Almost Fair

The Iowa State Fairgrounds opened their gates last weekend for the first of three more Taste of the Fair events. We enjoyed the Fair Food Fridays drive-thru, but there was one stand that was sorely missed.

The Brad & Harry's Cheese Curds stand is usually our first stop when we go to the fair, and when it was announced that the 2020 ISF was cancelled, the first thing I said to Daphne was, "Well, I bet we can find good cheese curds someplace else." 

And we did, but we didn't find any that are as good as these.

Yes! That's what I'm talking about! These curds are fried to perfection and even squeak when you bite through the slightly salty and crispy breading. These are the reason we were there.

The curds were same as always, but there were some changes at the fairgrounds. For one, the Giant Slide has been moved, and maybe updated? I can't be sure. The steps look different.

This was a bigger surprise. They now have a whole building dedicated to Barksdale's State Fair Cookies. That's commitment. 

We went with a cup of cookies instead of a bucket. We were pacing ourselves.

The Waffle Chix stand was also new to us.

Charlotte said, "Putting chicken inside a waffle is just wrong," but Daphne and I only got about one bite each, so it couldn't have been too wrong. 

It felt strange eating at the fairgrounds in the fall, but the weather around noon was perfect: cool, cloudy, and just a hint of breeze.

The "Taste" wasn't very busy, and that made it easy to social distance. 

I thought about getting a tenderloin, but I haven't had a Waygu Burger made in a converted firetruck before. Daphne agreed with that choice. 

After one bite we also agreed that covering the burger in condiments would be criminal. The meat was so good. After the cheese curds, this was my favorite food of the day.

Char isn't a big fan of red meat (I'm crushed), but we thought this would be perfect. 

We were expecting bread, jelly, and peanut butter with a few grapes thrown in for good measure. Here's Char eating that last year.

This time we were surprised to be served a deep-fried Uncrustable. It was good, but Char couldn't eat it all. (Daphne and I were more than happy to help our out daughter in times of stress.)

She was saving some space for Bauder's strawberry ice cream.

Daphne and I split a Salted Carmel Lightening Rod. 

Throw a Pickle Dawg into the mix, and I can say that we all had quite a lunch. We had not eaten like that in a long time. I was so full I took a nap when we got home. 

We got to eat some family favorites, and we could try new foods, too. No, it wasn't the ISF, but I'm complaining. 

The company was excellent.

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.