The good, the bad and the flamin’ hot
A funny thing happened at the Arizona State Fair this year.
For as long as I can remember, bacon has ruled the roost, and it’s no small wonder why. Even if internet-fueled bacon hysteria weren’t on the cusp of its third decade, you’d be hard-pressed to engineer a more perfect state fair food.
A smoky, salty symbol of American excess, it’s an easy way to add fat and flavor to things that are meaty and instantly meatify things that aren’t. Put simply, bacon is the king, baby.
Except maybe it isn’t.
A crunchy, younger interloper has emerged to challenge the crown. While it may be a passing fad, its sudden rise to prominence is impossible to ignore. I speak, of course, of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
The nearly 70-year-old cheesy, puffed, corn snack found new life once coated with neon red chile powder. Explosive flavor matched by explosive popularity has put the snack squarely in the crosshairs of state fair vendors who have added Flamin’ Hot Cheetos to just about everything. Whether this constitutes a blip on the radar or the first salvo in another state fair food arms race remains to be seen. But I’ve sampled far more of these ignominious concoctions than I’m comfortable admitting.
So if you’re visiting this year’s fair, I give you 15 food novelties to check out — or avoid.
THE GOOD
Where: 1826 W. McDowell Road, Phoenix.
Admission: $10; seniors 55 and older and children ages 5 to 13, $7; free for ages 4 and younger.
Details: 602-252-6771, azstatefair.com.