Five fair foods you don’t want to miss

The weather has started to cool, and the first day of fall is behind us. Which means one thing for those around Middle Georgia: it’s fair time.

As far back as I remember, my family and I have always made the yearly trip down to Perry for the fair. As I approach the age of 22, I realize the trip is no longer for the fun rides or watching tiny pigs race. It’s for the delicious fair food. Here are five of my favorite fair vendors and foods to eat while at the Georgia National Fair.

Famous Gabby’s

As you walk down through the line of tents and carts, Gabby’s stands out with its signature smoke pouring out from under the tent. The menu at Gabby’s includes everything from polish sausage to steak and ribs. Anything you get here is guaranteed to be good.

Wisconsin Hot Cheese

I tried this for the first time a year ago, and my only regret is I didn’t discover it earlier in life. The stand serves up hot cheese in a variety of forms from nuggets to sticks. I recommend getting the combo to try the different kinds.

Foot-long corn dogs

Let’s switch gears from specific vendors to a fair favorite. While you can get corn dogs throughout the year, it is hard to find one that beats a fair foot-long. There are multiple vendors who serve these, and I haven’t found a bad one yet. The best part is it is portable, so you can visit other things while you eat.

Deep-fried Oreos

Would it really be a fair without something deep fried that probably shouldn’t be deep fried? There are plenty of odd things fried at the fair, and this one is probably my favorite. I’m not big on Oreos normally, but deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar is a different story.

Old Time Saltwater Taffy

The drive to places like Savannah is worth a bag of saltwater taffy. But for a couple weeks in October those in Middle Georgia can grab a bag without such a long drive. The stand has many flavors of the sweet treat, and you can get them in three different sizes priced at $5, $8 and $12. The $12 bag with 65 pieces is probably the best deal, and you can share it with the whole group.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 9:15 AM with the headline "Five fair foods you don’t want to miss."