The New York State Fair is known for bringing a unique variety of foods to one place. Here are some of the new items this year:
- Deep fried caramel apples
Fried Specialties is a staple at the New York State Fair. Owner James Hasbrouck comes up with new items each year for the event.
“We do all things crazy deep fried, and we make our batter fresh every morning,” Hasbrouck said. “It’s all about the batter.”
This dish is topped with whipped cream and, of course, bacon.
- Deep fried cookie dough Oreo dippers
Also from Fried Specialties, Hasbrouck is serving deep fried Oreo cookies stuffed with cookie dough served with hot fudge – meant for dipping the fried cookies.
Located at the west end of the Expo Center and behind the Toyota Coliseum, Fried Specialties has anything a fairgoer could want – deep fried.
“You want to get fried, come see us,” Hasbrouck said. “If you can’t fry it, don’t buy it.”
- The Everything Utica sandwich a.k.a. “The Thing”
It’s a Utica Thing is serving their sandwich featuring all things Utica for the second year in a row.
“You have two slices of tomato pie, topped with greens, Utica chicken riggies and then we put provolone cheese over the top and bake it in the oven. It’s the ultimate Utica experience,” owner Charlie Digristina said.
In addition to the sandwich, Digristina is featuring a new drink called the Sweet Thing, which is cold brew coffee with a half-moon-inspired donut from Glazed & Confused.
- Steak mac and cheese
Zach Marji from the State Fair Deli is debuting his steak mac and cheese at the fair this year.
“It’s a prime rib steak over homemade mac and cheese and it gets a drizzle of bourbon barbecue sauce on top,” Marji said.
Last year Marji debuted the krunchy dog, which he says he has improved the way they make it for this year’s fair.
“The krunchy dog is inspired by the Korean corndog so it’s all mozzarella dipped in batter, rolled in panko breading, fried then we put a cheese sauce on top and roll it in hot Cheeto dust,” Marji said.
- Fresh coconut water
New to the State Fair this year is the Asian village, which will be open Aug. 23 to Aug. 26. Chong Vang will be serving freshly cracked coconuts from Ma Pow Coconuts.
“They're shaved down, young coconuts so they’re filled with a lot of coconut water,” Vang said. “They came from Thailand.”
Vang said in Thailand it’s common to drink the water from coconuts to stay hydrated – a must for a long day at the fairgrounds.
