The Arizona State Fair Hosted The Good, The Bad And The Tasty Food

The Arizona State Fair is an annual affair held at the State Fairgrounds every year — and, much to the glee of locals and visitors alike, it offers just the right number of food stalls stuffed with some of Arizona's favourite guilty pleasures. Even with all the amusement rides and sales stalls around, it is the sweets and savouries that pull most of the crowd every year. After all, there are not many occasions where more than a hundred food stalls — some of them quite popular franchises — line up like a giant buffet feast for you to choose from and indulge.

As it seems both on the internet and in reality, bacon is the favourite munch of the world right now — and why shouldn't it be? It is juicy, crunchy, meaty and delicious beyond words. But this year's fair served up a good number of items that could give the good old rashers a run for their money. Here are some of the good, bad and tasty foods of the Arizona State Fair.

The Flamin' Hot Cheetos

These crunchy things have been around forever, but they have suddenly raised their cheesy heads again with a makeover of neon-red chilli powder. Giving the fading Cheetos trend a new lifeline, this Flamin' Hot thing has been added to almost every lip-smacking item at the fair. From corn dogs to Mac burgers to pizzas, the Flamin' Hot Cheetos have been literally rubbed onto everything. The Candy Factory stall even found a way to put them into a caramel apple, trying to give the traditional bittersweet dessert a spicy, tangy twist. But in the end there seems to be a lot of Cheetos and much less creativity in using them.

Fish Taco

How can someone go to a fair — that too in Arizona — and not pick tacos? And while there is always a chance of disaster when you order tacos at a state fair, Baja Lobster's fish taco was a far better treat than expected. It had everything it was supposed to have, in the right quantities and taste: a corn tortilla, a healthy chunk of fried fish in a fresh and delicious batter, toppings of shredded, torn cabbage and a fair amount of chipotle over everything.

Spaghetti And Meatballs

The official proof that state-fair stalls are the cafeteria for adults — this year's spaghetti and meatballs did not really bother with spot-on ingredients, as expected. A ridiculous amount of garlic, overcooked pasta, meatballs of questionable standard and a sauce that would make health-conscious people count their calories. One can only wonder how long it will be before they finally keep their previous oath of never trying fair food again.

True Love Crepe

With the True Love Crepe by Le Crepe, one can wonder whether it lost its way to a nice eatery and landed in this state fair instead. It is almost unbelievable that someone would serve a fresh, frilly crepe at a fair; and on top of that, it had all its ingredients in more or less authentic tastes and satisfactory quantity and quality. Creamy butter, sweet cinnamon and salty caramel all over a soft crepe was a happy welcome amidst everything else.

Drink A Fruit From A Fruit

Even though the stall's name happens to be Drink A Fruit From A Fruit, the "fruit" part of the drink — which should otherwise have been a great and refreshing thing — was spectacularly missing. The sellers apparently forgot the entire point of their own USP and tried to cover it up with a substitute that only gave away their incompetence in taste and looks: frothy water.