Blue Barn, Corn Fritters: Some reviewers found these to be too blue cheesy, but today I found them to be tasteless! Good sauce though, which is nice because that's the only thing with flavor. If they come back next year, I will give them one more chance, in the hopes of getting to that blue cheese heaven.
San Felipe, Fish Tacos: Been getting these for a few years now, and I have to say, each year they get more disappointing. I won't be getting them again next year.
Some random pizza place in the food building, cheese pizza: Of all the things to eat at the State Fair, my kids wanted a slice of cheese pizza. Three kids, at four dollars a slice. Ugh. Completely forgettable, the kind of pizza you know is going to be mediocre the moment you see it. The kids loved it though.
O'Garas, Pretzel Battered Cheese Curds: Everyone who has reviewed these has said they are really good. I will never know this year because the lines to buy them were impossibly, impossibly long.
Spring Grove Soda Pop: Got the Black Cherry for the first time. It's not too bad but I was expecting something a little less sweet maybe? Next time I will stick with the Lemon Sour, which is, of course, top notch.
Juanita's Fajitas, Steak Fajita: I get these every year. Only down side: messy.
Holy Land, Mediterranean Lemonade: Absolutely amazing. Expensive at four bucks, but totally worth it. Mint + lemonade with just the right amount of slushy ice mixed in, it's heavenly. I'm kind of seriously considering going back tomorrow just to get another one of these. Be warned, it is not a small amount of mint, and it's real mint, not mint flavoring. One of my children found it off putting. The other three could not get enough of it.
Holy Land, Gyro: Horrible, horrible, horrible. Not only was it the worst gyro I have ever had, but it is right up there for the worst food I have ever eaten, period. The lettuce looked like it was yesterday's lettuce, limp, and nearly every piece of it was starting to brown. The sauce was bland, there was no bite or tanginess. On the other hand, at least the sauce wasn't as bland as the meat. I do not know how it is possible to mess up gyro meat. This meat had nearly no flavor, and yet it managed to be unpleasantly salty. Perhaps the pita was okay, but I'll never know, because I ate this gyro with a fork, and I gave up eating before I found the pita.
On the plus side, they advertise their gyro as the biggest one at the State Fair, a fact which I do not doubt. If what you are after is sheer cubic inches rather than taste, perhaps this is the meal for you.
Famous Dave's, Korean BBQ Collar: This was good. Excellent meat. I do not know if this tastes how Korean BBQ is "supposed" to taste, but it's very, very good. The "kimchi" pickles taste nothing like kimchi but are also good in their own right. And quite spicy! The pickles look disappointing; I saw them and thought "dill.... and hot sauce flakes?" But believe me, these pickles are something else entirely. Only caveat: for 7 bucks, not a lot of food. Get an appetizer.
Blue Moon Diner, Sweet Corn Ice Cream: I got this last year and loved it, and then a friend of mine who was with us at the fair threw out my ice cream before I was done with it, because he thought I was finished. Been looking forward to it all year. It lives up to my own mental hype. They put some sweet, crunchy chex/corn garnish on the top which complements the ice cream perfectly. The only down note is that by the very end of the bowl, the saltiness becomes apparent.
Blue Moon Diner, Sno Ribbons: These are new this year, and have been hyped up quite a bit by the various online reviews. Something to keep in mind, they have different flavors every day, each flavor comes with its own garnishes and sauces and fiddly bits they stick on top. Today's flavors were the Arnold Palmer (Meyer Lemon Sno Ribbons with Iced Tea sauce) and some other thing which I have forgotten. That one sounded pretty good but it had rum bananas in it, and since I was sharing it with my kids, I didn't want to take any chances. You know, sometimes when a dessert has rum, it has a little bit of rum, and sometimes it has hic HI HOW ARE YOU amounts of rum in it.
How did they taste? I have no idea. I got the Arnold Palmer snow ribbons, set them down in front of my kids, went back to get the sweet corn ice cream, and by the time I got back, the ribbons were GONE.