I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for state fairs. The 4-H kids tending to animals they’ve raised for years, the stomach-churning rides I can no longer tolerate, the prideful displays of farm machinery. But what really draws me in is the food. It’s a glorious display of wretched excess: funnel cakes and elephant ears. Cheese curds and curly fries. Street corn, creamed corn, roasted corn, caramel corn.
I’m a cookbook author, former caterer and barbecue judge, so I volunteered for a hardship assignment at The Banner: testing all eight new foods at the Maryland State Fair in Timonium. Four are savory; four are sweet. We at The Banner take our journalism seriously, so I brought along photojournalist Kaitlin Newman and videographer Stokely Baksh to document my reactions and provide additional commentary. I also brought water as a palate cleanser and was able to pay for everything with a credit card.
Herewith are the can’t-miss eats and the ones you’d be OK to skip…