From donut burgers to peaches and pork chops, the Frontiersman’s search for fair food continues

Another week at the Alaska State Fair, and another chance to sample some fair food. For the second straight weekend, Frontiersman managing editor Jeremiah Bartz and contributor Mark Kelsey hit the fairground trails in search of something delicious.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Last week, I tried a couple of new food items and remained loyal to an annual favorite. I took a similar approach this week in my search for fair food. Somehow, I managed to put together what could be breakfast, lunch, a snack and dinner. That would sound better if it were not all condensed into about seven hours at the fair.

Last week, I was flying solo. But this week, I had my wife and daughter with me. In addition to eating and working, and eating while working, the Wynonna Judd concert was on the agenda.

We started at the Boardwalk, a food vendor on the red trail.

Fried peaches.

This has been circled on my food list since I came up with the idea to con our publisher out of a couple of bucks so we could write about (eat) fair food. We’ve grilled peaches as a summer side dish for years, so I was definitely intrigued here.

The three of us split two choices: the fried peaches ($12) and the waffle with peaches ($11). Let’s start with the waffle.

My daughter, who is 15, loves waffles. Typically her go-to fruits are either blueberries or bananas. But she’s now asking us for peaches and waffles at home. Safe to say she loved it. The waffle was thinner than a Belgian style we’ll make at home, but decent. There was whipped cream. But the best part was a healthy portion of sliced peaches on top.

Great combination.

The fried peaches were the star. There were five sections of peach lightly fried in a tempura batter, served with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. The key was not too much batter. Just enough crunch, and the peach was the star. I’ll order it again. It’s on my list of fair favorites.

Later in the day we stopped at Big Dipper Concessions, located on the green trail. When I was at the fair last week, I texted my wife a photo of the booth with a sign that read, fritter dogs. Big Dipper is a popular spot for corn fritters. She loves corn fritters. We had to try.

The hot dog wrapped in fritter dough, an obvious take on the corn dog, was served with honey butter for only $6.

Great value,

It was good to try. But weirdly enough, my biggest complaint is that it was not on a stick. The honey butter was good, but I regretted not drizzling a little hot sauce over the top.

My daughter, who loves corn dogs and does not love expanding her food horizons, stuck with the fries. Another good value. Only $4.

Before the Wynonna show, which was a good time, my daughter wanted a pretzel. Apparently she had never had a soft pretzel before. How is it possible that a child of mine has missed out on this sports and mall concessions stand staple? We made our way to Twisted Pretzel Company on the purple trail. She ordered the plain and my wife and I split an everything pretzel, with a side a cheese.

My daughter is now a believer in the pretzel. If I can ever drag her to a football game, at least I now know of something to order for her.

After the concert on our way out I stopped at possibly my favorite Alaska State Fair food vendor — Porkey’s. As I said last week, part of the idea behind this fair food series concept was to try new things. But I also have to salute the OG’s like Porkey’s and their pork chop on a stick.

So tender. So juicy; So much flavor. No knife and fork needed. Just a few napkins when you are done.

I’ve spent years worth of summer afternoons in my backyard trying to replicate Porkey’s pork chop goodness.

I will get there one of these days. In the meantime I have no problem paying $25 for three of those delicious chops.

— Jeremiah Bartz

The donut burger

After failing on my first attempt to have a donut burger experience during last week’s Alaska State Fair food quest, I made it my personal goal to find and conquer the legendary beast this past week.

With lunchtime nearing and the sun breaking through the clouds on Friday, I decided the time was right. No weekend crowds. No lines. My kind of day at the fair.

Nestled in a tiny spot along the Purple Trail, the donut burger stand lacked the imposing physical presence of its namesake. But I had a pleasant chat with the owner during my brief wait for lunch and learned that selling donut burgers was his retirement job.

Turns out he sells them only at the Fairbanks fair and the state fair. And, even with a menu that offers four other more “normal” burgers, he sells a lot of them. The record sales day came at last year’s fair, when 22 dozen of the sweet and savory treats were sold.

The 1,800-calorie donut burger starts with the “roll”. It’s a sourdough glazed donut custom-made by a Soldotna baker to cradle a burger.

The patty is a full one-third of a pound of hand-pressed ground beef topped with cheddar cheese, two strips of thick-cut bacon, and a fried egg. So the $16.50 price tag was reasonable.

The sweetness of the donut roll registered first, then blended in a surprisingly inoffensive way with the rest of it. The meat was tasty, and the crispiness of the bacon provided a nice salty-crunchy counterpoint to the rest of the sandwich.

I will admit to having had mixed emotions about partaking of this particular bit of fair food. The adventure of it all was surely more exciting than any feeling that my tastebuds were being tantalized by a great meal.

The first couple bites were the best, though, before the sweetness became a bit overbearing for me. I think I would have preferred an over-easy egg, instead of the fully cooked one that is standard equipment. But let’s face it, the state fair is not Beat Bobby Flay, and nitpicking a donut burger is not where it’s at.

With what remained of my $25 after tipping, I stopped at the Licorice Ropes stand, where a multitude of colorful flavor options awaited. I chose a 3-foot length of spicy mango, handed over $6, and went on my way.

— Mark Kelsey