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TRAVIS GRAVEN: A lot of fairgoers say one of the main reasons they
come to the fair each year is for the food. And I'm no different.
Each year dozens of new foods debut here at the fair and 2022 is no different.
So let’s sample something that I’m sure everyone is looking forward to — the deep fried SPAM curds.
What exactly goes into a SPAM curd?
VENDOR: Those curds are traditional flavored spam.
We bread them, batter them, deep fry them. That's it.
TRAVIS: All right. Easy enough.
VENDOR: That's right. Enjoy.
TRAVIS: Dip it in the mayo and ketchup.
That's pretty good. Not over the top, but a nice SPAM treat. And fried is the best way to have it.
All right. Onto the next.
Normally I'm not a big fan of sweet things with meat, but I do love bacon.
I like apples. And I like waffles, so let's try the apple bacon waffles.
Describe for me what the apple bacon waffle is.
VENDOR: It is a waffle batter with bacon bits inside, topped with apple pie filling,
bacon bits, and syrup.
TRAVIS: All right. The moment of truth. Thank you. Got to get a little bit of all of this goodness.
This is not going to be graceful.
That is a bomb of flavor. It really all works together. I'm surprised.
Sorry. I'm talking with my mouth full, but this is pretty good.
All right, mom. I'm cleaning my plate. Let's let the culinary marathon continue.
Coleslaw is a staple of any picnic in Iowa,
but let's kick it up a few notches and see how they do it in the islands.
VENDOR: This is our island coleslaw with mandarin oranges and crushed pineapple. It’s a mayo base
topped with teriyaki chicken and garnished with macadamia nuts and a sriracha glaze.
TRAVIS: It's really, really good. I'm a big fan of coleslaw and teriyaki chicken. I like
all these ingredients but never would have thought to put them all together.
It works. I feel like this is enough health food. Let's move onto the next one.
All right, it seems the very definition of state fair food is a corn dog,
but I'm not a big fan of hot dogs, so maybe I should try rattle snake?
Hello. I'm going to be adventurous and try the rattle snake corn dog.
VENDOR: Would you like the venom sauce on it? It's an avocado salsa with a really cool name.
TRAVIS: Sounds good to me.
The moment of truth.
It’s rattle snake sausage so it has a bit of spice, seasoning to it. And that sauce, that venom
sauce, it's got a kick. It's really pretty good. Kind of a state fair corn dog I can get behind.
FAIRGOER: Oh, looks really good. I absolutely love rattle snake.
TRAVIS: So good, you had to go in for a second?
FAIRGOER: This is my second one, uh-huh.
TRAVIS: I am almost stuffed. But I have saved a little bit of room for dessert,
and I think I see funnel cakes up the way.
Hello. Can I try Nana’s Gooey Butter Funnel Cake?
VENDOR: You sure can.
TRAVIS: All right. This starts with funnel cake, which you can't go wrong with. And then it has
cream cheese frosting and cookie butter drizzled over the top of it. That's ooey gooey goodness.
That is a dessert to finish everything off.