There is just so much I love about this headline. I don’t even care what the story is. The headline alone SELLS it. I love that these things exist: Chicken Charlie. Fried Kool-Aid.
I really want to know more about Chicken Charlie. Why is he called that? How did he get into the fair biz? What kind of name is Boghosian? If he could fry anything in the world, what would it be? I’m glad Chicken Charlie stayed true to his roots and is still selling the fried Klondike Bar. Don’t be a slave to the fads, Chicken Charlie.
I haven’t been to one in ages, but I have a lot of fond memories of state fairs. OK, state fair singular. But the one I’m thinking of is the granddaddy – the Texas State Fair, which takes place in the fall. My family lived in Dallas off-and-on when I was growing up and we went to the TSF a few times. On one particular visit, my mom’s boyfriend at the time bought me the most rocking winged-unicorn fake-gold charm necklace ever created.
Even better, you could get your name engraved on it! Since I have an oddly spelled name, and could never, ever buy any personalized key chains or pens or friendship bracelets at any gas station, amusement park, or truck stop that might be selling that crap, getting something with my name on it was a HUGE deal for me. It even made an appearance in my school picture that year. (OK, seriously? I just tore apart my whole house looking for that picture. No luck. I’m so pissed I want to kick the cat. Not really. Sorry, Toonces.)
Anyway, I lost the necklace a few months later playing basketball at school. It got lodged under the roll-back bleachers and I never saw it again. I’m pretty sure I cried. There’s definitely a lesson in there about how team sports are stupid. I can just imagine some janitor’s daughter out there still rocking my unicorn/pegasus necklace 30 years later. Hope she treasures it as much as I did.
Anyone else been to a state fair? What’s your favorite fair food? I can hurt a funnel cake real, real bad.
I have never actually been to the State Fair, but I do know the eternal longing for fried food. I succumbed to it today, in fact, because some friends at work wanted to get fried chicken for lunch, followed by snow-cones (the kind that you get doused in sweet cream). Knowing this would probably make me useless for the rest of the day, I took the afternoon off. One four-hour nap later, and my stomach still feels like I stuffed it with saw dust and motor oil. It was totally worth it though!
Also, I deep-fried macaroni and cheese one time for a party and it was gone it like 4 minutes.
Makes me think of this:
http://youtu.be/K1PsDyhNFBI
Mmmmmm, mac and cheese.
Muffy and I went to the TX State Fair last year during the Govt. Affairs conference. Fried beer…I didn’t try it, but it looked like ravioli. Sick. Fried margaritas. didn’t try that either. Fried butter. Lipitor anyone? I did try the fried oreo and the fried PB & J. Oreo was the winner winner chicken dinner for me.
Mmmmmm, beer.
Katie, we totally should have done a cross blog summit where you did a post on what to wear to a fair on http://www.cardigansandcouture.com and I wrote on what to eat.
To add to Katie’s comment, I enjoyed the fried state fair food until we got on the tilt-a-whirl. Then, my prior food choices seemed like a bad idea. The fried beer was just weird.