COLUMN: How can you put wine on a stick?

It wasn’t worth the hype.

For the past several years my family has spent at least one day at the state fair. It all started when daughter Kari was in 4-H and she had a project qualify for the state fair. At the same time and as the years went by, we paid more attention to the food, specifically the new ones that usually get all the hype and attention based on the judging before the fair starts.

This year was a disappointment as we sampled the top three foods.

One of the top three foods was lobster on a stick. The lobster had some other flavors with it. For Iowa to be landlocked and a massive supporter of beef and pork, it was a nice change to see seafood. I like lobster, thanks to the Red Lobster restaurant chain while growing up. But this creation didn’t live up to the hype; it was just deep fried lobster and little of anything else. I was hoping for something to remind me of a crab melt I had a couple of summers ago on the northwest coast of Oregon.

Probably like chili, there are various ways to make a crab melt. A common one is crab meat with mustard, red pepper, celery, sour cream as well as salt and pepper to taste. That mixture is placed on French bread. Slices of Monterey Jack or Swiss cheese is then placed on the crab mixture and toasted until the cheese is melted, hence the name. Mine had Monetery on it. Simple enough to make at home. Now, I’m tempted to try it at home.

Living in the Midwest, fish has its time and place, probably most popular during fish fries on Fridays during Lent. St. Malachy has a great one. The tiny town of Elmo, Missouri, (north of Maryville) has had regular fish fries for fundraisers for the town’s needs. That is also an event that does fish rather well.

A second Iowa State Fair food item was the bacon cheeseburger egg roll. Great to see beef and bacon together, but nothing else was great about it. It came across more as an appetizer, which may have been the only intent. I couldn’t taste anything else but the beef and maybe some pickle.

The Iowa Smoaked Roll was the other popular new food. The concoction was a parody of sushi with a blend of Iowa and Mexican; pork loin, rice, jalapeno and salsa. None of it stood out to me.

I was longing to have something as impressive as what I had at the state fair before COVID. I can’t remember the exact name, but it was like a Thanksgiving dinner in a wrap; turkey, ham and some veggies blended together. The stand was south of the Varied Industry building. No matter what, you always remember most of the details things you really like.

I didn’t want to leave the state fair with being disappointed in the food. Nothing like a corn dog and a chop on a stick to make up for it all. I only put mustard on the corn dog; not ketchup. The Iowa Pork Producers have perfected the chop on a stick. The pork producers picnic in a cup is fun and flavorful; pork, beans, coleslaw and Fritos all in the same container. The line for the chop on a stick was shorter and moving faster (for obvious reasons). The line for the pork stand to get a Picnic in a Cup was long and slow. We didn’t have time.

The bucket of cookies is always a nice finish.

The foods didn’t make my entire Iowa State Fair experience this year a disappointment. This was the first time I made it to the Iowa wine tent on top of the hill. My wine experience and knowledge are extremely limited. Wine has never been an interest. Madison County Winery had one called lollipop which was impressive. And of all things to call it - it would have been cool if the winery would have somehow had a sample on a stick.