Tantalize your taste buds at this year’s Eastern Idaho State Fair
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BLACKFOOT – Dozens of fair vendors have fired up the grills for the 250,000 visitors anticipated to visit this year’s Eastern Idaho State Fair. The biggest fair in the area kicks off Friday, with the gates opening from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Local media representatives gathered at the fairgrounds on Thursday to vote on the best fair food entrants in four categories – Fairest of Them All, Sweetest of Them All, Best New Entrée and Best New Sweet.
EastIdahoNews.com’s taste test team – Kalama Hines and I – helped judge the “Best New Entrées.”
Best New Entrée
Out of 10 mouthwatering creations, the top dish in our eyes was the Chop & Crab Shack’s “Crabby Patty Melt,” a delicious sandwich featuring real crab, homemade aioli sauce, Old Bay seasoning and provolone cheese melted between two slices of sourdough bread. After deliberating with the other judges, the Crabby Patty Melt took second place in our category.
First place went to Between the Buns’ “Surf and Turf” – a scrumptious cheeseburger topped with double cheese, shrimp, pastrami, marmalade and sriracha sauce.
Third place was awarded to Camille Crepes’ “Chicken Cordon Bleu Crepe” – a delicious, light crepe filled with sauteed chicken, ham, spinach, seasoned bread crumbs and a creamy hollandaise sauce.
“Camille brings flavor, and I love flavor. Camille definitely delivers with her crepes,” said Brandon Bird, general manager of the Eastern Idaho State Fair.
Fairest of Them All — Entrée
The “Fairest of Them All — Entrée” category featured intense competition, but Blackhawk BBQ Pit stole the show with “Hog on a Log,” a winning, meat-on-a-stick entrée.
“Call it a pork lollipop, call it steak bites that are seared to perfection, we call it hog on a log, a bunch of straight pork meat chunks on a big stick,” said Nic Transtrum, owner of Blackhawk BBQ Pit. “We baptize it in a bucket of barbecue sauce, and it’s just a carnivore delight right there.”
All Blackhawk BBQ Pit’s meats are slow-cooked overnight to perfection.
Second place was awarded to CR Fish & Thing’s “Sample Platter”– delicious fries, topped with hand-battered salmon, cod and three pieces of shrimp.
Right on their tail, third place went to last year’s winner — Smoking B’s “the Whole Dam Farm.” This crowd favorite is piled high with mac and cheese, bacon, smoked brisket, chicken and pulled pork heaped on a plate of fries.
Fairest Of Them All – Sweet
Creamy Creations took the cake in the Sweetest of Them All category with their moist, chocolate “Better at the Fair Cake.” The repeat champion is topped with caramel and sweetened condensed milk with toffee.
Sweet Temptations’ “The Peach Temptation” came in second – tantalizing taste buds with bite-sized cinnamon roll pieces covered with roasted peaches and cinnamon, caramel sauce, fresh cream cheese and soft-serve vanilla ice cream.
Third place went to Creamy Creations’ “Raspberry Cream Cheese Brownie,” a handmade, fudge brownie with whipped cream, cream cheese and fresh raspberries that is frozen and dipped in chocolate.
Best New Sweet
The top winner in the “Best New Sweet” category was Sweet Temptation’s “The Devils Delight,” a devil’s food cake covered with fresh peaches, strawberries, caramel sauce, candy pecans, Fruity Pebbles and soft-serve vanilla ice cream.
Second place was awarded to Creamy Creations’ “Strawberry Butter Cake,” a southern butter cake smothered with Idaho huckleberries, strawberries, butter sauce, sweetened condensed milk, chocolate and whipped cream.
In third place was Camille’s Crepes’ “Peachy Keen,” a sweet crepe with fresh Utah peaches that have been soaked in passion fruit juice – topped with whipped cream, cinnamon and sugar.
People’s Choice Awards
Finally, Brandon Bird awarded the People’s Choice awards based off Facebook and online voters’ preferences.
First place was won by Blackhawk BBQ Pit’s “Mac N’ Cheese Bowl,” and second place went to Scones’ “Scone Nuggets.”
This year’s fair promises to have just the right meal and sweet tooth confection for every palette – from savory meat-lovers to fruit aficionados and everyone in between!