Farewell, Fair Food

The Yums and Yucks of the Clay County Fair 2026

Fair food is an adult’s wonderland. Whatever you like, it will be made better deep-fried. As a child, it was the dream of cotton candy and candy apples. As a grown-up, it is a more complex palate… or is it?

Let’s start with this “new to me” item. Tanghulu is a traditional Chinese street snack of skewered fruits coated in a hard, crunchy sugar glaze. The vendor made this look appetizing by displaying skewered fruits that weren’t even what they were serving.

I was excited to get some tropical fruits, but they only offered strawberries, grapes, or the combo of both. This is pretty much a different version of the candy apple. I only ordered it for my daughters because it was almost $13 each.

My 12-year-old, who doesn’t like candy to begin with, said it was good, but too sweet. I enjoyed the rest of what she didn’t eat. I thought it was the perfect amount of sugar coating, given the ratio of small fruits.

My 14-year-old loved hers, but would have liked other fruit options as well. Overall, I think this was a pretty good snack choice. I just wish the price were lower.

Next up came the Fried Pickles. This is a family favorite of ours anywhere we go. These were $10. We had a decent amount for the price. My only complaint was that there was no ranch served alongside these, nor any in a bottle to self-serve. The breading was a tad on the spicy side. Ranch would have made it even better. The pickles were perfectly sliced, not too thick.

I was really torn on what to have for dinner. There are so many delicious choices at the fair. I was in line for tacos when I turned around, and my eyes saw the words “Loaded Grilled Cheese”. More delicious choices to be made at Sattler’s. I ended up with their Grilled PB&J! I was so good.

If you have never made a grilled PB&J at home, you need to try it. It will change your life! I should have tried one of their grilled cheese sandwiches, too. I paid $10 for this. It should have come with a bag of chips on the side for that price.

On a more disappointing note, I had one of the worst donuts of my life. As you recall from my previous reviews, I KNOW DONUTS! I was tricked by Fluffy’s bright colors and pretty-looking donuts on display. I tried the maple bacon. It was the heaviest, densest donut I have ever tasted. The icing was lacking in the main flavor - Maple!

Yes, I have had the famous Peachey’s Amish donut previously. I thought about getting one this year. They had a coconut cream donut advertised, and I regret not getting it. Life lesson: Don’t let the pretty lights and bright colors influence your decisions!

The pizza on a stick was my 14-year-old’s main reason for going to the fair. “It is Yummy!” “Similar to a corn dog”, she warns, “You have to be careful biting around the stick.” It looks plain from the outside. Inside, it is filled with cheese, marinara sauce, and more pepperoni.

Again with the prices, I don’t know that $15 is worth it. I did make my daughter happy, though! Her other choice was the famous Fried Oreos. This was the best deal of the day - 5 Oreos for $7!

I haven’t had these in a very long time. They were definitely better than the aforementioned donut. I feel like they needed more Oreo flavor somehow. Maybe use double-stuffed? They had more funnel cake flavor than Oreo.

Now for the Grand Finale of my night out. I have always wanted to try the cinnamon rolls. This made up for my disappointing donut decision. I had the Apple Caramel Cinnamon Roll with Icing.

I asked the lady if it was cream cheese icing, and she said yes. However, it only had the sweet vanilla icing flavor. I don't think I'll get the apples next time.

They were diced very small so you would get a good amount to create the perfect bite. Sometimes you just need the O.G. to quench your craving. It was too big to eat in one sitting.

Especially after all of the other treats I indulged in during the day. It was even enjoyable warmed up the following morning with my coffee for breakfast!

I hope you were able to get out to the fair and indulge in your own favorite fair treats. If not, maybe reading this helped fill that void.

As always, check out what other Clay County folks are dining on around town on Facebook at What Clay REALLY Eats!