It just wouldn’t be the Illinois State Fair without some new food items–shoved on a stick, of course. And this year the newest culinary treats tempting fairgoers run the gamut from the lean and healthy to the rich and gooey.
With more than 200 vendors serving everything from cotton candy, corn dogs,
and corn on the cob to fruit smoothies and even a five-course sirloin steak
dinner, it’s not easy to make waves in the saturated fair-food market. But the
Pea Ridge Elk Ranch has gained notice by focusing on the health-conscious
crowd that still eats meat. Elk is low-calorie, low-fat, and low-cholesterol,
according to sales manager Dave Bryant. It’s the leanest red meat available,
says Bryant, and it even has fewer calories than skinless turkey or chicken.
The Pea Ridge concession stand, located in the fair’s Agri-Expo, specializes
in marinated elk kabobs. For $2, you get three chunks of skewered elk, designed
to give you an easy way to eat as you walk around the fairgrounds. The lean
meat is also available in burgers, bratwursts, and snack sticks. But are fairgoers
really counting their calories?
“We’ve had an excellent response,” says Bryant. On Monday morning he claimed
Pea Ridge had served close to 700 customers since the fair’s opening day on
Friday.
John and Michele Price of Springfield and their two daughters were enjoying
elk burgers and elk Polish sausage during their second stop at the stand this
year.
“It’s someplace you can bring the family and not overdo it on sugar,” says
John. “It’s lean and tasty–you don’t have to sacrifice the flavor for the healthiness
of it.”
Smiling, he adds, “It frees us up to splurge on elephant ears or ice cream
later.”
The elk ranch is located in Nebo, Illinois, in southern Pike County. It’s
making its first appearance at the fair, inspired by the positive response it
received after participating in last year’s Illinois products exhibition at
the fairgrounds.
“We appeal to the outdoorsmen and hunters, but we also attract those who want
to eat healthier,” says Bryant, an engineer who switched careers this spring
to push elk. Since April, he’s been on the road in a refrigerated truck, appearing
at various trade shows throughout the Midwest.
More information on the Pea Ridge Elk Ranch is available at www.elkranchers.com.
You can also purchase elk meat in Springfield at Humphrey’s Market and Robert’s
Foods.
If you just can’t wrap your mind around the idea of healthier food at the
Illinois State Fair, then head on over to one of this year’s most popular new
concession stands: Fried What! offers a variety of fried sweets like
Twinkies, Snickers, strawberry shortcake, cheesecake, and Oreos. The booth draws
a lot of curious onlookers, who take their time watching the process. But there
are plenty of others who quickly buy into the concept.
On a recent morning, Gail Tadie arrives at the fair from her home in Galesburg
with one thing on her mind: a fried Twinkie.
“This is my first stop,” she says. A radio spot led her straight to Fried
What! on Main Street. “It’s delicious–it tastes lemony.” While her husband deems
the fried Twinkie just “OK,” Tadie is hooked. “I love it,” she says, laughing.
“My dog eats a Twinkie every day, so we told him we were coming here to eat
a fried one.”
The booth is manned by Barb Beeler, a former schoolteacher, and Norma Bowers,
a former construction worker, both Illinois natives who now live in Dallas.
The two vegetarians started their new careers a year ago by selling health food
at local fairs in Texas, which didn’t go over well. But after Bowers saw Diane
Sawyer fry a Twinkie on TV, the wheels starting spinning. The two tested out
batter recipes and various concoctions on their friends and neighbors before
perfecting the process. They began at small events selling fried Twinkies. It
took a while for people to catch on.
“People would walk by and say, ‘Fried what?’ That’s how we got our name,”
says Beeler. During several four-day events, Bowers noticed a pattern: “The
first two days people just walk by and look at us. Then the third day they would
start testing it out, and then the fourth day, since it was their last chance,
they’d come back and start eating. But here it’s been ka-boom right from the
start.”
The Twinkies, Snickers, Oreos, cheesecakes, and strawberry shortcakes start
out frozen. Then they’re shoved on a stick, dipped in a flour-based batter,
and fried at a high temperature until the sweets begin to get gooey. The fried
items are then dusted with powdered sugar and served with berry or chocolate
sauce. They also serve pickles, green tomatoes, and onions dipped in a Cajun
batter, fried, and served with Ranch dressing.
In fact, business has been so brisk they’ve had to replenish supplies after
running out of pickles. In their first three days, they sold 1,000 Snickers.
“It’s 100 times more than we expected,” Bowers says. “People are just now
getting used to it. They’ll be out here with a Coney dog in one hand and French
fries in the other, and they see us and they’re afraid of a fried Twinkie.”
She chuckles.
While fried Snickers is the booth’s top seller so far, Beeler has her personal
favorite: “The best thing we’ve got here is the cheesecake.”
The two women–dressed in tennis shoes, floppy straw hats, and denim shirts
splattered with batter–take the curiosity in stride and enjoy friendly banter
with fairgoers, fielding questions from the crowd.
Actually, the fascination with all things deep-fried is nothing new. Battered
and fried Mars Bars have supposedly become a staple in Scotland, and the fried
Twinkie, invented in New York, has been a craze on the East Coast for several
years. The unassuming, cream-filled spongecake, invented 71 years ago, packs
150 calories on its own, before being dipped in batter and fried in vegetable
oil and dusted with sugar. You do the math.
If you think fried cookies and candy is going too far, even for fair food,
be thankful this isn’t the Ohio State Fair. This year that fair featured candied
critters: chocolate-covered insects, cheese-flavored beetle larva, and blueberry-flavored
insect parts.
A few more food highlights at
the fair:
The spring rolls served at the Vietnamese tent in
Ethnic Village.
In Conservation World, you can get a sandwich or rack
of ribs from 17th St. BBQ. You can even purchase the legendary southern
Illinois BBQ by the pound to take home.
The strawberry and black raspberry yogurt-based smoothies sold at Maui
Wowi on Grandstand Avenue, are made with fresh fruit concentrate, bananas,
and ice.
This article appears in Aug 14-20, 2003.
