Healthy Foods & Vegetarian Fare at the Fair

Contrary to popular belief, not everything edible at the North Carolina State Fair is deep-fried.  And the exceptions aren't all sugary sweets or fatty meat, either.  It is indeed possible to find healthy, tasty food and vegetarian dishes at the fair, including roast corn (skip the butter), apples with or without caramel dipping sauce, frozen bananas and strawberries dipped in chocolate, salads, wraps (vegetarian and grilled chicken/meat), and lots of Mediterranean options.  A new vegetarian option this year is the "Flyin' Mayan" sweet potato & black bean burrito from the Gobblin' Gourmet/Gourmet Funnel Cake stand, but I didn't get a chance to try it as they always seemed to have a crowd ordering gourmet funnel cakes.  Instead I decided to try the "Festival Corn" from the booth in the photo on the left, described as whole-kernel corn, chopped tomatoes, chiles, sweet red peppers, jalapenos and spices, served up in a cup.  Unfortunately, they were out of Festival Corn on both days I tried to order it. Hopefully they'll have it again next year, as it sounds spicy-good.

Among the healthy vegetarian food I did sample was a fresh and flavorful falafel wrap from the Neomonde booth:  A grilled pita spread with hummus and filled with their homemade falafel, lettuce, tomato and a light tahini-yogurt dressing.  Also available were similar wraps filled with grilled chicken or beef, shawarma (chicken or beef & lamb), and sides of hummus and tabbouleh.  My wrap was prepared on order, and the lettuce was crispy-fresh.  The falafel was very mild and light in flavor, with enough parsley to give it a pale green color.  The dressing had a nice tang with just enough sesame flavor to complement the falafel.  This turned out to be my favorite of the healthy veggie foods this year.

Later in the day I tried the spinach pie from John the Greek.  I discovered the spinach pie by accident:  It's not listed on the menu at either of their booths, but one of the booths had a tray of spinach pies next to their other Greek offerings.  Also available were grilled portobello wraps, "veggie gyro" wraps (basically lettuce, tomatoes, raw peppers & onions, with the typical fixings), Greek salad, gyros, kabobs, sandwiches and other wraps.  The spinach pie was substantial in size and tasted fine, but it had been sitting under a heat lamp for too long, making the phyllo somewhat rubbery and very hard to cut with the flimsy plastic fork I was given.  While the spinach filling was pleasantly savory, the cheese was mozzarella instead of feta.  But since this was the fair and not a Greek restaurant, I was willing to forgive.

My final healthy, vegetarian meal consisted of the Vegetarian Platter from Party in a Pita.  This dish was quite substantial in size and very filling.  It came with hummus, tabbouleh, pita bread, 4 grape leaves in yogurt sauce (presumably tzadziki but with an odd, slightly sweet flavor), and 2 large falafel in tahini sauce.  To my disappointment, some of the items weren't as good as I recalled them from prior years:  The grape leaves were obviously from a can and very oily although their flavor was pleasantly tangy; the hummus was unusually creamy with a strange bitter aftertaste; and while the falafel had plenty of chickpea flavor it was over-seasoned and too salty.  In contrast, the tabbouleh was EXCELLENT, with a generous amount of fresh parsley and an authentic lemony-minty flavor, diced cucumber and tomato.  The pita bread also was quite good, with a soft texture indicating freshness.

If you want to eat healthy but aren't looking for vegetarian food, a giant turkey leg isn't a bad choice, especially if you share it with a friend.  There are also numerous vendors selling meat and chicken kabobs, salads with or without kabobs, grilled chicken, steak salads, turkey subs and a variety of wraps.  If you can't live without some of the less-healthy meats like ribs or sausage, you can save on calories and fat by sharing them.

But if you must indulge on something sweet, I'll leave you with two suggestions:  First, the Campfire Delight ice cream from the NC State University ice cream booth.  This ice cream was inspired by S'mores, and in my not-so-humble opinion it's even better than the original camping treat:  Graham cracker flavored ice cream with large chunks of semisweet chocolate and swirls of marshmallow cream.  My second decadent dessert suggestion is any type of pie from the Apex Lions Club Restaurant on "Restaurant Row" (also known by some as "Church Row").  Outside the entrance their "barker" drawls that they have "all kinds of p-i-i-i-e:  Apple pie, coconut pie, chock-lit pie, PEEEcan and peh-CON, we have both; sweet potato pie, and lemone [rhymes with "own"] p-i-i-i-i-e...."  Greg and I split a slice of their pecan (or was it peeee-can?) pie.  The only way it could have been better is if it had been served warm with a scoop of Campfire Delight ice cream on top.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria
Carolina Sauce Company

Cupcakes, Crafts & Cattle at the State Fair

Yesterday was another gorgeous Fall day to spend at the NC State Fair, less windy and noticeably sunnier & warmer than last Friday.  Having scoped out the food vendors during my first visit, I had an agenda as I set out on my carbo-loading quest (I play hockey on Tuesday nights, and that's my excuse for eating cupcakes and ham biscuits, which normally aren't part of my meal plan).  I also wanted to try one of the myriad deep-fried items found only on the fair--but only one, so as to not incur a pre-game digestive injury (would that be considered a "lower body injury" in NHL parlance?)


Breakfast was a triple-chocolate "ice cream sandwich" cupcake from Kimmy's Cupcakes:  A light, moist chocolate chip devil's food  cupcake cut in half and filled with densely rich chocolate icing that had a slight crunch of tiny sugar crystals and a hint of coffee.  Because of its size and unconventional construction, this cupcake was best attacked with a fork, which I gratefully accepted from the vendor.  I should have followed his other recommendation and bought some milk to help wash it down.

I walked off my sugar buzz by visiting the Kerr Scott exhibit hall, where I stumbled upon another cupcake vendor that was new last year:  Blue Bird Cupcakes.  Last year I sampled their trendy, tasty maple-bacon cupcake, which wasn't on their menu this year.  This time I had their Caramel Apple Spice Cupcake (towards the top of the picture--sadly, both closeup pics of the cupcake came out blurry).  This more traditional flavor combination was even better than the maple-bacon cupcake.  The cupcake itself was a dense spice cake that tasted like Autumn, full of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and other pie spices.  The buttercream frosting was dreamy-creamy, dusted with cinnamon and drizzled with a very light (not sticky) caramel sauce.  After a couple of bites I was delighted to discover that the cupcake had a minced Granny Smith apple filling that was similarly spiced and not too sweet, highlighting the tartness of this variety of apple.  The filling complemented the spice cake and deftly balanced the sweetness of the frosting.  Bravo!

Needing shelter from the sun and rescue from additional sweet temptations, I decided to visit the food-free craft exhibit halls, including the NC pottery tent and the Village of Yesteryear: 

Additional photos are available on the Carolina Sauce Facebook page, where you'll also find additional State Fair food photos shared from my personal page.

Lunch was a gigantic buttermilk biscuit with country ham, from the NC Farmers' Market Restaurant food truck.  The biscuit had been baked fresh on-site by Miss Debra, who regularly cooks at the Farmers' Market Restaurant in Raleigh.  My biscuit was assembled to order (other filling choices include sausage, egg & cheese, pork chop, PB&J, etc.) and was fresh and hot.  The biscuit itself was a huge, fluffy, buttery pillow with a hint of buttermilk tang, split in half to hold two generously large slices of salty, toothsome, full-flavored country ham that was remarkably lean and completely lacking in gristle.  I've had biscuits from other vendors at the fair, including the popular "Church Row" restaurants, and this one had them all beat.  And did I mention it was HUGE???

After lunch, it was time to look at cattle:

One final indulgence:  Deep-fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.  It was well worth the wait to have these fried up on order, as they tasted best while still piping-hot.  The batter smelled like freshly-cooked pancakes and was surprisingly soft & dough-like rather than crispy, but it was not at all greasy.  The powdered sugar was overkill, especially the excessive amount that was dumped on my serving, but that was the only negative mark.   My first bite revealed a melted chocolate-peanut butter center that was warm and gooey and oh so delicious, somehow tastier than a "solid" Reese's cup.  This treat is substantial enough to share as  I was sated after devouring one cup, but I soldiered on and eventually finished the second one.  I was still riding that sugar high later through the entirety of my late-night hockey game... and into the wee hours of the morning, making today a "high caffeine consumption" day out of necessity. 

When I head back out to the fair, I'll focus on healthy food options and sample the North Carolina products available from the new group of vendors who've moved in to the "Got to be NC" tent for the second half of the fair.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria

Food-Filled Friday at the NC State Fair

Yesterday was my first trip of season to the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh. The summer-like weather was almost perfect: temperatures in the upper-70s, without humidity, but with a gusty wind that managed to blow dust and ash onto my contact lenses more than once. The air was filled the crisp snap of banners flapping in the wind, the pulsing beat of pop music from rides, and the cacophony of carnival barkers and sound-effects from games, randomly punctuated by the occasional blatting of vuvuzelas (WHY are those still around??) My nose was tickled by the aromas of frying batter, grilling meats, roasting corn, and farm animals being farm animals. I decided to spend the day outdoors and postpone my visit to the exhibit halls until next week.

I began my fair-food sampling with an apple dumpling from Smitty's Apples. The peeled and cored apple was wrapped in dough that tasted like well-made pie crust, and the tender apple yielded readily to my plastic fork. The caramel drizzle added just the right touch of sweetness to complement, not overwhelm, the flavor of the apple. This would be a great treat for someone looking for a dessert that's not sugary.

After strolling the grounds and taking many photographs (which you can see on the Carolina Sauce Company Facebook page, I stopped for lunch and selected two of my annual fair food stops: The "Hot Fish" booth across from the waterfall by Dorton Arena, and the NC State Farmers' Market Restaurant food truck. The folks at "Hot Fish" know how to fry tilapia, and their fish is always fresh, moist-flaky, lightly battered and never greasy. I dressed my sandwich with Texas Pete Hot Sauce and a long squirt of creamy tartar sauce, and devoured it with a small (which is actually enough to share) side of fried okra from the Farmers' Market truck. The fish was as good as always, but the crispy okra was just on the verge of being greasy, which was a bit disappointing.

The highlight of my day was the bread-making demonstration at the Neomonde Bakery tent, where Chef Benjamin entertained the crowd with his outgoing personality, self-effacing humor, and useful tips for baking bread, all while making a 10-lb batch of cranberry-pecan bread with hands-on audience participation. The large tent accommodated a few dozen folks and came equipped with a commercial mixer, three-oven "tower," a proofing oven, sink, cooking stage & counter, and well-stocked bakery display. Several types of all-natural artisanal breads were available for sampling and purchase, and the jalapeno-cheddar bread was particularly outstanding. You could also buy a variety of pastries and muffins. I took home a loaf of multigrain bread with currants, which has been wonderful with breakfast, lunch and dinner. If you visit the NC fair this year and you are a home baker, I highly recommend watching one of Neomonde's twice-daily baking demonstrations as you'll surely pick up a tip or two that you can use at home.

My next stop was the NC State University ice cream store, where the line wound around the side and extended for some distance--in fact, it was significantly longer than any of the lines for rides. It was well worth the wait for a heaping bowl of their new flavor for 2011, called "Wolftracks," a play on the NC State Wolfpack mascot and "moose tracks" ice cream: creamy vanilla ice cream made by students from milk from the University's dairy farm, with swirls of chocolate fudge and mini peanut butter cups. I don't even want to think about the calories or fat grams.

Feeling safely full and able to resist all further food temptation, I headed over to the "Got to be NC" tent to check out the North Carolina products and say hello to some of my colleagues in the food business, including the folks from Mackeys Ferry Peanuts who were sampling their award-winning peanut butter, and Cheng & Weng of Capsicana Zing with their ever-popular Zing sauce. I did NOT count on hearing the siren-song of Lumpy's Ice Cream and being lured in by their latest inspired creation: bourbon & bacon ice cream. Admittedly, I was both intrigued and skeptical, but decided to get a cup, purely for the sake of research of course. That, and because I cannot resist bacon, especially in unconventional preparations.

The ice cream was unassumingly nondescript in appearance, but with one bite it was clear that this was no "plain-jane" kid stuff. Dense, custard-like vanilla ice cream had been infused with the subtle oaky flavor of bourbon, for an effect similar to that of rum-raisin ice cream but less sweet and without the alcohol bite. As the ice cream melted on my tongue, the generous chunks of chewy, salty, smoky, meaty bacon emerged in all their glory. This was bacony ice cream NIRVANA! If you like eating bacon with syrup-drizzled pancakes, this ice cream flavor is for you. Unfortunately, it's not available in stores--BUT you can buy it by the pint from Lumpy's at the fair! ("It comes in pints!" cried the overjoyed, wide-eyed hobbit.) I'm bringing a cooler with dry ice and stopping at Lumpy's booth at the end of my fair visit next Tuesday.

Having had "second dessert" (the apple dumpling was breakfast, mind you!), I felt compelled to walk another lap--or three--around the fairgrounds before calling it a day. I paused to watch the Jaycees' charity Turkey Shoot, where people compete by shooting at targets and the winner of each round takes home a frozen turkey. For the record, no turkeys are harmed during this competition. But as I turned to leave, I couldn't help but notice the "Giant Turkey Legs" booth strategically located just across the road from the turkey shoot. Coincidence? Perhaps....

Zestfully yours,
Gloria