From heavenly to 'huh?!,' here's the rundown on Ohio State Fair food
At the Minnesota State Fair next month in St. Paul, they'll be dishing out deep-fried ranch dressing with a side of... not ranch. You dip the breaded bits of whatever holds the whole thing together in hot honey sauce.
Over in Indianapolis, Indiana State Fair visitors can get chicken wings tossed in peanut-butter sauce with a grape jelly drizzle.
At the State Fair of Texas, people might be able to order a drink made with mango and citrus juices — and Lay's potato chips. It's a semifinalist in an annual public vote to choose the best — or maybe just the weirdest — fair foods.
Ohio is no slouch by either measure.
What's new?: Ohio State Fair's new foods for 2024 include pickle lemonade, gummy corndogs and more
When the Ohio State Fair opens July 24 for its annual 12-day run through Aug. 4, the midway will be loaded with plenty of old-fashioned Ohio treats: pork-loin sandwiches, fried bologna, soft-serve ice cream and corn dogs.
But the weird box is checked, too.
Pickle lemonade seems to be the headline oddity this year on "New Food Avenue," an area near the fairgrounds' Celeste Center that showcases everything making a debut. Miller & Co. Concessions isn't the first to think of adding pickle juice to lemonade and tossing a few pickle chips in the concoction, to boot. There are dozens of recipes on Pinterest (as well as recipes for lemonade pickles and pickled lemons), and fans say the sweet/tart/salty combo is a thirst-quencher.
The "Gummy Bear Guy" will have corn dog-shaped — and flavored, we assume — gummy candies. Sticking with the trend, he'll also have gummy pickles.
The Ohio Poultry Association has become known for some out-there takes on deviled eggs at its "Devilishly Good" food stand. This year's espresso-flavored entry is a little less ewww-inducing than last year's cotton-candy deviled eggs. Others on the 2024 menu are maple-bacon crunch, buffalo chicken, hot dog and, there it is again, dill pickle.
There's a pickle-topped pizza from GH Concessions.
Schmidt's Sausage Haus was just a meat-packing house until 1914 when George L. Schmidt opened a stand at the Ohio State Fair. The Columbus legend will be back for its 110th year with hotdogs, bratwurst, Bahama mamas and other food. For the second year, the restaurant has created a special fair-edition cream puff; its cotton-candy cream puff has a cotton-candy-flavored filling inside the choux pastry. (Last year's lemon shake-up is back, but only during July at the restaurant in German Village.)
Among items on the more traditional side is this year's latest fried-food offering. "Bombz," from a vendor called Fork'et Me Not, are puff pastries filled with either buffalo chicken, Philly steak or cheeseburger and deep-fried.
Coming up: From food to entertainment, see what's new at the 2024 Ohio State Fair
Other vendors will sell fried Oreos, fried cheesecake, fried cookie dough, fried brownies and fried macaroni and cheese.
"It couldn't be a fair without fried food, could it?," said spokeswoman Jessica West.
It couldn't be a fair without ice cream, either. Utica-based Velvet Ice Cream's 2024 Ohio State Fair flavor is caramel popcorn, full of butter toffee popcorn bark, which will be sold by the American Dairy Association and Ohio Dairy Producers Association inside the Dairy Products Building (home of the butter cow).
A funnel-cake sundae will be available on New Food Avenue. Soft-serve, chocolate-covered frozen bananas, ice pops (new flavor alert: pickle), rainbow ice and Dole Whip are among other frozen treats available.
Funnel cakes get fair treatment, too. Concessions by Cox will have a peanut-butter s'mores funnel cake, with peanut butter, chocolate, marshmallows and graham crackers. GH Concessions will offer maple-bacon and Cinnamon Toast Crunch funnel cakes, and Hill's Concessions will sell a low-sugar traditional funnel cake.
Hickory Tree Turkey BBQ will offer a Thanksgiving-stuffed turkey leg. It's stuffed with stuffing, of course, as well as mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and other holiday favorites. The Ohio Poultry Association will sell turkey wings —they're 1 pound each — as well as a cheesecake sundae that features a scoop of New York-style cheesecake topped with chocolate, cherry or strawberry sauce.
The healthier side of the Ohio State Fair menu is smaller, but it does exist. Fork'et Me Not will serve cauliflower tacos, while S&C Concessions plans a "Superhero Soup" that fair officials describe as a "perfect blend of greens to supercharge your day."
The state fair website breaks down concessions into sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free and other options for people with allergies or other concerns.
Someone is selling apples, too.
Oh, wait. They're covered in caramel or candy.
Instagram: @dispatchdining
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 2024 Ohio State Fair: Here's a helpful guide on where to eat
