Indiana State Fair

In this instalment of Will Travel 4 Food, I went to the 2010 Indiana State Fair!   And not only did I go there once, I went there a whopping four times in three weeks!  Now some of you may be asking yourself, "Why would anyone be possessed enough to go to the Indiana State Fair (or any fair, for that matter) so many times in one year?"   Well, besides the obvious answer, "For the food", one could argue that there are a lot of other things to occupy one's time at the Fair.  Such as carnival rides, games and prizes!  The educational exhibits about agriculture and husbandry (which by the way, I learned from a friend, Alison, does NOT mean the actions and deed of being a "husband").  The dancing!  The music!   OH YEAH...And did I mention the plethora of food?!?  :P  

Now I could very well talk about all the standard fair food that every man, woman and child thinks about when they think about fair food.  I'm referring to things like turkey legs, fried candy bars, chocolate covered bananas, elephant ears, funnel cakes and then like.  But I want to focus this blog about the Indiana State Fair on its uniqueness that separates it from all the others.  Afterall, the Indiana State Fair is the 6th oldest State Fair in the country, originating in 1852!   And to be honest, I'm convinced that this particular fair tries to continually shock-and-awe its visitors with new and creative flavour combinations; much to the delight of this foodie!

Let's start with the main course.  For the main course, my friend Nikki went for the BBQ Chicken Parfait.  She liked it!  So I made it a point that I too was going to try this dish on one of my trips back to the Indiana State Fair, which turned out to be only five days later that I would be back to the fairgrounds!   For those that have never had a BBQ Chicken Parfait, it's a very interesting concept.  As shown in the picture below, much like a fruit & yoghurt parfait, the BBQ Chicken Parfait has "smoked" chicken, mashed potatoes and BBQ sauce.

 
Here's the thing.  Being that I am partly from Texas, I have high expectations for anything branded, "BBQ".  But given that this is a fair, I try not to keep my hopes up too high.  So with that said, it could have been better.  Much better.  The chicken was supposed to be smoked.  I didn't really detect any "smoke".  Rather, it came across very much like it was just boiled.   Then they covered the mashed potatoes with a very sweet BBQ and then layered the chicken on top drizzled in BBQ sauce.  I think what would have made this better is if they had one more ingredient to pull it all together.  Since we are in Indiana and corn is one of the big agricultural produce from the state, I think they should have added some grilled corn kernels in the parfait as another layer to the parfait!   That would have really brought it home for me!    I also think they should have grilled the chicken at the very least, but if they really want to add another dimension of flavour to the party, they could have gone with truly smoking the chicken for a couple of hours.  :)

Now onto the side dish!   A group of us decided that for our fried side dish, we were going to try Fried Macaroni & Cheese!   You really can't go wrong with eating such a great American classic comfort food, such as Mac & Cheese!   Add to it the fact that it has been battered and deep fried, and you have a recipe that is a sure-fire win!   And it was!   The only thing I would warn to all of you is that if you happen to get a batch of wedges that just came out of the fryer, the cheese is FRIED MELTY HOT!   In other words, it will scald your tongue, mouth and throat if you try and swallow it immediately!   Not only that, it'll stick everywhere it touches as it burns!  Rather than pop it straight into your mouth, like this anxious foodie did, I highly recommend that you slice it open or poke some holes into it with a fork to let some of the steam out and to cool it down (A bottle of water to help extinguish the burn is also helpful).  ;-)

 But perhaps the Pièce de résistance  of the Indiana State Fair this year is the Fried Butter!  Yes folks, I said, "Fried Butter"!   Not to be mistaken with "Fried Peanut Butter".  This was the first year that Fried Butter was showcased at the Indiana State Fair!   And from what I can tell, it won't be the last time!

You may be asking yourself "What the devil is Fried Butter?"   Well, it is a 1-inch pad of salted butter that has been frozen, then battered and deep fried.  It's then covered in cinnamon, brown sugar and chocolate syrup!   Here's the thing....the combination of sweet and savoury is a crafty combination that has worked for ages!   And this does not fail to deliver either.  The strange thing is that the pad of butter is frozen before frying, I imagine to allow them to prep it better in the fryer and withstand the frying process.  But that means part of the butter is melted and part of it is still frozen (as you can see in the photo).  The melted part wasn't that bad!  In fact, the melted part of the butter soaking into the batter and covered in cinnamon, brown sugar and chocolate syrup tasted like a really good (albeit buttery soaked) waffle!!!!    The pad of unfrozen, unmelted butter however, was like taking a bite of salted butter straight from the stick of butter.   Not so enjoyable to this guy.   After I ate one serving (yes, it comes in a serving of four), I had my fill of fried butter.  In fact, I could almost feel the butter oozing through my system and clogging my arteries almost instantly.  My heart even skipped a few beats and then started to flutter a tad faster for about a minute leading up to and after consuming one of these!   Would I do it again?  Hmmm....maybe next year.  Definitely worth the experience and not at all that bad tasting.  However, I just can't get past how much calories I probably consumed in a one inch pad of battered fried butter.

So how does one wash all this food down?  With a Lemon Shake-up!   Heavens forbid one would call it a Lemonade!   But in interest of a "fair" and to be able to charge $6 for a 32oz drink, they literally shake the container full of water, sugar and one lemon squeezed into a glass.  I think I will open a stand next year and give it a little more flair when I shake it up!  I kept trying to get the people making my Lemon Shake-Ups to shake it like a polaroid picture, or at the very least, put a little hip into the shake.  Rest assured, if Buddha Al's Lemon Shake-Up Hut makes its appearance at a future state fair (perhaps in Texas), there will be lots of music and entertaining while we prepare your drink!   :-D

And with that, I bid all of you a fond adieu!  I don't know where the next trip will take me.  But I assure you, I will travel 4 some great food, with great friends, over great laughs!

Maxine's Chicken and Waffles

In the second instalment of food from "The Crossroads of Indiana", I am very excited to write to you about Maxine's Chicken & Waffles in Indianapolis.  Now, if anyone has ever been Harlem in the Big Apple, there is a place that was credited for making this dish famous. And I definitely plan on getting out there to try the original Fried Chicken and Waffles at Wells Restaurant.

Yet anyone that has spent any time in the South...rather, the Deep South, will know that many African Americans restaurants in the South (aka Soul Food Restaurants) will feature this combination too!   Much to the delight of this blogger's stomach!

It's a great pairing if you think about it.  Few thins are quintessentially Southern like Fried Chicken.  And when we look back at the history of the waffle iron (aka Waffle Maker), it dates back to the 15th century!   Although, Thomas Jefferson was credited for introducing it to the US in the 1790's when he brought a waffle iron back from France!

So when I found out through a couple of natives, Chelsea and Justin, that there is a great Soul Food restaurant in Indianapolis, IN, I knew I had to check it out!  Especially when their motto at Maxine's is to provide a "taste of love in every bite."

Now, as anyone that has spent any time with me over the dinner table knows, I am not the type of person to only order one dish, if I am visiting a hole-in-the-wall or great Mom-and-Pop place.    So I went all out.  I was told that the Fried Green Tomatoes are a must to order for appetizers, but unfortunately, they were all out of green tomatoes.  The server also highly recommended the grilled chicken wings with a sweet glaze sauce, but since I knew I was going for the Chicken and Waffles, I decided against it.  Instead, I started with Salmon Bites.  They are breaded salmon and bread crumbs that have been seasoned and deep fried, served with a spicy aioli sauce.  It was decent, but I usually enjoy my salmon smoked or raw.  But the fishy taste of fully cooked salmon was cut back with the spicy aioli sauce. 

For the main course, I ordered the Chicken and Waffles. the perfect pairing of sweet and savoury in every bite!   At Maxine's they serve up not one, not two, but THREE large chicken wings!  Now, you won't see this on the menu, but anyone that is a true regular to Maxine's knows that you can ask for Sweet Potato Waffles rather than the standard batter waffle!   Although, I have been to Maxine's before and tried the signature waffles and they are sweet and light and fluffly!   But I was in the mood to try the "secret" signature waffles...the Sweet Potato Waffle.  And don't think that that is all it comes with!  As a matter of fact, I was able to choose two comforting side dishes to go with it!   So what does anyone in my position go for?  Stuff that is guarenteed to be great for the soul, not for the heart...Mac & Cheese and Smoked Sausages.  And if that wasn't enough, it also comes with an order of Fried Corn Bread served with Peach Butter!  The peach butter paired with sweet pan fried corn bread is just heavenly!   Crispy on the outside and steamy hot and flaky corn bread on the inside, topped with ooey-gooey sweet peach butter.

As for the Chicken and waffles.  I don't even know where to begin.  The lightly dusted and fried chicken is moist and crispy.  The waffles is the perfect balance of crispy on the outside and fluffy and sweet when you pop it in your mouth!   Topped with some of that famous peach butter and a little bit of syrup, (ok ok ok, whom am I kidding?) a lot of syrup and by the end of the meal, I was loosening my belt to free up some room!  :P

Sadly, the couple that first introduced me to Maxine's Chicken and Waffles could not make it to dinner to share in the smorsgasbord of food.  So instead, I contacted Kenny and Jen, another Indianapolis couple I know to join me.  :)  Jen went for the Smothered Chicken, which is a boneless fried chicken breast smothered in gravy, served on top of mashed potatoes.  And Kenny opted for the Two Eggs Your Way that comes with smoked sausage, toast and house potatoes.   Needless to say, there was enough food for a small platoon!  Perhaps I'll have a couple of guest bloggers come in and write about their experiences at Maxine's.  But I can tell you one thing, you can never go wrong when you smother fried food with southern style gravy!   :)   As for the smoked sausage and breakfast option.   The sausage is peppery.  The smoke is light, so it's not like a strong smoked flavoured dinner sausage.  But it's a nice balance to go with a lighter breakfast course.

If you find yourself in Indianapolis, Indiana and are craving some down-home, soul food...consider dropping into Maxine's Chicken and Waffles.   I promise you will not go hungry! And maybe you too will find "a little taste of love in every bite"!