The North Carolina State Fair is an annual event where everyone can come together and enjoy everything that North Carolina has to offer. Whether it’s the tractors racing one another, the extreme rides or the shows presented in J.S. Dorton Arena, the N.C. State Fair has something to offer. But something that makes the state fair so memorable is the local fair food. The fair has everything from classic dishes such as the blooming onion and funnel cake to weird foods such as chocolate-covered bacon and the ostrich burger.

The state fair has a variety of fried snacks and selections, such as fried Oreos. This fried creation filled with delicious melted chocolate biscuit has every fairgoer craving some milk. The best part of the fried Oreo is when powdered sugar is sprinkled on top of it to give it some more flavor.

“The breading has a good texture and the chocolate provides a good blend with the powdered sugar,” said Leigh Dement, a first-year studying chemistry.

These creamy chocolate treats have more of the chocolate biscuit inside of the fried breading and not much of the cream that is in a regular Oreo. The chocolate biscuit is also melted, giving the dish a strong chocolate flavor.

“I like the melted chocolate part of the Oreo,” said Ranine Mohamed, a first-year in exploratory studies.

Visitors to the fair can also choose from a varied sample of fried candy bars such as fried Milky Ways and fried Snickers bars. The fried Snickers in particular are served to look like a corn dog, with the typical wooden stick to hold it by and the fried breading covering the melted candy inside. It is perfectly fried so that it keeps its flavor and makes the dish taste exactly like a warm Snickers bar.

“It’s really good, very creamy, and [the] peanuts give it a new texture,” said Mohamed.

The N.C. State Fair also has its fair share of classic fair foods, with everything from cotton candy to candy apples. They are what give the fair that carnival feeling. The employees love serving these classics to all the fairgoers, and some have been doing it many times.

The employees at each of the booths serve every classic fair food one can think of, from funnel cake to burgers. Abri-Ann Oosthuizen, a server at one of the classic food stands, said she has served food at the fair for two years.

“[I’ve served] corn dogs, hot dogs and chili fries,” Oosthuizen said.

There are many classic foods served to fairgoers every time the fair comes by. Some foods are served at almost every carnival and fair, but there are some classics that are specific to the N.C. State Fair.

“I got pizza and fries,” said Sara Chopra, a second-year studying biomedical engineering.

Another dish that is commonly found at the N.C. State Fair is the blooming onion. This dish is cut up in slices, dipped in breading, fried and sprinkled with spices. These slices of fried onion are arranged in the shape of a blooming flower, hence the name, around a small cup of ranch dressing.

“The spices with the dipping sauce [gave the blooming onion some more flavor],” said Maya Sethuraman, a first-year studying engineering.

There is also the powdered sugar-covered masterpiece dipped in hot oil which keeps the spirit of the fair in everyone’s hearts. Funnel cake can be found at fair food stands all over America, and can come with many different looks and toppings. At the N.C. State Fair, it’s no different. Gobblin’ Gourmet’s signature Grasshopper Funnel Cake is made with chocolate brownie and topped with chocolate fudge, mint drizzle, whipped cream, and Oreo pieces.

Fairgoers tend to spend a lot of time at the fair, and may be looking for an entree to keep them going. Luckily, the N.C. State Fair provides many entrees to put a smile on anyone’s face.

When at the fair, there are also some international food vendors looking to put fairgoers’ taste buds in another country. For example, if you are looking for a dish from another country, the fair has many booths with food from across the world, including the Greek gyro. This particular dish is served as flatbread that is filled with various meats like beef, chicken or lamb, as well as onions, tomato, tzatziki sauce and every once in a while, French fries.

Meat-lovers can certainly find their own selection of foods to choose from. Turkey legs give fairgoers a way to walk around the fair and eat a great meal at the same time. This entree gives people a way to multitask, as they enjoy the fair’s atmosphere while they chow down on one of these common fair foods.

The Chick-N-Que food stand provides many types of chicken-related dishes, but one of their burgers will particularly catch the eye of fairgoers. The ostrich burger, rather than using beef or chicken, uses ostrich meat to complete the core of the dish.

There are also many bacon-related food items that are scattered across the food stalls at the N.C. State Fair, but one stand in particular decided to give a new twist on bacon. This stand wrapped Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in bacon. All of it is dipped in batter and put into a fryer.

The bacon stands are at it again with making weird bacon-related dishes. This time, they have created the chocolate-covered bacon strip. It doesn’t take too much effort to make this dish — all that is needed is to dip a bacon strip into chocolate.

If it’s a sweet tooth that is in need of satisfaction, the state fair includes many types of desserts to give the sugar high fairgoers want.

If the candy apple is what makes the fair experience so sweet, try taking an adventure to a new variety of candy apples. The Unicorn Apple is a new twist on the classic candy apple. The apple itself is decorated to look like the fantasy unicorn everyone knows. Instead of caramel covering the apple, it’s draped with white icing, and the mane and ears of the unicorn are sour candy and the horn is a stick of rock candy.

Candy is a special treat for many that can fill the fair with the smell of sugary fun. But this stand has given fairgoers a new way to experience a carnival full of small, sweet treats. Candy Castle is a vendor that makes all fairgoers feel like kids in a candy store. The tent is filled with boxes overflowing with different types of candy. The employees provide a customer with a bag and the customer can fill the bag however much they want with whatever type of candy they want.

The state fair wouldn’t be the same without its very own state university bringing its statewide-famous ice cream for fairgoers to try. North Carolina State University’s own Howling Cow has a stand at the N.C. State Fair featuring a new ice cream flavor introduced at this year’s fair: key lime pie. This flavor has the subtle, tart lime taste and is sprinkled with graham crackers, making it taste like a key lime pie.

The N.C. State Fair is an adventure for the taste buds of many fairgoers, whether it’s going down the road of classical fair food, or the twists and turns of the weird food items offered throughout the food stalls. At the fair, there’s certainly food for every visitor to enjoy.

The N.C. State Fair is currently open daily at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh, and will be running until Oct. 21.