‘There are no calories at the fair’

PALMER — The State Fair wouldn’t be the State Fair without the food, even if the options aren’t the healthiest.

“When you are at the fair, you can give yourself permission to eat your favorites and indulge in something that you normally wouldn’t,” fairgoer Alice Smith said on Thursday. “The calories?” she questions with a smile and a wave of the hand. “Ah, we just blow them out at the gate.”

Smith and her husband, Jack, are the owners of Denali Cream Puffs. For 21 years, the pastries filled with a creamy pudding and topped with choices of berry, caramel pecan, caramel, chocolate or salted caramel have delighted fairgoers who seek a naughty indulgence.

Thus was the case for the trio of Adam Nicely, Liz Raines and Daniella Rivera of Anchorage.

They were “sharing” a cream puff topped with salted caramel and pecans.

Three forks simultaneously dug into the gooey goodness as the group stood next to Denali Cream Puffs on the red trail.

It was a new experience for Nicely.

Well, sort of.

It was the first time he added the “salted” portion to the treat in this, his fourth trip to the fair.

His first year he got a barbecue sandwich from the Gobblers Grille located directly across from the cream puffs. Then, he indulged in a caramel pecan cream puff.

Same deal for years two and three of attending the state fair.

“I am boring,” he said as the women in his group laughed at his confession. “I don’t deal well with change, so I am really branching out this year having the salted caramel.”

When asked for his assessment of the cream puff and his estimate on the number of calories it contained, he said, “There are no calories at the fair.”

Raines giggled at her friend and said, “Maybe not while you are here, but once you leave, those calories are going straight to your hips.”

Nicely said he would take his chances.

“It is cool and creamy and the pastry is perfect,” he said. “This thing is so messy but so darn delicious I just cannot resist it.”

The trio’s three forks had to enter the cream puff at the same time to accommodate Rivera’s preferences. She self-describes as a “germ-a-phobic” and does not like to dip into a treat after too many others have gone before her. A couple years ago, she didn’t try a single bite of the chocolate version of the cream puff because as she said, “there were just too many forks going in there.”

The trio’s game plan of “sharing” the various food purchases seemed to in full play with many other fairgoers Friday as this writer visited with vendors and observed the consuming frenzy.

Mitch Harris and Simon Swiderski drove up from Seward for the fair. Both are former commercial fisherman; Harris now is a tugboat operator.

The pair has sampled plenty of fresh oysters in their adventures.

They decided to try some raw oysters on the shell served up by Ursa Lively and Dave Sczawinski, who farm oysters in Eagleik Bay in Prince William Sound.

Their eyes widened as they saw the size of the oysters being presented to them.

“Nice size,” Harris said. “Very good, very good,” was his comment after the oysters slid down his throat.

Swiderski wiped a bit of juice from the side of his mouth and the smile left behind showed the taste pleased his palate.

“Yum, those were big, juicy and filled my mouth,” he said. “Just slurped them down like it ain’t no thing.”

Their reaction pleased Sczawinski, who has been in the oyster business for 23 years. He often spends months alone in Eagleik Bay cultivating and harvesting fresh Alaska oysters living on a 72-foot tender. Memories of fair time often sustain his solo work, he said.

“I have friends that come back nearly every night just for the oysters. I think of them when I am out there in rough weather,” he said. “It keeps me motivated.”

His booth was one of five that agreed to have the television show, “Carnival Eats,” of the Cooking Channel on Saturday.

Despite the national exposure, Swiderski wasn’t about to give up any of the secrets to the various toppings he puts on oysters.

Seems secrets abound at the Alaska State Fair – at least in the culinary arena.

Nancy Anderson at Porkey’s Pork Chop will tell you she gets her meat from Mike’s Quality Meats in Eagle River. But that is about all she is going to reveal.

The mix of seasoning on that 8-ounce porkchop on a stick is a closely guarded recipe.

Same deal over at Salmon Express.

Judy Burtner and her husband, Les, have been serving up Bristol Bay salmon for two decades and proudly declare the fishy content is derived from red salmon, but she isn’t about to specify the specific combination of seasoning ingredients.

That was OK with Jeannette McConnell, who along with husband, Richard McConnell, came from Marysville, Ohio, for a six-week journey on the AlCan Highway and stops at Alaska venues including the state fair.

The McConnells are from the heart of fair food.

Back home, Jeannette loves beef and sausage sautéed with onion and served on a thick bun.

But Friday, she was on a seafood hunt.

“We love seafood,” she said. “But it is pretty tough to get salmon in Ohio.”

She noted the variety of seafood offered at the Alaska State Fair and the presentation in healthier options such as salads or wraps.

Of course, though, she said, “just like most other fairs, just about everything can be deep fried.”

True statement.

From vegetables to meats and desserts, one does not have to search far to find foods being dipped in vegetable oil.

That includes potatoes over at the Bushes Bunches stand near the livestock barn.

It is called the “peanut potato” and it is cross between the state’s famous Yukon gold and fingerling potatoes, explained Briar Affinito, who was manning the booth managing a steady stream of orders for the “All Alaskan Grown Stew.”

This is her fourth year in the booth and she has the stew’s description mastered.

“It is a beef based stew from all Alaskan-grown cattle and all of the veggies come from farms right here in the ‘Valley’ featuring carrots, onions and potatoes all produced by Alaskan farmers,” she rattled off with a big smile. “We make three to four batches a day right here freshly done on the fairgrounds.”

The booth also features options that might ease those earlier mentioned nightmares for dieticians: Fresh picked beets, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers and zucchini plus five types of Alaska potatoes: blues, idita-reds, German butterballs, peanut and Yukon gold.

But it isn’t all excessive fat and sugar in the food offerings at the fair.

Vagabond Blues on the purple trail offers fresh-squeezed apple, carrot or a combination of the two in a juice you can watch the vendor produce.

Yes, they do have deep-fried potato chips, but as Olivia Sasser explained, “we get as much of the oil to drip off from them before we serve them with fresh parsley and garlic.”

She recognizes the fair often represents a departure from healthier eating for some, but also insists that it does not have to be so. Vagabond Blues offers veggie corn dogs and garden veggie sandwiches.

The Red Beet offers up a smoked salmon or reindeer sandwich on freshly-baked bread.

Across the aisle, Friar Tuck serves up sautéed zucchini and fresh corn on the cob dipped in butter with the stalk left dangling.

You can burn a few of those “non-existent calories” at Rocky’s Killer Shrimp if you opt to have Jennifer Maness cook up a batch of peel and eat shrimp sautéed in her “secret mix.” She serves the shrimp surrounded by the sauce created by melted butter in a bowl with a generous slice of bread for dipping to capture the spicy flavor.

Each year, as long-time vendors drop out, someone new gets the opportunity and such is the case for Ghenadie and Marina Trocin of Crepes Paris.

They are located near the kiddie wagon and wheelchair rentals and living out their own version of the Alaska dream, Marina said.

“Last year, we came to the fair and it was a dream for us to come back here with our business,” she said.

The couple – originally from Moldova – have spent the past couple years serving up authentic French-style crepes at the Anchorage Downtown Market.

Their secret?

Marina isn’t shy about sharing.

“We use all fresh products,” she said with a smile.

Editor’s Note: Amy Armstrong is co-owner of alaskafamilyfun.com.