Food n' Fun at the Salt Lake County Fair

My post this week is far from the beaches of Orange County.  We are visiting my brother and his family in Utah.  I actually love Utah.  Clean air, picturesque mountains and the cost of most things is much less and allows our family dollar to stretch a bit further.

For example, yesterday we went to the local county fair.  Unlike the massive Orange County Fair that lasts for a few weeks and costs money to enter, this local fair is only around 4 short days and has free entrance.  The small size might sound like a disadvantage, but I have to say that I was really impressed with the ease of navigating a smaller fair.

Family fun at the fair!

To get us started at the fair, we took the all the kids into the "Walk On Water" inflatable balls.  I loved seeing the kids squirrel around in there.  Only the older ones were able to kind-of walk, but that didn't make it any less fun for them to try or us to watch.

Almost there!

I was a bit worried that the food options would be too limited.  This was proven to be completely untrue.  Within the food court, we had choices of regular fair favorites like funnel cake and kettle corn.  What I didn't expect was the completely delicious unique fare we were lucky enough to enjoy within a small area.  I didn't need a map to find delicious choices and I didn't have to walk a football field to go enjoy it!

Delicious and so cold

The weather was extremely warm and I headed straight for the snow cone area.  These were no ordinary snow cones.  The ice was shaved in front of us and the topping choices were all natural.  I especially liked that the fruit flavors were from locally grown organic fruit and the root beer flavor was home brewed.  There were tremendous flavor choices and the mojito was incredible.  Hard to admit, but it was the best shaved ice I had ever enjoyed.

Raspberry, Root Beer and Pineapple

We kept the shaved ice booth busy!

Next on the eating agenda was the visually appealing Cyclone potato.  They take a potato and cut it into one continuous curl on a stick and then fry it up.  The result is a crispy, yet tender potato.  Imagine a thicker potato chip that has a tender center.  This item really has fare appeal:  Easy to carry, easy to share and easy to enjoy!

How could you resist this?

I had noticed the Indian fry bread stand and the line there was finally coming to an end.  Sticking with my dessert theme, I ordered the fry bread covered with honey butter, powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar.  It was fresh  I know because I couldn't even touch it for a full 5 minutes.  I was light, fluffy and dripping with  honey butter.  For me, it was preferable to funnel cake because of the airiness of the dough.

Don't let its unassuming look fool you....it's delicious

My pick for best value?  The $4 foot-long corn dog.  It was not only big, but really satisfying.

The drink prices border on ridiculous.  $8.00 for Coors Light?  $2.50 for a bottle of water?  No thanks.  I found a vendor inside the main building who was selling bottles of water and bottles of sodas for $1.00.  We loaded up and took them back to the eating area.  I don't mind people making a profit, but when it is close to 100 degrees and you have kids, that is a disgrace to charge so much for water without another option.

Before I left, I had to revisit an old favorite.  The deep-fried Snickers was the last fair treat I had in Orange County when I went about five years ago.  I had really loved it, and it is just one of those things that you cannot get anywhere but a fair.  I stopped by and picked one up.  It was just as I had remembered, soft gooey and oh-so-good.

Did I mention it was covered in even more sugar?

What else did the fair offer?  Well we enjoyed perusing the vendor area, the kids rode a few rides and petted some animals.  My favorite was the Kids Tractor Pull.  My daughter and her cousin loved it.  It wasn't done for any glory or trophy, but just for fun.  The kids loved the activity and I loved the fact that it was free and done without pressure to buy anything.

Ribbons for everyone!

Thank you SLC Fair, I hope we do this again soon!