Blue-ribbon rabbits and roosters, scream-inducing rides and bright red candy apples galore. The Miami-Dade County Fair is in full tilt. For many folks it is the fair food that brings them. Enter the sprawling grounds and the smells of sugary sweetness, popcorn and smoked turkey legs waft on the air. Fairgoers stroll the midway in search of deep-fried funnel cakes, corn dogs and elephant ears (this year cooked with no trans fats) and other standard indulgences.
This year Pat Moroney, concessions director, brought in some new vendors. As a former vendor of fish sandwiches, she brings a deep knowledge of the vendor way of life. They live most of the year in mobile homes, working the fair circuit across the country. The cramped quarters of smaller trailers are equipped with kitchens they haul hitched to their rigs.
It takes five weeks to set up the rides and about 10 days to get the 170 food concessions up and running.
Paul Paron, from Ann Arbor, Mich., copped his roast beef sundae from a cattleman who made a similar concoction at the Iowa State Fair a few years back. Before the carnival bug bit he was a union manager of a catering business servicing airlines. The sundae is made by slow-cooking top round until fork tender. The pulled shreds are sandwiched between drifts of mashed potato, smothered in brown gravy, sprinkled in melted bits of cheddar cheese and topped with a cherry tomato.
The Aussie shack is a tribute to meat pies, a hand-held pocket of piecrust stuffed with ground chuck (with or without cheese) or chicken wrapped around a thin layer of puff pastry. Rodney Bahr, a former construction worker based in Wisconsin, also sells beef sausage rolls and creamy caramel on a stick.
Blue Sky Creamery is the scientific result of Will Schroeder and T.J. Paskach, two chemical engineers who met at Iowa State University and invented a machine that freezes dairy custard into dense and creamy ice cream in a second. They only make vanilla, but you can get it topped with hot fudge, chocolate syrup or caramel.
Gene Koykas from New Jersey is a retired executive chef who started doing fairs two years ago. He serves up Swedish meatballs in dill sauce, Belgian waffle sticks with jam and paninis, plus smiley fries shaped like a happy face with the texture of mashed potatoes under a golden crust.
Gary Bailey, from Altoona, Pa., is the picture of health with his salad and wrap stand. He offers fresh greens with a choice of toppings from candied pecans to strawberries and choice of homemade dressings.
From savory sundaes to instant ice cream, there is something new to try this year at the fair.
Linda Bladholm's latest book is Latin and Caribbean Grocery Stores Demystified.
Place: Miami-Dade County Fair and Exposition.
Address: Coral Way (Southwest 24th Street) and Southwest 112th Avenue near the FIU campus.
Contact: 305-223-7060 or www.fairexpo.com.
Hours: 3-10 p.m. weekdays; noon-10 p.m. weekends (admission gates close at 10 p.m. but the fair is open until midnight nightly). Until April 13.
Prices: Roast beef sundaes $7, Aussie meat pies $6, nitro ice $3-$5, pita wraps $7.
FYI: Free parking.
