State Fair Unveils Unusual Fare, Food Crawl For Fair Foodies

TAMPA, FL — The wait for deep-fried decadence is over. The Florida State Fair gets underway Thursday and continues through Feb. 17, serving up fair staples like funnel cake and corn dogs as well as new, unusual concoctions that draws thousands of fair foodies each year.

New fair fare this year includes Cajun Chili Cheese Fries, Steak n' Eggs Sundaes and Sweet Heat Jalapeño Ice Cream.

To accommodate those fair-goers who come strictly for the food, this year the fair will host its first Fair Foodie Crawl, similar to the popular pub crawls, on Thursday, Feb. 13, after 5 p.m.

This experience will give guests a chance to try the best fair foods and drinks across the Florida State Fair. Participants will be able to choose samples from a prepaid menu of vendors, sampling everything from the savory to the sweet. Foodies can then cast votes for their favorites and receive a commemorative T-shirt.

Tickets are $25. Registration for the Fair Foodie Crawl does not include fair admission. Register by Feb. 12 for discounted advanced pricing.

This year we’re adding and much more! Descriptions of all the new fair foods are listed below.

New additions to the fair's food menu are:

• Peanut Butter Ramen Burger from Carousel Foods — A Ramen noodle bun with a 1/4-pound burger and two strips of bacon, topped with a peanut butter vinaigrette-dressed Chow Mein Asian Slaw.
• Cheesy Sriracha Funnel Cake Bites from Out of this World Funnel Cakes — cheesy funnel cake pieces, deep-fried and topped with four cheeses and chives, served with Sriracha aioli, ranch or garlic butter dip.
• Sweet Heat Jalapeño Ice Cream from Coolicious Treats — experience the best of both worlds with the sweet heat of jalapeño and chocolate-flavored ice cream served in a cup.
• Steak n' Eggs Sundae from DeAnna’s Steak Sundaes — fresh-cut fries layered with warm cheese, sour cream and real bacon with a scoop of cheesy grits, a fried egg and topped with a sirloin steak.
• S’mores on a Stick from Pence’s Carmel Corn — a larger-than-life marshmallow dipped in sweet, melted chocolate and rolled in crunchy graham cracker pieces.
• Piña Colada Candy Apple from The Apple Cart — a crisp apple coated in a hard, crunchy pina colada-flavored candy available with or without coconut.
• Cheeseburger On-A-Stick from DeAnna’s Diner — a grilled Angus beef patty dipped in DeAnna’s secret batter, deep-fried and drizzled with a warm cheddar cheese sauce.
• Cheesy Tater Corn Dog from Best Around — a cheese-filled hot dog on a stick, dipped into a potato and corn dog batter, coated in Panko, deep-fried until golden brown and crunchy.
• The Orie from Best Around — Sweet cream filling sandwiched between two chocolate funnel cake-battered Oreo cookies.
• Candy Corn from Pence’s Carmel Corn — sweet and crunchy popcorn with multicolor coatings in banana, bubble gum, raspberry and green apple flavors.
• Strawberry Lemonade Shortcake Sundae from DeAnna’s Steak Sundaes — warm cinnamon sugar doughnut pieces drizzled with lemonade frosting, fresh strawberry slices and homemade whipped cream on top.
• Cajun Chili Cheese Fries from DeAnna’s Steak Sundaes — fresh-cut Cajun fries with hot sauce, cheese and grilled onions, topped with beef chili con carne, jalapeño slices and Parmesan cheese.
• Hawaiian Jerk Chicken Pizza from Angela’s Pizza — a white garlic sauce-based pizza topped with jerk chicken, diced pineapple, ham and mozzarella cheese.