NC State fair food goes vegetarian

When my in-house recipe taster and I went to the North Carolina State Fair yesterday, we were looking forward to hot crisp french fries, the gardening exhibits, and the midway. We'd long ago given up planning to eat real meals at the fair and this year's publicity about chocolate-covered bacon didn't make us think it would be any different. We were wrong: the state fair is on its way to becoming a veritable vegetarian paradise!

The Evolution of Eating Habits: Veg becomes Visible

This diary offers a tour of some great vegetarian food at the fair. (For the photos, see cross-post at CookforGood.com) I feel that I witnessed a real change in American eating habits and tastes. The fair used to be all corn dogs, ham biscuits, smoked turkey legs, and deep-fried everything. To be sure, those foods still dominate, along with new confections like chocolate-dipped cheesecake on a stick. But the fair is a merciless environment in which profitable foods succeed and ones that don't sell don't return. People are clearly asking for and buying vegetarian and vegetable dishes at the fair. Consider joining them to cast your vote for the success of these meals.

We had just entered the main food area when I stopped in my tracks. There was the V word: one I'd never thought I'd see at the fair except as an expletive: vegetarian! Party-in-a-Pita was offering not just one vegetarian option, but several, and listing them above the plates for meat lovers! We made note of the location and continued to explore. (We eventually had delicious falafel pitas here.)

Just a little further along, I stopped to look around. Behold: bracketing the chicken-fried bacon was not only the old standby corn on the cob, but a veggie tempura platter!

I was starting to feel a little dizzy with excitement, so it's a good thing that the next thing we saw was Dr. Vegetable himself. Yes, the veggies are all deep-fried and keep company with corn dogs. But they are still veggies at the fair. We're even talking broccoli and cauliflower here, folks.

But wait ... could it be? Another falafel kiosk? This one from my long-time friends at the Neomonde? And once again, the vegetarian choice leads the meaty one. How terrific to see two places offering Lebanese food in the heart of barbeque country. But it's not just Lebanese; vegetable lo mein gots top billing in another kiosk.

But the highpoint was a poster announcing the official cooking contests. The very first contest was sponsored by the North Carolina Peanut Growers Association: the Pea-nutty Vegetarian Recipe Contest. They even underlined the word "vegetarian"! Other contests include ones with Karo Corn Syrup and self-quoted "casseroles" — but the Pea-nutty contest reflects an embrace of vegetarianism by one of our biggest farm associations that I wouldn't have thought possible.

State Fair Still not "Heart Healthy"

Don't think that the fair has become or even should become a minimalist spa-cuisine experience. Fried dough still seemed to be the most popular "vegetarian" snack. Rich food can be an important part of a celebration. The trick is to not eat chocolate-covered bacon every day or to drink the sugar equivalent of cotton candy every day with your lunch. But I'm delighted to see evidence that the growing number of people who buy the vegetarian choices and who ask for them if they were not there can finally see results. And I'm happy about the trends in the state: first blue, now somewhat green!