Foodie goes to the fair
Day 1 of the Foodie trek

[August 04, 2016]  We're sending our favorite 'Foodie' out this week to enjoy one of the best aspects of going to the Logan County Fair, to chow down on fair festival foods. With more than a dozen vendors offering all the traditional festival delectable's from corn dogs to cotton candy, and even healthy fruit smoothie concoctions, we think he'll do alright.

We hope you will be reminded of some good tastes found at the fair, and maybe even be tempted to venture out and treat yourself.

Day 1 of the Foodie trek

Here it is; the time is now for the Logan County Fair to return to Lincoln, Illinois. Every year as a child I looked forward to the fair, when my family and I would visit a few times.

Now that I’m older and I live on my own, I don’t visit the fair as often. But if there is one constant in this universe, one simple thing that is always true, it’s this; fair food is still great. I still look forward to that annual opportunity to stuff my face with flavor and raise my cholesterol levels to their highest point just short of Thanksgiving.

One of the first places to open at the fair is a stand called Taft’s. The front of the stand is decorated with pictures of the items on their menu; burgers, hot dogs, French fries. As it was early and it was one of only two places ready for business, I was surprised to find only an elderly couple and a young girl waiting in line. The little girl ordered a hot dog; of course she did. Hot dogs are a perpetual staple in youth diets. But I was holding off on that for now. I had my sights on something meatier.

I ordered a ribeye steak sandwich, an old favorite. My mouth watered as the strip of meat hit the grill behind the counter. The young woman in the booth flipped it a few times, seasoned it, and flipped it again. I looked over to see my choice of toppings while I waited. There were tomatoes, pickles, onions, and the typical layout of condiments. I thought it was odd that there wasn’t any steak sauce. Then again, a good ribeye has sauce, but a great ribeye doesn’t need anything.
 

I like the way my sandwich was presented. The top half of the bun was placed on the meat just briefly before joining its other half, so the bread was nice and warm. There’s nothing worse than cold bread with a hot ribeye; it’s unnatural (even if cold ribeyes are second only to cold pizza in terms of leftovers).

I found a quiet spot to eat and avoid prying eyes as I thought about my food as I chewed it. It was good on its own, although it could have used a little sauce. It wouldn’t be great in that sense, but it was still a tasty treat. Like any good ribeye steak, it pulled apart in my teeth with ease. Eating a steak always makes me feel like a carnivore as it rips apart, and this one was no different. By the time I was done, there was a sizable piece of bread left. Perfect; just enough to soak up the remaining grease in the paper.

Overall, I recommend the ribeye at Taft’s. You may want to add toppings, but that’s your choice, reader. Mine was just fine the way it was.

[Derek Hurley]