Fair food is back! Here are 11 food items at the Georgia National Fair you should try
The Georgia National Fair returns to Perry on Oct. 5, and with the fair comes fair food.
For the 2023 fair, 23 new items of fair food will be on the menu of vendors as well as the traditional fried turkey legs and roasted corn, according to a news release.
“Over 66,000 corndogs were enjoyed at the 2022 Georgia National Fair”, said Maggie Lane, the Georgia National Fairgrounds marketing director, in the release. “Not to mention the 50,000 ears of corn and 42,000 turkey legs. I think it’s safe to say that guests LOVE Fair food.”
For this year’s fairgoers, here are 11 food items you should try! The fair lists more than 40 different food vendors on their website, so this list is only of few of what the vendors have to offer. Some of the vendors will have multiple booths, so if you are looking for a specific item, you may need to check multiple booths.
Breakfast
Although the gates of the fair usually don’t open until 10 a.m., some fairgoers might enjoy a late breakfast or an early lunch. If you are looking for a decent brunch menu, stop by the Biscuit Barn of Fun Time Foods. They have a number of biscuits with your choice of sausage, gravy, eggs and chicken, according to the Georgia National Fair website. Fun Time Foods also offers a bowl of loaded grits.
Although Swift Concessions sells mostly hot dogs, they do have an Eggo Waffle bacon dog on their menu that might be perfect for brunch.
Things to try
- Biscuit Barn - Chicken Pot Pie Biscuit
- Swift Concessions - Eggo Waffle Bacon Dog
Appetizers
Sometimes the best fair food is the snacks. The fried nuts, fried cheese and fried peppers make up some of the best fair food and can serve as the perfect appetizer for a meal.
Hot Wisconsin Cheese will be serving their version of cheese curds, mozzarella sticks and even cheese on a stick. Steve’s P-Nuts will, of course, be selling peanuts in just about any way one could cook them, including fried peanuts, according to the fair’s website. If you are in the mood for seafood in the middle of Georgia, Cedar River Seafood will have your choice of shrimp, flounder, grouper and gator tail.
The Best Around, Inc., also has flowering onions, fried vegetables and fried pickles.
Things to try
- Hot Wisconsin Cheese - Cheese on a Stick
- Steve’s P-Nuts - Fried Peanuts
- Cedar River Seafood - Shrimp Jalapeno Poppers
Entrees
At the fair, there are plenty of dishes and cuisines represented from Chinese to Italian to American fair food.
B & S Concessions will be selling Chinese cuisine, including sweet and sour chicken, General Tso’s chicken, egg rolls and crab Rangoon. Concessions by Cox of Georgia will have traditional fair food, such as barbecue, turkey legs and roasted corn. The Eatery Huts, Gillette Catering and Mr. Pizza will serve Italian cuisine, and Jakes Food will serve cheesesteaks.
Things to try
- F & W Concessions, Inc. - London Broil Steak Sandwiches
- Fiesta Grill - Walking Taco
Desserts and drinks
Cotton candy, candy apples and funnel cake are just a few dessert staples that will be at the Georgia National Fair.
Fairgoers will be able to get their fill of lemonade and slushies as well. Ison’s Nursery & Vineyards, Georgia’s largest and oldest grower of muscadine vines, is bring their muscadine juice and making muscadine slushies. If you’ve never tried some good old scuppernong, this might be the perfect opportunity.
Things to try
- Gabby’s Dough Factory: Fried cheesecake
- Taylor’s Doughboy Concessions, LLC: Elephant Ears
- Bruce’s Concessions, LLC: German roasted nuts
- Ison’s Nursery & Vineyards, Inc.: Muscadine slushie
This story was originally published October 2, 2023 at 5:00 AM.