INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The myriad of smells alone are enough to tempt anyone on the fairgrounds to jump from food stand to food stand, sampling every taste the firefighters’ fair has to offer this week.
If typical carnival-fare like funnel cakes and corn dogs are not appealing to your taste buds, there are several other options people can and should be on the lookout for.
Here are VeroNews.com’s Top Five Foods to try out at the fair this week.
5. “Other” Fried Desserts
Most of the vendors were in kahootz when asked what the best selling food item at the fair is. The answer was overwhelmingly “funnel cakes.” But if fair eaters are looking to step outside the funnel cake box, they will find a slew of other fried desserts to try. Fried Oreo’s, Snickers bars, Milkyways, Twinkies, and even deep fried chocolate chip cookie dough are sold on the grounds. If you’re going for fried, your options are limitless.
4. Arepas
Husband and wife duo, Raul and Claudia Castillo, from Venezuela own the churros stand on the fairgrounds this week and say that churros sales are higher than ever. But customers should not overlook the Castillo’s arepas, a grilled cheese sandwich of sorts that layers mozzarella cheese between two sweet corn cakes. The corn cakes are sweet and crumbly, and the mozzarella cheese is hot and gooey. All the makings of a great grilled cheese but with a Venezuelan flare.
3. Gluten Free Steak Bowls
One of the largest food booths on the grounds, Pickle Barrel Sirloin Tips from South Bend, Ind., has set up shop at the Indian River County Firefighters’ Fair for the first time this year. Jacob Annable, one part of the family owned business, takes his spot behind several hot kettles, cooking fresh steak, red skinned potatoes, onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Customers can order as many or as few toppings as they’d like, all loaded into a bowl, and have faith that the ingredients are hot, fresh, and gluten free. With steak and vegetables seasoned to perfection, the Pickle Barrel is the perfect one-stop shop for a filling lunch or dinner at the fair.
2. Hot Apple Dumplings
Look for the “Ice Cream Delights” food booth that traveled to the fair all the way from Speedway, Ind. At this booth, Mary Shepherd is selling homemade, baked hot apple dumplings that are as big as a softball. Each perfectly wrapped dumpling contains a whole apple, cut and mixed with a secret concoction of sweet ingredients. The smell of cinnamon and apples seeps from Shepherd’s booth, making the sweet treats very hard to resist. Each dumpling is baked fresh and never fried. “It’s like an apple pie only better,” Shepherd said.
1. Italian Sausage
Chet Andrews has earned the title of longest standing vendor at the firefighters’ fair. He has been serving up his famous Italian sausages at the fair since 1982, but has been in the business since 1959, when he was only 17 years old. Andrews’ booth is one of the first fair goers will see once they cross into the food section from the entrance gates. On a hot, flat top grill, Andrews cooks up large, juicy Italian sausages, tops them with a heap of grilled peppers and onions, and wraps them in a warm bun. He also offers some of the fair’s biggest corn dogs, Polish sausages, and of course, cold beverages. Andrews’ Italian sausage is fair food at it’s finest.
Prices vary between vendors, all vendors take cash, ATMs are available on the fairgrounds.