Comparing Iowa State Fair corn dogs: Final assessment… nothing beats a Foot Long.

The corn dog used to be considered fairly pedestrian fare in these parts, but that all changed when Campbell's Concessions trotted out the Double Bacon Corn Dog during the 2012 Iowa State Fair.

Bacon-wrapped wieners are deep-fried, then dipped in cornmeal batter studded with bits of bacon, and deep-fried a second time until golden brown.

It's a well made corn dog, of that there's no doubt. The bacon adds a savory, salty note you don't normally find with a corn dog, though I didn't think it tasted demonstrably bacony. I'd rather pay the little extra for a Foot Long Corndog. With or without bacon, nothing beats a Foot Long.

After the Double Bacon Corndog's phenomenal success, Campbell's trotted out two new corndogs for the 2013 Fair. The first, the Deep Fried Sweet Corn Corndog offers deep-fried kernels of sweet corn not only for garnish, but also mixed into the cornmeal batter. Served with a side of honey, it's fairly sweet. I love the light sweetness of fried cornmeal batter paired with a meaty wiener, but I'm not big fan of dipping it in honey. It's overkill.

I was more pleased with the Jalapeño Cheese Corndog, with straightforward cornmeal batter enrobing a wiener embedded with cheese and jalapeño. The side of nacho cheese is creamy and zesty enough, but the flavor overpowers the zippy dog within. Eat this corndog sans nacho cheese, and save the sauce for dressing a Foot Long and keep the good times rolling!

And now some equal time for my favorite Fair-time treat, a Foot Long Corndog slathered with mustard. Eets so beeg! Comparing corn dogs from Westmoreland Concessions and Campbell's, I prefer the latter for more corn flavor and a soft corn meal grit in the batter.