One-Tank Trip
for Sept. 30/17
(c) By Jim Fox
Hurry, hurry, step
right up and get your carnival food.
Country fairs are
the rage for big veggie contests, horse and animal shows, midways, demolition
derbies, music and as purveyors of quintessential carny food.
There’s all the deep-fried, unusual food-on-a-stick creations you won’t find
anywhere else.
This
open-air dining akin to the popularity of food trucks now takes the cake – so
to speak – and no one does it better than the Norfolk County Fair and Horse
Show in Simcoe (172 South Drive), south of Brantford.
The
fair, which runs from Oct. 3 to 9, is a “culinary carnival,” says Noah
Cappe, host of the TV show Carnival Eats.
He knows his deep
fried, roasted, broasted and toasted discoveries as his Food Network Canada
show did an episode featuring the Norfolk fair.
Cappe raved about
the Thanksgiving Bowl that he called a “cornucopia of flavours with fresh fall
veggies, succulent turkey and cranberry cornbread.”
Digging into some fusion
fare with Indo-Canadian inspired butter bacon poutine and a cheeseburger eggroll,
he washed it down with ale and apple fritters.
 |
| Scott Dennis of CoCo Concessions offers deep fried chicken feet on a stick at the fair in Simcoe. |
As Ontario’s oldest
agricultural fair, Norfolk has been doing it right for the past 177 years,
keeping up with the evolution of taste treats.
“Dozens of tantalizing
tastes will be awaiting visitors as they make their way down food alley,” said
publicist Wendy Brick.
Taste sensations
It keeps up with
the changing tastes by this year offering big pickle dogs, deep fried chicken
feet on a stick (personally, I’ll pass) and savoury bacon balls.
Those wacky
culinary creations are being offered by vendors Karley and Scott Dennis of CoCo
Concessions.
“We bring quality
fun products to eat and we know that fairgoers can’t resist trying something
new,” said Scott.
How about pizza on
a stick from Paul Oczot of Festival Foods while Sunny Day Foods returns with
the tornado potato.
 |
| Carnival food booths are in abundance at the Norfolk County Fair. |
While sourcing “great eats,” exhibits coordinator
Jessica Vanderschee said the fair remains committed to working with community
groups for favourites such as bacon on a bun, corn dogs, burgers and fries.
Along with some 50
food vendors are three restaurants: the Red Ribbon Bistro in the Rec Centre; the
Craft Brew Lounge in the Curling building; and Gator Country Kitchen in the
Junior Farmers building serving barbecue ribs, chicken and cabbage rolls.
“Our surveys have
shown that great fair food is still one of the top reasons people come to the
fair,” said George Araujo, general manager.
“The fair has
always encouraged the vendors to be creative and they have always responded
with great tasting treats,” he added.
A couple of years
ago, it was deep fried butter that was a “real hit” and the jury’s still out on
how well the fried chicken feet will do.
 |
| Noah Cappe, host of the TV show Carnival Eats, tries fair fare in Simcoe. |
“These novelty
foods complement our traditional fun foods like taffy made on site, warm fudge
and racks of ribs that people buy to take home,” Araujo said.
Taste of Norfolk takes place
Oct. 6 to 9 from 1 p.m. in the Rec Centre Arena highlighting local wineries,
breweries and restaurants.
While celebrating its agricultural roots,
highlights also include Canadian country music on Oct. 6 at 8 p.m. with Tim
Hicks and Oct. 7 with Chad Brownlee.
 |
| Monstrous-sized veggies are in competition at the Norfolk County Fair. (Jim Fox photo) |
Oktoberfest update
Kitchener-Waterloo
Oktoberfest, featured last week, has revised two of its main events starting
times and the number of festhalls.
It gets underway
outside Kitchener City Hall on Oct. 6 at 11 a.m. (running until Oct. 14) and has
13 German-Canadian clubs.
The Thanksgiving
Day Parade starts at 8:30 a.m. from Weber and Frederick streets in Kitchener.
-30-
Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment