Get to the State Fair!

Ah, the Indiana State Fair. It's really all about the food. It's a celebration of what our Hoosier soil, plants, animals, and hard working farmers give us every year. So come and eat heartily!

I took the above photo because this sight was the epitome of state fairs: abundance and indulgence. It's only once a year, so why not?!

This was the year of the pig and the winning food item for 2010 was the Garbage Burger. Yes, it does look like garbage, but it's pretty darn tasty. A Garbage Burger is a pork burger topped with BBQ pulled pork between a hamburger bun. Get to the Indiana Pork Farmer's tent to order one.

Hook's Drug Store is a must see. I love the artifacts and how well preserved the store is. There are so many fun facts to read about throughout the place. They have a working soda fountain with real phosphates and floats. They even have the old timey Green River soda.

Fried cheddar cheese. You can't go to the state fair without eating something that's been battered and plunged into boiling oil. It's just un-American. Every year, I swear to order a fried candy bar, but I always punk out. Some day, greasy candy bar, some day!

There is a giant cheese sculpture in working progress. It is pig and Colts themed. It's oddly shiny. Should cheese be shiny?

Taffy. It's really easy to eat in this stifling weather. At a temperature of 95 degrees, taffy becomes significantly less taxing on dental caps and fillings.

I finished this regional gastronomic tradition with honey ice cream, which is surprisingly frothy, but perhaps it's the heat again. I hope you don't let the weather detour you from attending your state fair.

Come for the pineapple whip ice cream and a Garbage Burger. Stock up on Indiana maple syrup and local honey products like soap and other beauty products. Any way you look at it, there's a little something for everyone at the state fair.