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A Guide to the Food at the New York State Fair

Disclosure: Mama Smith received tickets to this event from The Great New York State Fair in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are 100% her own.

NYSF Milk Bar

My family and I attend The Great New York State Fair every year. There is so much to do there – from free concerts, to animal shows, to arts and crafts, to a Native American Village, to rides and games – the fair has it all. You can easily spend a full day there because it is huge! We usually go at least twice in the 12 days (Aug. 27 to Sept. 7, 2015) it is at the fairgrounds. One of the best things about the fair though, is the food. There are so many vendors and carts and places to grab a bite to eat that I wanted to take the time to tell you my top foods – my “must haves” if you will. In a later post, I will tell you more about everything else.

NYSF Fresh Milk   NYSF Cheese Sculpture   NYSF Dairy Go Round

NYSF Milk Bar

Fresh Milk and Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
Every time we enter the fair, our first stop is the dairy building. The rainbow bar is there and if you wait to long, the line will get pretty long. Here you can get fresh milk. Fresh as in, just milked that morning! Yum! You have your choice of chocolate or white milk and it is always delicious. I don’t drink milk – but I never miss a cup of this stuff. In the same building is the New York State Cheese store.Often time there is someone out front carving something from a block of cheese (this weekend it was a Minion!). You can try free samples of fresh cheese and also purchase many cheese products. We never visit the fair without purchasing some mozzarella cheese sticks. The girls love them – and so do my husband and I. Side Note: In the dairy building there is also the butter sculpture as well as a “Dairy-go-round” two must sees as well.

NYSF Lemonade    NYSF Lemonade

Omanii’s Lemonade Heaven
OK, I admit it. This is a little stand that I just discovered this year. I wanted to tell you guys about it because it is hidden. It is over by the Pan-African village stuff and it is the best lemonade I have ever tasted. I got myself a glass of the Iced Tea Lemonade and the girls got some Pink Lemonade. My husband, who doesn’t even like lemonade, helped them finish off theirs. It is so good and we will definitely be making this a stop every fair visit now.

NYSF Wrap    NYSF Wrap

Wrap It Up
My first year at the fair, we got the coupon book. This book brought us to the Wrap It Up stand when it came time to eat lunch. I ordered a Chicken Caesar Wrap with tomatoes and it was the best wrap I have ever tasted. For some reason we were unable to find this booth last year (until immediately after lunch of course) and I settled with a wrap from another place. I wish I could remember the name – sorry guys – but it was sub-par compared to Wrap It Up. If Chicken Caesar is not your thing, they have plenty of other options like steak and honey mustard.

NYSF Gyro

King David’s
My husband loves Gyros. If you asked him, he would probably tell you that King David’s Gyros are his favorite part of the fair. He gets one every year and I don’t imagine he will ever stop. He says they have the best tzatziki sauce he has ever had – and he has had a lot. If you like gyros, this is the place you should eat lunch.

NYSF Funnel Cake

Funnel Cakes
What fair is not complete without fried junk food? I have tried the deep friend oreos and candy bars and they are good. But sometimes I just want a classic – friend dough or a funnel cake. Pretty much every stand at the fair that has these is good. I have tried several (it usually depends on where we are when we decide we want one) and have never had a complaint about the taste.

NYSF Kids Meal

Kid’s Meals
If your kids are like mine, they can be picky. They aren’t adventurous at all and usually want chicken and fries or a hot dog and fries. Rarely do they decide to try something new. There is a stand at the New York State Fair called the Tiki Turtle that gives you an “entree” (chicken fingers, hot dog, hamburger, etc), fries, a drink, and a piece of candy for only $6. Not too bad if you ask me. My girls shared it and didn’t even finish it all.

NYSF Food   NYSF Food

NYSF Food

There is also a building filled with different booths containing foods from around the world, the International Pavilion. We have yet to eat there, but I have heard great things. Especially about Little Italy and the Pig and Potato. There are also tacos, Chinese food, a deli, and even a place called Grandma’s kitchen. There are plenty of tables so you can eat inside if the weather is less than ideal. There are plenty of delicious food options – people will line up for hours to get a baked potato from The Great Potato Booth. You can use this interactive map on the fair website to plan your food route. I hope this guide to the New York State Fair Food has helped you. There is so much to do there that wasting time looking for the right food can put a kink in your day. Especially if you are like us and have a minimum of three different stops for food.

Connect with The Great New York State Fair on social media:

www.nysfair.org
http://www.facebook.com/nysfair
http://twitter.com/NYSFair

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