I had the pleasure of helping judge various foods yesterday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds for their “Signature Food” competition. It’s the year of the Farmer, so each of the participants entered dishes that used local goods from our various farmers. Not an easy task to select THEE Signature Food Item this year, but I had been fasting for 24 hours, knowing I would be in for a real feast! Here were the competitors:

DEEP FRIED SWEET CORN from Barto’s Concessions. Nice flaky batter, not too heavy, and some scrumptious sweet corn!

.

DEEP FRIED APPLE PIE BITES WITH SOFT SERVE ICE CREAM from Urick Concessions. Apples were just right, not mushy.

.

TURKEY MANHATTAN from Turkey Indiana put an interesting twist of a Midwest dish. Bread, slice of turkey, gravy and corn, all within a container that’s easy to hold as you wander the fairgrounds.

.

S’Mores Flavored Milkshake & Muenster Grilled Cheese on Cinnamon Raisin Bread
prepared by American Dairy Association Indiana. This is quite possibly their best flavored milkshake! All it’s missing is some crumbled up graham crackers. And the Muenster cheese is perfectly paired with the cinnamon bread.

.

The Smoked Pig Patty from Indiana Pork Association was delicious! Served with a slightly spicy BBQ sauce and some pickles, also locally grown. My only suggestion is to offer your choice in sauce: Spicy, Tangy or Sweet.

.

Maple Walnut Waffle Sundae prepared by Baskin Robbins. The maple syrup is produced locally and walnuts and waffle use local grains. How can you wrong with BASKIN ROBBINS?! Delicious tip of the hat to local farmers who helped supply this treat.

So, who will be chosen as this year’s “SIGNATURE FOOD ITEM” for the Indiana State Fair? Stay tuned….

Oh, and here’s one of my fellow judges, the uber successful Gary Brackett! I didn’t know this, but the former Colt owns 9 Stacked Pickle restaurants and a couple of Soul Food eateries here in Central Indiana! Great guy!