Favorite foods from the 2011 Iowa State Fair

What's a visit to the Iowa State Fair without eating something on-a-stick? And the Granddaddy of all fried-foods-on-a-stick is the corn dog. Which begat the foot-long corn dog. And the only proper condiment in my humble opinion: a slather of yellow mustard. Another fine food-on-a-stick, and a very Iowan one at that, is Pella bologna-on-a-stick. It's a mouthful.

UPDATE: Jennie's Grinders has ceased operating a food stand at the Iowa State Fair. 2015 was their last Fair.

A "must have" at the Iowa State Fair is the Jennie Grinder. The sandwich consists of loose-meat Italian pork sausage, packed into a hoagie roll, topped with shredded mozzarella and melted. The sausage seasoning is a proprietary family recipe, tasting rather like a cross between Italian sausage and Mexican chorizo. Also available year-round at Sandwiches by Reca [see blog post].

If you can brave the climb up the hill past the Heritage Village, you'll find the Buckskinners Camp and the fry bread taco, the closest thing you'll find to Tasty Tacos at the Fair. The ground beef is simple and unseasoned. But pile on the lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese and salsa and you've got a mound of food! If you can handle more big food, Bauder's Peppermint Ice Cream bar awaits your pleasure. Hands down the biggest ice cream sandwich you'll ever sink your teeth into. Beware of brain freeze!

Another fine grinder is the legendary Gizmo, served up at both the Iowa and Minnesota State Fairs, and at Urbandale, Iowa's Fourth of July celebrations. Similar to the Jennie Grinder, but made with a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage, and an added layer of seasoned tomato sauce atop the meat before mozzarella is applied and melted. If you like your grinder saucy and a little less spicy, I recommend the Gizmo.