

I don’t know about the rest of you, but the fair is one of my guilty pleasures. Knowing that the day at the fair is an “anything goes” proposition as far as food, I eat healthy for the week before and the week after – and it’s so totally worth it in order to have a day (or two) where you can be a complete and utter glutton. When I’m at the fair I eat things I wouldn’t dream of eating otherwise.

I was lucky enough this year to be asked by the Ohio Pork Producers Council to be a judge for the Rib-Off. I felt honored to be counted among the other judges who are the faces and voices of mainstream media.

The verdict on the ribs? There were some that were mindblowingly good, and others that were just plain bad. I wish that the ones I really liked were closer to Columbus. I ate what seemed like an unending stream of ribs and pulled pork, and loved every second of it.

After the Rib-Off, I wandered off and headed to the petting zoo tank, and fed carrots to all kinds of animals – goats, sheep, and this camel – isn’t she cute?

It isn’t very often that I drink anything except water. And most of the stuff at the fair is full of sugar. This is too, I’m sure, but so worth it. This strawberry-banana smoothie is one of the best I’ve had in ages.

I wasn’t so crazy about the Muddy Pigs (Chocolate Covered Bacon). It really does sound much better than it actually was. The bacon was cold and rubbery instead of crispy, and the chocolate wasn’t very good, and flaked off immediately.

I didn’t take any chances with any rides, although there are a ton at the fair, but hopefully by this time next year I’ll have lost enough weight where my size won’t be an issue.

I love, love, love fair fries, especially when doused with malt vinegar, but I had to get a small this year – my capacity is greatly reduced this year for some reason. Probably because I was still full from all those ribs and pulled pork!

I wasn’t a fan of the pig wings, something that is new this year. I was thinking it would be something like riblets, but it was ham on a bone – kind of dry and not very appetizing.

Now, a roasted hog like this is more my style – from what I gathered last year, this hog will be roasted for serving as pulled pork the next day.

And oh my goodness, the meat aroma in the area around all the grills was amazing. Tons of different cuts of meat roasting on the grill.

But truthfully, the roasted corn is where it’s at for me – already lightly buttered, with a little bit of salt it just screams summer.

Didn’t get a caramel apple, personally – but they looked amazing and I couldn’t resist snapping a picture.

The fair isn’t the fair for me without a bag of Inky Dinky Donuts – cinnamon sugar hot donut goodness.

I came back to the fair for a second time on Saturday, with Paul. He loved the petting zoo as much as I do. And we stuck around for the pig races. Cheesy as hell, but oh so fun to watch. Here’s a short video clip of one of the races. Those little buggers are fast!

I think one of the best things I ate this year was the Nitro Ice Cream from Blue Sky Creamery. The chocolate, in particular, was fanfriggintastic. It’s made using a nitrogen tank so the texture is ultra smooth.

Speaking of ice cream, there was another concession stand that was churning ice cream using a John Deere motor. So cool…

P. absolutely loved these delicate, crispy French waffles, and devoured a whole bag by himself.

And we both wolfed down these Wisconsin Cheese Curds, our favorite incarnation of the whole deep fried cheese dishes.

I couldn’t leave the fair without a funnel cake – once a year, I just can’t help myself. Can’t finish the darn thing by myself, but can’t resist it at all.

Another one of my favorites at the fair is the Orange Shakeup – there’s only one stand that sells the orange in addition to the lemon, and it truly hit the spot on a super-hot day.

P.’s guilty pleasure is Deep Fried Snickers, minus the addition powdered sugar they usually dump on top. It’s so not my thing – way, way, too rich for my tastes.

So did any of you head to the fair last week? What did you eat? Where did you go? What did you do? Would love to hear all your fair memories…