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The Colorado State Fair is one of the Centennial State’s longest running institutions, returning to Pueblo from August 22 to September 1 for its 153rd year. Along with livestock displays, a rodeo, carnival rides, and monster truck rallies, one of the biggest draws is the indulgent (and sometimes deranged) festival food. More than 40 vendors will be deep-frying, roasting, smoking, and otherwise slinging all manner of good grub—much of which can’t be found anywhere other than the fairgrounds.
This year, the $5 Friday special features a budget item from every food booth until 5 p.m., including slabs of fudge, corn dogs, spicy bacon tots, street tacos, and more. There’s also a whole roster of value-priced and “healthy” eats (read: not deep-fried) ringing it at $9 and under. With all the variety, it’s nearly impossible to decide what to eat for lunch, dinner, and snacks. Here, five can’t-miss Colorado State Fair foods to try this year.
Fried Cookie Dough
What looks like a corn dog but cooks up like a soft gooey chocolate chip cookie? Bribiesca Concessions’ fried cookie dough on a stick, of course. Kids and adults line up for this treat that begins with frozen Pillsbury dough that’s thawed and rolled into a hot dog shape, skewered with a stick, and dipped in funnel cake batter before it’s fried and dusted with powdered sugar. Kansas-based vendor Matthew Bribiesca and his wife have traveled to the Colorado State Fair since 1989 and say the fried cookie dough ranks high on their menu must-tries—right alongside the fried Snickers bar. Bring your sweet tooth to this booth.
Pass Key Italian Sausage Sandwich
A Pueblo tradition that began as a carhop in 1952, Pass Key on the Go homemade Italian sausage sandwiches are a fair hit year after year. Karen and Bobby Pagano started serving their secret family recipe at the fair in 1996, creating the sandwiches using Pueblo-based Banquet Schusters Bakery hoagie buns and mild pork sausage from Frank’s Meat Market. They sizzle the handmade square patties on a flattop grill and layer them with Swiss, American, or provolone cheese, serving the dish with banana peppers on the side. This year, you can land a $5 half sandwich as part of the fair’s Friday food deal.
Not a sausage eater? The fried mac and cheese carries just as much clout. The walk-and-eat gooey treat consists of three breaded and deep-fried mac and cheese triangles on a stick.
Gourmet Caramel Apples
Fairtime Fudge vendors Paul and Lisa Patterson come from Garden Valley, California, with their coveted fudge, four kinds of peanut brittle, and frozen chocolate-dipped bananas and cheesecakes on a stick. But it’s their turtle caramel apples that keep crowds coming back. The souped-up throwback is built with premium organic Honeycrisp apples, dunked in caramel, rolled in candied pecans and a layer of chocolate, and drizzled with caramel and chocolate. Choose from 14 caramel and candied apple styles and enjoy yours on a stick while you stroll. Or get them sliced in a bag to take home for later.
Pork Chop on a Stick
When German Specialty Foods owner Horst Schacht heard about pork chops on a stick selling like hotcakes at the Minnesota State Fair 25 years ago, he knew he had to bring them to Colorado. The Fort Morgan vendor was right: He sold out of the juicy, meaty handhelds the first weekend. Schacht, who has appeared on the Food Network’s Carnival Eats, attributes the popularity to the smoky flavor imparted from his seasoned charcoal grill. The seven-ounce pork chops are sliced thick and receive a coat of specialty seasonings before being impaled. Schacht sells around 200 chops a day on a busy fair Saturday and says they’re best enjoyed with an order of his legendary German fried potatoes.
Cheesecake Sundae
If you haven’t had a chance to swing by Andrew Diaz’s new Pueblo West brick-and-mortar sweets shop Shiver and Shake since it debuted in April, you better bookmark this bubblegum pink and sky blue truck for your fair visit. In addition to serving their usual lineup of decadent milkshakes, shaved ice, and sundaes, Diaz and crew also offer an exclusive monster sundae built with layers of strawberry ice cream and whipped cream. The kicker is an entire wedge of cheesecake nestled into the top layer. It’s really two desserts in one, nearly as big as the energy Diaz brings to his shop and truck.
Don’t miss the Governor’s Plate challenge, where five local food trucks compete to see which can craft the best dish featuring Colorado corn or honey, on Tuesday, August 26 at 5 p.m. Chef Brother Luck of Colorado Springs will decide this year’s Colorado Plate winner, while the public will bestow the People’s Choice awards. Trucks include Mother Smothers, Stoke Pizza, MunchKings, and Mollie & Co from Pueblo, as well as Arvada’s MC2 Ice Cream. Tickets are $22.
