When people think of state fair food, they’re likely to ask, “What are they going to try to deep fry this year?” However, the 2024 North Carolina State Fair, which opens this week at the Raleigh fairgrounds, offers far more than just junk food and batter.
The State Fair will have 72 new food items this year, and diversity seems to be the theme surrounding the new offerings. Foodies and vegans alike will see their needs taken into consideration as vendors are rolling out a dazzling array of dining options.
Fine dining at the fair
Oak City Fish and Chips, whose colossal shrimp skewers won the prize as last year’s top new State Fair food item, is back and pushing the envelope with giant Alaskan King Crab Pop: giant skewers of crab meat, oil fried but not battered. Admittedly a high-end item made with the connoisseur in mind, it’s something that will allow fairgoers to sit down and savor their food.
Other strong options for diners looking for taste first include Brazilian Bowls’ pineapple bowl, which was very popular at media sampling day. Las Gringas has a trompo al pastor stick that offers a large skewer of flavorful chicken with a slightly spicy sauce.
The biggest surprise was Neomonde Mediterranea’s Kale Me Shawarma. With beets and kale as leading ingredients, it will turn off the deep-fried and red meat crowd. Those willing to give it a chance, however, will be rewarded. It’s sweet potato fries topped with beef/lamb shawarma, pickled red onion, feta crumbles, pickled jalapenos, kale crisps and beet barbeque sauce. Somehow, it all comes together and offers a roller coaster of taste and texture.
Niche dining
Even people who tend to roll their eyes when they hear the phrase “vegan options” will be surprised by two of the new cruelty-free dishes being served. Ethio-Indi Alkaline Cuisine offers Granddaddy Nat’s Fufu plate, which tastes like a spicy Salisbury steak but is entirely plant-based and served with greens that have a kick. Fresh AF Vegan has its take on a Crabcake Sammie.
Fry me to the moon
There were some deep-fried options for fans of classic fair food. Cheese seemed to be the most popular base, with a deep-fried cheese pie (kind of like an empanada filled with cheese) and a mozzarella dog among the offerings. Both dishes coated the outside in honey butter for an interesting combination of tastes, albeit one that might be difficult to manage while on the move at the fair. Be sure to bring some wet wipes.
La Farm also has a cheese-filled croissant that it deep fries. They also offered another fried croissant dessert, with a spread similar to Nutella replacing the cheese.
Ezzell’s Something Good serves deep-fried spaghetti topped with marinara sauce and cole slaw. Although it sounds like a mess, it was one of the pleasant surprises of the new food menu.
Lawrence & Perry Barbecue has deep-fried ribs that aren’t battered but are coated with a BBQ sauce, making them a strong competitor in the best new food competition.
The Busy Beaver has two funnel cake offerings topped with hot Cheetos. One has a chocolate sauce, while the other goes with nacho cheese sauce. It’s the type of item that state fairs are made for, but it felt like it was trying a bit too hard and didn’t hit.
The winner
Cool Runnings Jamaican won the media vote for best new food item this year with their Jerk Pork Belly Bao. It’s a fusion of Asian and Jamaican that was very tasty but seemed difficult to eat without spilling in a fair setting.
Our vote
Nosing out the Jerk Pork Belly Bao and Kale Me Shawarma on our ballot was Waypoint Oyster Bar’s NC Crab and Shrimp Bomb, crusted in hot Cheetos. It was the 32nd food item we tried, and we still ate the whole thing.
Try ’em
If you just want something tasty, creative and easy to eat on the run, we recommend Woody’s Wing Wagon’s sausage and pepper egg roll. Also, pick up Spudtastic Potato’s Mexican Street Corn Potato, which didn’t have the over-the-top presentation to stand out in the media vote but would be a good companion while taking the family through the fair.
Also worth your time are Granny’s Country Kitchen’s battered Bologna Fries, Hot Chix’s Monster Tots, which come in Buffalo chicken or bacon chive, and Bubba’s Bacon’s Big Bacon Wrapped in Cheese on a Stick, which seems like the stereotypical state fair food. But there’s a reason things become classics.
Fairgoers may want to drink their desserts
Drinks with oversized garnishes are the latest addition to the fair dessert cart
This year’s new North Carolina State Fair food menu offerings lean heavily toward savory. Fairgoers with a sweet tooth will not feel left out, however, as a selection of new desserts will be on display as well.
D’oh
The ingredient of choice for the new state fair dessert cart items is cookie dough. At least three vendors are offering their take on a cookie-dough dish.
Kora’s Cookie Dough offers Birthday Cake Cookie Dough on a stick, which deep fries the flavored dough and then coats it with sprinkles. It earned our vote for the best new dessert on the media ballot, although it didn’t take home the top prize when all the votes were tallied.
There is also a strawberry shortcake deep-fried cookie dough dessert, and Minneapple Pie has a Minnie Cookie Dough Pie.
Liquid calories
The other big theme with this year’s dessert menu is sweet drinks. Moose Joose Slush offers a Summerween Slush, which is an orange slushie in a pumpkin-themed cup that includes an entire orange creamsicle as a garnish. And it comes with a Halloween-themed rubber duckie.
Fluffy’s Hand Cut Doughnuts is a coffee-infused chocolate drink that comes with a mini-doughnut garnish. They also have a strawberry lemonade doughnut for the solid food crowd. It comes with a small tube filled with lemonade to allow you to inject the doughnut when you’re ready to eat it.
Tiki Tea wins the garnish war, offering three chocolate-dipped strawberries atop their huge chocolate-dipped strawberry iced tea.
The winner
Magdalena’s Chimney Cakes won the best new sweet item, overpowering the competition with their Granny Cone. A chimney cake is a Hungarian pastry baked rotisserie style, looking like a hunk of Greek gyro meat. That serves as the ice cream cone in this dish, which has layers of corn cake, candied bacon ice cream, corn crunchies and whipped cream.
iced tea: The chocolate-dipped strawberry iced tea comes with a garnish of three chocolate-covered strawberries.
