Surprising New Foods at the 2024 Florida State Fair
SEE MORE: fair, carnival, food, funnel cake, snacks,
The Florida State Fair is back, and like most years, the vendors are taking our taste buds on a wild ride. They’re bringing us their culinary best and blending sweet with savory and adding lots of spice.
This year’s Florida State Fair isn’t just about rides and games; it’s a culinary playground that you won’t want to miss.
Let’s dive into some of the mouthwatering new drinks and foods headlining in the concession area!
Looking for carnival foods? You’ll want to check these out, too!
Drinks
Chocolate Dipped Strawberry Iced Tea
We found this drink from Tiki Tea on Facebook and saw how this drink is made. Imagine a mason jar with a handle that has chocolate sauce poured around its inside, and then is filled to the brim with strawberry flavored iced tea. And like that’s not enough, they poke a stick with three chocolate dipped strawberries into the straw hole. Can’t wait to see what else is on the menu here!
JALAPEÑO LEMONADE
Coastal Concessions is promising us “serious flavor” in this chili pepper lemonade served in a lemony keepsake cup. South Florida gets pretty hot even in the winter, so we might have to cool down in the afternoon with this spice-infused drink, or their original lemonade.
Tex Mex
BBQ Fried Burrito
Calories schmalories. This deep fried burrito stuffed with mac and cheese and pulled pork will fill your tummy up good. It’s like the American version of a chimichanga. The Low-N-Slow Catering truck will have nachos, pulled chicken, and ice cold drinks. Yum!
Florida Quesadilla
The Mexican Grill is serving up quesadillas, Florida style for the Florida State Fair. Between the two flour taco shells are nuggets of gator meat and shredded cheese. The quesadilla is served in bite-size triangles with salsa and sour cream.
(Vegan) Bang Bang Tacos
What, what now? Vegan tacos at the Florida State Fair? SIGN. ME. UP.
Southwest Florida-based food truck Seasoned Green is shutting down its usual schedule and setting up at the fair — and serving up tacos with fried cauliflower, oyster mushroom, or vegan shrimp tossed with bang bang sauce. The flour or corn tortilla shells are filled with an Asian slaw and topped with vegan crema, cilantro, green onion and chili pepper.
The menu posted on their FB page lists more things on their menu, and we’re going to have to make a new page to talk about that.
Sammies
Honey Bunny Curd Burger
Let’s break this down: Honey buns, cheese curds, and hamburger. Shockley’s Food Service says on FB that they’re “ready for this” and it looks like they’ve brought their A-game with this sweet and savory sandwich.
What are cheese curds? Don’t worry, you bite them and not the other way around. Cheese curds are delightful little bites of fresh, unaged cheddar cheese that haven’t quite gone through the full cheesemaking process. Think of them as the younger siblings to the standard blocks of cheddar you get at the store. In their un-melted form, they have a “squeaky” texture from little air pockets trapped in the curd, and they might be tangy or buttery and mellow. You’re going to have to try this burger to find out!
Shockley’s is a Tampa-based food truck company that specializes in all the best carnival flavors: roast beef, pulled pork, Philly cheese steak, and Italian sausage. They have a few other tricks up their sleeve this year, so keep reading!
Fried Spam Grilled CHeese
Showstopper Concessions of Kentucky is bringing us grilled cheese sandwiches with a thick cut piece of crispy pan-fried spam. From pictures on Facebook, it looks like they’ll also have regular grilled cheese with just cheese or…buffalo chicken, bacon, ham, bbq chicken, and…peanut butter and jelly. I plan to stop in and investigate: is that a grilled cheese with PBJ or just a grilled PBJ? I need to know these things…
Bacon Waffle Cheeseburger
Macken’s Sliders is coming all the way from Massachusetts and bringing us their most famous burger, the Bacon Waffle Cheeseburger. It’s 100% all beef, applewood smoked bacon, melted cheddar cheese, and two sweet Belgian waffles. It also looks like it’s $15.
Photos on Facebook of their setup at Gate 2 this year shows that they’re also serving up their Garlic Bomb, BBQ Cowboy, El Diablo, and Caprese sammies. (The caprese is meatless, with mozzarella cheese, fresh sliced tomato, basil pesto, and a balsamic reduction glaze.)
Waffle Chicken Sandwich
Tampa is known for its Cuban history, and Tampa-based The Bean Bar Co is bringing its mobile coffee bar to the fair in 2024 and serving cuban coffee, smoothies, espresso, tea…and waffle chicken sandwiches.
The coffee company’s website lists lots of artisanal eats on the its menu, and we’re excited to see what other treats and drinks they’re whipping up for us this year at the Florida State Fair.
Poutine Burger
The DeAnna’s Steak Sundaes team is featuring its Poutine Burger at the 2024 Florida State Fair — they’ve made their burgers portable by loading the fries atop the patty.
From the Facebook page, they’re telling us about their giant stuffed baked potatoes (with a generous dollop of sour cream). What we really want to know is if they’re making the donuts.
Hot Diggity Dogs
Campfire Dog
Looks like The DeAnna’s Steak Sundaes team has also made franks and beans portable (just like their poutine burger). The Campfire Dog is an all-beef hot dog slathered with baked beans and topped with crispy applewood bacon.
(But what about the donut burgers??)
Spicy Korean COrndog
Seivers Smokehouse Grill is going hot and spicy with its Korean Corndog, which we imagine was inspired by the Korean street food craze. It’s a hot dog, dipped in buttermilk batter and layered with cheese. They fry it and roll this corn-diggity-dog in crushed spicy hot Cheetos.
“Veggies”
Bacon, Caramel Peanut BUtter Apple Fries
Yes, Apple Fries makes apple fries…and Jolly Rancher extreme slushes! Based on what we see on the Apple Fries Facebook page, the photo from the Florida State Fair’s website doesn’t do this dish service.
Imagine a pile of crispy Granny Smith apple sticks covered with peanut butter powder, Ghirardelli caramel, crispy bacon, and whipped cream, and also ice cream if you so choose. It’s kinda healthy.
(We are sure the slushes are not healthy in any way shape or form, but they look bright and fun.)
Pickle Ranch Loaded French Fries
As expected, Chester’s Gators & Taters has gator…and taters. There’s gator mac & cheese bowls and loaded french fries, and these pickle ranch loaded french fries.
Sadly, we don’t see their 2023 standout Politician Fries on the signage for their location at the Florida State Fair. These fries (covered in cheese and full of fried bologna, haha) were featured at the 2023 North Carolina State Fair.
Pop ROck Pickle
Shockley’s Food Service is on the list for a second food they’re premiering at the fair. Deep fried pickles wrapped in a Fruit Roll-up and dipped in chocolate, then covered with candy. You can have your kosher pickle topped with pop rocks, fruity pebbles, or flamin’ hot bits.
If you’re thirsty for pickles, maybe you’ll be tempted to try the pickle slush. Or just stick with the lemonade that can be flavored with blazberry. Not sure what berry tree that comes from, but we bet it’s sweet and refreshing.
Pickles aren’t all that Shockley’s is deep frying this year. Their banners also promise deep fried veggies (pickles, okra, green beans, jalapeno poppers, green tomatoes, mushrooms
Shockley’s is a Tampa-based food truck company that specializes in all the best carnival flavors: roast beef, pulled pork, Philly cheese steak, and Italian sausage. And apparently deep-fried foods.
Pizza
Cheddar Pickle Crunch Pizza
The 2024 Florida State Fair has New York pizza, thanks to the Pizza Emporium. Don’t judge this pie by the picture: The pie on the emporium’s FB page is not burnt and is loaded with pickles and OMG, cheddar goldfish crackers. Hahahahaha. Awesome.
From their signage, they also have the Italian dishes you expect at the carnival: calzones, strombolis, slices, subs and spaghetti and meatballs. And tots and mac at the new tot joint next door.
No one can walk around with a plate of spagbol, so thankfully there are two picnic tables at their spot.
Thanks for reading! Don’t forget to check out my latest video on YouTube!
