Fair week a good reason to pig out
There’s a good reason why the fairgrounds is laid out in the circle and paved, that is, so people can walk off all the fair food they eat during fair week.
Yes, it’s possible to put on 10 pounds the week of the fair, especially if you choose to go sit up in the grandstands instead of making a few laps around the midway after dining at one of the many fairground eateries. Myself, I pretty well eat every lunch and even several suppers at the fair during fair week and this year, I’m going to try to eat at every booth at least once as each offers its own unique dishes at good prices with the proceeds going to good use. And yes, I’m going to do my laps on the midway and hike up my stomach crunches by 100 to offset the spread caused by indulging for an entire week.
During my initial walk-around at the fair Monday, here’s what the various booths had as their specials, in addition to the normal fare of corndogs and hamburgers.
At the Covenant Academy booth, they specialize in a Philly Cheese Steak which I had Monday and can personally say it’s a tasty sandwich. They also specialize in chicken fajita nachos and in homemade cobblers.
At First Assembly of God, they specialize in what they call their walking taco which I’m assuming you can eat while walking. Either that or the taco can actually walk. They also specialize in Polish sausage.
Just down the line there’s the Jaycee booth which offers Applebee’s menu items, topped by the riblet basket and chicken strips, not to mention their Applebee’s desserts.
While I was at the Jaycee booth, the guy who runs Big Joe’s Philly Cheese Steak, located on the midway near the Ferris wheel, gave me a shout and said diners should try his place as he uses a ‘secret Southern recipe’ in his cheese steaks, something he does with the carnival six months a year.
Nearby at Boyd they are now offering a meatball sandwich in addition to their famous Bronco Burger (named after the school mascot and not the meat), along with homemade BBQ and brownie sundaes for dessert.
In the middle of restaurant row is Wayside CIC, which is well-known for its open-face roast beef and chicken and dumplings. They are right beside the Midway CIC booth, which is well-known for its catfish and cobbler.
Morrison, as you might expect, is famous for its Prater’s BBQ and ribs while Newtown offers its country ham and BBQ plates. Lucky CIC is also in the BBQ business, affiliating with High Roller Smokers. Meanwhile Fairview sports chicken strip plates and chili cheese fries along with a large assortment of homemade pies. Centertown has a catfish plate that gets high praise.
Thomas Junction, the new booth on the block located near the midway, will offer turkey and dressing Saturday but in the meantime, during the week, they will specialize in open-face roast beef along with hot wings and dill pickle spears. The Lions Club at the grandstands offers a mean hamburger, a couple of which I eat every year while covering the horse show on Saturday night.
The Band Boosters, along with their chicken strips, also offers the kid-friendly peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Yep, PB&J on the midway.
While I’m a big restaurant eater, this week my only restaurant will be Warren County A&L Fair.
Duane Sherrill is a reporter for the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].