Foodie goes to the fair:
Day 3 of the Foodie trek

[August 08, 2016]  As I continued my travels through a world of delicious fair food, I decided I would take the opportunity to visit a stand I rarely visited in my youth. In hindsight, it might seem weird that I never went and ate anything from Sivori’s.

Much like the elderly man standing in front of me as I waited to order food, I only ever went there for lemonade when I was younger. I’m not sure why this is; chalk it up to a smaller stomach back then. Seeing as how there are three of Sivori stands on the fairgrounds now, it seemed like a good time to try it.

Sivori’s is a bit unique in something that they offer on their menu: chicken strips. I know there are other places with chicken in some form or fashion, but I’ve never had chicken strips at the fair until now. Since I am eternally ten years old on the inside, it is impossible to resist the call of chicken strips. I’m not kidding; I jump for joy when I see a sale on three pounds of dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets in the grocery store, and I regret nothing as I purchase it.

I was surprised at how much my chicken strips would cost, and as I waited, another fairgoer walked up behind me. I always get nervous when I’m waiting for food and people line up behind me. It makes one feel like a roadblock of sorts, only I can’t really wave anyone around and I have nothing in the way of blinkers.

When I got my food, I learned why it had been more expensive. This chicken came with tater tots. Tater tots are like a more evolved form of French fries; stronger in every way.

Even before taking a bite, I was already feeling satisfied just looking at the pile of potatoes before me. It helped that as I looked at the available condiments, I saw ranch dressing among the choices. My decision was made, even without noticing the barbeque sauce. Ranch dressing, much like mustard, is my ketchup. I put it on everything, and chicken and taters tots go terrific with it. It only made me wish I had cheese, and maybe some bacon to go with it.

If there was any downside to my food, that was my own fault this time. I neglected to add salt to my tater tots, and they were a little bland as a result. But they were also just the right level of crunchy. Experience tells me that tater tots can easily be ruined by too little or too much time, leaving them soggy or burnt. But these tots were, much like Goldilock’s stolen bed, were ‘just right.’

Honestly, the side dish stole the show from the chicken. The chicken strips were good, but I also find it difficult to mess up chicken strips, especially when there’s easy access to dipping sauce. They were indeed tender, to use another name, and biting them was like biting a fresh pillow (in a good way). I only wish there had been more than three of them. Altogether, I’m glad I tried something new at the fair this year.

[Derek Hurley]