Posted by Robyn Lee, August 14, 2008 at 3:00 PM
The Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis is already in session, but you have until Sunday, August 17, to enjoy the best of what it has to offer: deep-fried fair food and a giant, diseased colon.
Indulge in the fair's wide array of deep fried foods, foods on sticks, and deep fried foods on sticks. How about the 2008 Indiana State Fair signature food contest winner, deep-fried bananas foster cheesecake on a stick? Count me in. Indystar.com describes other offerings, from typical corn dogs to not-so-typical chocolate-covered chicken stick.
After getting your fill of fair food, visit "Coco" the Colossal Colon, a 40-foot long, four-foot tall model of a human colon "designed to educate about colorectal cancer and other diseases of the colon." Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, hemorrhoids, and more—Coco's got it all! Crawl through the tunnel to see what horrors could come to your colon if you don't maintain a healthy lifestyle. That probably entails not eating a lot of fair food, but one day of stuffing your face with funnel cakes and pulled pork sandwiches shouldn't kill you.
If you can't make it to the fair, watch these videos after the jump from IndyStar.com about fair-goers' favorite foodstuffs and the journey through the giant colon after the jump.
Continue reading »
Posted by Ed Levine, August 21, 2007 at 8:32 AM
While I am pondering my need to lose 25 pounds the good folks at the Indiana State Fair are paying lip service to the health police this year by frying their Oreos, peanut butter cups, and Snickers bars in trans-fat free oil.
What do you make of this development?
The money quote:
"This is a slice of heaven,” said Ryan Howell, 31, as he cradled his Combo Plate, which, for the record, consists of one battered Snickers bar, two battered Oreos and a battered Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup — all deep-fried in oil that is trans-fat free, thank goodness."
And if Mr. Howell chooses he can wash his combo plate down with something just as deadly.
Continue reading »
Posted by Lia Bulaong, February 2, 2007 at 3:57 PM
Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen's Nationwide Food Section Roundup for today is all Super Bowl Sunday, featuring Washington D.C., Indiana, Oregon and Wisconsin. The Oregon eats are pretty fancy!
Posted by From Roadfood.com, January 22, 2007 at 6:02 AM
For this week's roundup, we asked our friends Jane and Michael Stern over at Roadfood.com to name some of their fried-chicken picks. And the chicken at these joints comes with a heaping side order of charm.
AL'S CHICKENETTE | 700 Vine Street, Hays KS 67601 [map]. 785-625-7414
Al's Chickenette has been in business a very considerable period of time and there is a good reason for this. And the name of this place says it quite well.
As you can see from the photo the outside doesn't look like much. I believe the building started as officer's quarters at a defunct World War II army air base about 20 miles away before it was moved to Hays and converted to its true calling. But the restaurant tells its own story quite well and it's reproduced here, with permission from the management, along with the rest of its promotional leaflet including the menu. (This is free publicity, after all.)
And it is deserved Roadfood publicity. Now reasonable Road Fooders may disagree on whether one restaurant's fried chicken is "better" than anothers. They will nearly all agree, I think, that the chicken prepared here is distinctive, and it is good. Also the thin cut french fries.
The food is cooked to order and comes to the table hot. Before you dig into it, though, notice that squeeze bottle of honey on the table. It's there for a reason. Take it and squeeze a generous bead over the fries and each piece of chicken. (Leave the ketchup off the fries, at least until you've sampled it this way.) Now, bite into that first piece of chicken, along with a forkfull of fries. You'll savor the thin, crispy, crunchy, slightly salty, mildly spicy crust of the chicken overlaid with the contrasting sweetness of the honey as steam curls up from where it came from. The honey also nicely contrasts with the crust of the fries surrounding the soft, potato-ey interior. You may also notice that the crustyness holds up even as you swallow, continuing its textural treat even on the way down.
If you have the tossed salad with your meal you might try it with the Dorothy Lynch dressing, a regional commercial product which is quite tasty.
As noted in the menu, tea and coffee are complimentary. Other drinks are extra. I always have the ice tea, and lots of it.
I was introduced to Al's as a child when I lived in the area. Even though I've moved away my family tries to have at least a meal here every time we return for a visit.
So if you're passing by Hays, Kansas, on Interstate 70 during the hours Al's is open, take the U.S. 183/Vine St. exit south, going nearly all the way through town almost to the south edge. It will be worth the small detour from your trip. Originally reviewed by Wendler on Roadfood.com
Continue reading »
