The Fare at the Fair

Me and The Fam at the fair!

When you think of the fair, what comes to mind? For me it's the animals and, of course, the food. So while my family was in town this past weekend, we decided to see what was going on this year at the NC State Fair. And, of course, get our fill of the fabulous fair food...and by fabulous, I mean the kind of food you can only get at the fair and are very thankful that it only happens once a year because it's a heart attack in a day's worth of eating! 

 

But first, the non-edible attractions (although that's probably arguable for some of them, but you get what I mean). We entered the fairgrounds near the botany displays and competition results. I was pleasantly surprised at the use of QR codes, being the ad/tech junkie that I am. It was a great way to find out more information and integrate technology in an agricultural (and otherwise seemingly contradictory) setting.  

I also loved some of the local attempts at advertising. A fertilizer that is just bagged manure (in cow-printed packaging) and a knock-off of Chick-fil-A's ads...let's just hope there isn't a huge rights infringement case going on here (sorry, my account management just came through a little bit there)...but you have to give them credit for the humor-factor.

But as boring as it may be to some to see the jumbo veggies, twisted gourds and blooming flowers, I think it's really fun to look at all the beautiful colors and interesting shapes and sizes of everything! 

Then, there are all the farm animals. They're just precious. I just love seeing the cows, baby chicks, and adorable little piglets.

And then, of course, there's the food. The second you open your car door, you can't help but smell the smokers and fryers working away. Seriously, I start craving some key fair fare when it starts getting cooler but I really am thankful this food isn't available to me all year round! And there are so many different things, I couldn't even attempt to try them all!

My favorite is the smoked turkey legs. Yum! They are so good, although the medieval, feasting-king look is very unflattering.

Smoked Turkey Leg

My second favorite thing and a must-have is the roasted corn. But not just any roasted corn, the roasted sweet corn! Add a little seasoning salt or Old Bay and it's fantastic!

My brother is making fun of me for how much I'm enjoying this...

For dessert, some sort of fried something will do. I'm not one for any of the fried candy bars (because as much as I have a sweet tooth, I do have a sweetness threshold and those things would surpass it!), but mom had to get an elephant ear. One trend I noticed this year that I hadn't really seen before was adding a topping to your elephant ear. Everything from fruit toppings, fudge, and Bavarian Cream. My mom couldn't pass up the last one.

Mom eating an Elephant Ear with Bavarian Cream

The Krispy Kreme Burger!

But the big food attraction at the fair that I just couldn't bring myself to stomach (especially after getting all the usual foods that I crave) was the Krispy Kreme Burger...yes, you read that correctly. A hamburger sandwiched between two Krispy Kreme donuts. A nice man, and my newest friend, lovingly let me take a picture of his Krispy Kreme Burger. Taking a picture of it was as much of a taste as I wanted.


Another item that would make most people cringe was the Kool-Aid Pickles. Yes, sour pickles soaked in red Kool-Aid (the actual flavor of Kool-Aid - strawberry or cherry-  is still TBD). My brother just had to try it...yuck!


And to top it all off, there are the shows. My favorite being the racing pigs, but don't forget the Country concerts and of course, the dancing competitions. We ducked into one tent with the clogging and tapping competitions and oh boy, was that an experience! People age 9 to 90 dancing to Blue Grass music. It was hilarious and frightening all at the same time. 

 

Clogging

Here's a little taste of some other contestants in the Clogging competition:

If you haven't been to the fair yet, you have to go. It's always a fun experience...not to mention one of the most fulfilling people-watching experiences. For everyone in NC, make sure you get to the fair before it packs up on October 24th! 

The 3 B's: Beer, Bourbon and BBQ

Chris with his tasting glass at the BBB festival

Beer. Bourbon. Barbecue. It doesn't get much better than that. Especially when those three are combined in an "all-you-care-to-taste" event combined with great music, pig races and so much more!

Bryant checking out Jack's table

As you walk into the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ Festival at the Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary and pick up your souvenir tasting glass, the sounds of Bluegrass music and the smell of smoked pork is already filling the air. With over 60 beers, 40 bourbons, 15 BBQ vendors, and other drinks mixed in, it would be hard to find something you didn't like. In addition to the headliners, there were things like Peach Sweet Tea Vodka and Coffee Patron among other unique liquors. 

One of my favorite mixed drinks was from the St. Germain table. St. Germain is an elderflower blossom liquor of the French influence. The Dia Del Amor cocktail was fantastic and made me wish I were sitting on the beach drinking this cocktail and eating some fresh crab. The sweet elderflower combined with the sour lime and a dash of hot sauce, is a celebration for the taste-buds (if you don't mind a little spice in your life). This drink consists of St. Germain, Tequila, Fresh Lime Juice and a few dashes of hot sauce (personally, I'd add a few dashes to hot sauce to anything so this was a winner in my book), and garnished with a chili-salt rimmed glass and a lime. It was a fabulously refreshing summer drink. Another great summery favorite at this table was the St. Germain Cocktail which consisted of St.Germain, sparkling wine, and club soda. It was sweet and light...I think I found my new favorite summer liquor! 


The amount and variety of Bourbon was fantastic. The servers were very knowledgeable (not that I would expect otherwise) so it was definitely a great learning experience as well. There were the typical players there like Makers Mark, Wild Turkey and Jack Daniels, but there were some unique other brands, flavors, and varieties where everyone (even non-bourbon drinkers) should find something they like. 


The beer selection was also above par (side note: I never understood that phrase...I don't know much about golf, but I'm pretty sure being below par is what you're shooting for, right?). There were well-known brands as well as great local breweries present.

The smoker at The Little Red Pig pickin' the meat for our plates!

A whole pig from The Little Red Pig

Then there's the Barbecue...North Carolina definitely knows how to do a good barbecue. I was glad that my northern friends enjoyed the vinegar-based Eastern Carolina style barbecue. We tried a few different vendors and each was better than the next. Our personal favorite? The Little Red Pig.  

Chris before we devoured our plate...

 The Little Red Pig is based out of Marshville, NC (and if you were wondering, they do catering!). They smoked the whole entire pig and were literally picking the meat right off the animal to put on our plates. The freshness and flavors were unbelievable. They also had multiple vinegar-based BBQ sauces to put on top (although the meat was perfect by itself) with a variety of heats. The coleslaw was a fantastic pairing to the perfect smokiness of the pork. On the side, the classic BBQ pork baked beans were absolutely fabulous with the prefect balance of sweet and smokey. It was all you would expect from an award-winning Carolina BBQ place. 

And what kind of Beer, Bourbon and BBQ festival would it be if there wasn't the Miss Barbecue and Daisy Dukes contest? Or what about the Beer Belly Competition? And let me tell you, there were some real winners (sarcasm intended) on the main stage. The Daisy Dukes were shorter than short and those beer bellies? Well imagine me, at 5' 10", wrapping around one of these bellies and still not being able to touch my feet to my head...enough said. 


To top off the whole experience, there was great Country and Bluegrass music playing in the background from some fantastic bands. Everyone was eating, drinking, dancing and even singing along. Talk about a good time!

My friend Bryant Avondoglio shot and edited a great video to give you a special taste of the Beer, Bourbon & BBQ festival:



It was so much fun (even in 96 degree heat) and definitely a must-have experience. Can't wait for the next one!