Jeff Houck

The Tampa Tribune’s food writer since 2005, Jeff Houck covers the way people live through their food. He also hosts the Table Conversations food podcast and believes that everything crunchy is good.

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Diving Into The Food At The 2010 Florida State Fair [Eating It So You Don’t Have To]

Posted Feb 6, 2010 by Jeff Houck

Updated Feb 6, 2010 at 04:16 PM

That beautiful thing in the photo above? That’s a Krispy Kreme bacon cheeseburger. They’re being sold for $6 at the 2010 Florida State Fair.

And they’re worth every penny.

As I wrote earlier this week in the Tampa Tribune:

The food being served during the following 10 days will be something only a cardiologist could love.

New to the fair this year: chocolate-covered churros, spaghetti ice cream, and burgers with Krispy Kreme donuts for buns.

And deep-fried butter.

Yes, you read that correctly.

The fair describes that heart-stopping treat thusly: “2 or 3 butter pats or balls wrapped in dough and deep-fried. Dipping flavors are optional.”

So is a will to live, apparently.

You can find the delicacy at the fairgrounds’ West Main Street. They’ll be served at the deep-fried candy bar stand.

Eating dangerously makes somewhat more sense at the fair, especially when you consider the grub is being served amid rides with names like Pharoh’s Fury, the Freak Out and Tomb of Doom.

This year’s food offerings stretch the palate more than a little bit. They include:

• Fair Squares: The fair’s signature dish resembles a deep-fried beignet with pink powdered sugar sprinkled on top. This dessert has a purpose: A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure cancer charity. They’ll be sold at a pink tent near the floating restaurant.

• Over The Top Krispy Kreme Donut Burger: Imagine a fresh burger patty nestled between two glazed doughnuts and adorned with your favorite condiment. A serving of dignity is not available. They’ll also be sold on West Main Street.

• Spaghetti Ice Cream: Frisario’s Italian Ice Cream presses ice cream through an extruder to create frozen ice cream “noodles” that are topped with fresh strawberries pureed to resemble marinara. The dessert is then adorned with shavings of white chocolate that resemble Parmesan cheese. You can buy this inside the Expo Hall at booth No. 428.

• Twisted Taters on a Stick: Spiral-cut potato chips mounted on a stick and flavored with gourmet spices. These will be sold on North Main Street.

And if your lips don’t get chapped by all that sodium, sugar and crunchy goodness, you can soothe them with some Bacon Lip Balm. They sell it at the general store in Cracker Country. Right next to the baconnaise and bacon ranch salad dressing.

I also wrote a little quiz comparing the relative healthfulness of the food found at fairs and carnivals. Take the quiz to see how much you know about the ocean of calories, sodium and fats swirling around every fairgoer.

Not satisfied with merely writing about it, I headed out to the fair on Friday with videographer Ryan Bauer to sample the wares directly. Along the way, we bumped into a sea lion and some superheroes.

You know, normal fair stuff.

Here’s the story that aired on News Channel 8 this morning:

May God have mercy on my greasy, satisfied soul.

Here’s a gallery of photos I shot yesterday as well.

You may want to squirt some Lipitor in your eyes.