Love it or hate it: Eye-catching food, drinks at this year's Mountain State Fair
ASHEVILLE - Step right up for daring dishes and unbelievable beverages at the 2022 N.C. Mountain State Fair.
The annual event is in full swing with rides, games, entertainment, competitions and celebrations of the state’s agricultural industry through Sept. 18.
And vendors are lined up to keep guests well-fed and thoroughly quenched.
To top off the culinary quest, each day special guest chefs are hosting cooking demonstrations on the GotToBeNC Cooking Stage inside the Daves Event Center. The seated events include giveaways and trivia contests and have a runtime of 45 minutes to an hour. Four guests who arrive early may have the chance to sit close at the chefs’ table and sample the dishes, plus receive gift bags and have photos taken with the chefs.
From last year: Photos: 2021 NC Mountain State Fair
From 2021: Deliciously odd foods to devour at the 2021 N.C. Mountain State Fair
Sept. 14 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. What’s New at Tastee Diner with chef/owner Steven Goff of Tastee Diner and Shipley Beef in Vilas.
Sept. 15 at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. For the Love of Local Veggies - No waste cooking with chef Chris Aquilino of Chef Aquilino Consulting & Further Culinary Group.
Sept. 17 at 1 p.m. From the Farmers’ Market - Dinner for Fall with certified executive chef Stephen Hertz of A-B Tech and the Western North Carolina Culinary Association.
Sept. 17 at 3 p.m. Weekend Brunch Vibes with innkeeper Diane Rogers of Pinecrest Bed and Breakfast.
Sept. 18 at 1 p.m. Simple and Delicious Late Summer One Dish Meals with chef Daniel Wheeler, an instructor at Caldwell Community College Culinary School in Hunter.
Sept. 18 at 3 p.m. From the Farmers’ Market - Dinner for Fall with certified executive chef Stephen Hertz of A-B Tech and the Western North Carolina culinary Association.
Concessions are highly anticipated attractions for traditional comfort fair foods like corn dogs and churros, as well as the lesser conventional fare.
This year, first-time and veteran vendors are serving proven favorites and testing new recipes for the more courageous consumers.
Find old-fashioned, new, odd and irresistible food and drinks available at the Mountain State Fair:
Dill Pickle Lemonade
Miller & Company Concessions, one of the original vendors of the fair, travels from West Virginia to North Carolina with traditional lemonade and more in tow.
Owner Greg Miller has been in the business for more than 30 years. However, this year he’s trying something different.
“I’m always looking for new and creative ideas,” he said.
It’s the first year for his dill pickle lemonade.
“We debuted it at the state fair in West Virginia back in August and it was a big hit,” Miller said. “I called my friend and said, ‘Let’s see what happens,' and we put it on the menu here."
The taste is comparable to bread and butter pickles, he said.
“The dill and the lemon with the sugar kind of offset each other. It’s not a bitter, eye-twitching lemonade,” Miller said. “Some people love it, and some people hate it. it’s been a lot of fun. We’ve sold a lot of it. It’s just so unique and so different. But we do a lot of refills. It’s got a cool taste to it.”
Apple Dumplins
Judy Long, owner of Sweet Sensations, has returned for the 26th year with “apple dumplins.”
“It’s a whole apple that’s been cored and peeled and wrapped in pastry shell with cinnamon sugar and baked,” Long said.
The dessert is opened and served with cinnamon sauce, ice cream, pecans and a cherry on top.
Although the apple dumplings take center stage, the homemade peach cobbler is another menu standout.
Oil cans of But-er Beer
It’s the first time for the Charlotte-based beverage company Carolina Tea and Soda Company to appear at the Mountain State Fair. The vendor is offering traditional and specialty drinks served in collectible mugs.
The Carolina-style sweet tea is what the company is known for, but the assortment includes cream soda, cherry soda, lemonade, root beer and but-er beer. The butterscotch beer attracts many Harry Potter fans as it was a favorite concoction for witches and wizards in the fiction series.
“You’re either going to like it or you’re going to hate it. There is no in-between,” owner Chase Miller said.
With a first-time purchase of a drink, customers receive a 32-ounce decorative mug available in different styles and with a price range beginning with the $10 “oil can” up to $35 for the stainless-steel mason jar with straw and lid. The mugs may be refilled on the day of purchase and future events.
“Our cans, they’re $1 refills for life, anywhere you see us,” Miller said. “Everything else is a stainless-steel mug and anywhere you see us it’s just $5 daily refills.”
Krispie Kreme Burger
What better way to consume two doughnuts than to put a burger in between them?
D & J Concessions’ ample menu features bestsellers like the blooming onion, chicken tender basket, chicken on a stick and fried Oreos. However, the specialty burger is piquing many customers’ interests.
“You have two Krispie Kreme doughnuts, a hamburger patty topped with cheese, bacon and if you want lettuce and tomato you can add that,” vendor worker Patricia McKeel said. “Slap it together and you’ve got a burger.”
Although McKeel hasn’t tried one herself, they continue to be popular with fair attendees.
“We’ve sold quite a few of them, so they must be good,” McKeel said.
Tip: Have a wet wipe ready to clean up sticky fingers from the glazed doughnuts.
Pineapple Smoothie
Tropical treats returning to the fair are pineapple smoothies in which a real pineapple is used as the vessel.
“I take the pineapple and cut the inside out of it and make it into a cup,” Kellie Emory of D & J Concessions said. “I can put either strawberry, pina colada or pineapple … in a smoothie or the frozen lemonade.”
She said the drinks are nonalcoholic, and they’re a big win with kids.
Customers walking around with the pineapple drinks are often stopped by others inquiring about them.
“A lot of people talk about them. They love them. They’re cute. And people ask, ‘Where did you get that?’ and ‘How did they do them?’” Emory said. “They’re pretty popular. I go through a lot.”
Mountain State Fair
Where: WNC Agricultural Center, 1301 Fanning Bridge Road, Fletcher
When: Through Sept. 18
Info: For details, visit wncagcenter.org.
Tiana Kennell is the food and dining reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at tkennell@citizentimes.com or follow her on Twitter/Instagram @PrincessOfPage. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: NC Mountain State Fair: Eye-catching food, drinks
