Not Fair

Like most fun events, the Iowa State Fair is postponed until 2021. 

I could make a depressing list of all the things we'll miss about the ISF, but I'm not going down that rabbit hole. I'll concentrate on the stuff that we can do, instead. 

No doubt about it, the food at the Fair is a highlight for our family. We were able to safely enjoy a taste of the fair yesterday thanks to Brenda Smith Concessions. They are hosting "Fair Food Fridays," and offering food from stands that you would normally find on the Iowa State Fairgrounds. 

You preorder online and pick a time slot to pick up your order. Each time slot is an hour long, and it seems like you'll need it because the line of cars is pretty long. This was our first Fair Food Friday, so I can only speak from our one experience, but our wait was about 25 minutes.

We had no idea what the process would look like, but it went very smoothly. When we got closer to the stands, an employee in a mask in gloves approached our car and asked what my order number was. She confirmed the number, and then wrote it on a sticky note that was placed on our wind shield.

Getting closer!

I can almost smell our food.

Yea! Char got popcorn chicken. Daphne and I shared a Pickle Dogg and a Jumbo Pork Tenderloin.

Those look like hand-cut pickles and onions on there!

We drove to an empty school parking lot and ate our lunch. I took one bite of the Pickle Dogg, and exclaimed, "Oh. My. That tastes just like the fair!" Daphne took a bite and quickly nodded in agreement. We traded smiles as we passed the tenderloin back and forth over the hand brake.

It was so good; I had to try to not spill on myself in my excitement. I ordered this ISF shirt back in May before the fair board decided to postpone. This may be the only time I will wear it this year.

No, Fair Food Friday is not the Fair. But it is as close as we'll get for awhile, and I'll take what I can get.