There’s something about state fairs that brings out the best America has to offer in terms of food creativity. Screw molecular gastronomy, I want to know what the latest in fried, bacon-wrapped and Flaming Hot Cheetos is in the world. And while the Arizona State Fair isn’t known as well as some others, there was still room for some interesting bites. One thing I didn’t bite, by the way, was a turkey leg, because, well, booooring.

Indian Fry Bread with Garlic, Mozzarella and Bacon

Indian Fry Bread is not something that existed where I grew up in Michigan. In the Southwest, it has a complicated and sad history, but it is remarkably similar to Elephant Ears. And this fry bread was flakey and not overly oily. That is, of course, until I topped it with garlic, mozzarella and bacon (because they were out of the maple required for maple bacon fry bread). It has an intense oregano hit to it as well, and despite the call to eat it like a taco, I found the pizza route to be a whole lot easier.

Flaming Hot Cheetos and Cheese Fries

I don’t know if it’s just the beautiful fluorescent red color or the actual flavor, but Flaming Hot Cheetos have become a remarkable new coating trend. These fries, which are also covered in nacho cheese, may not be the best use of Flaming Hot Cheetos, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say they delivered on their promise. Plus, unlike some other Flaming Hot Cheetos dishes I’ve seen, they at least had the composure to crush them up first.

Fried Cheesecake

Fried Oreos and Twinkies are in the rear view mirror. A newcomer to the fried dessert world (at least to me) is the fried cheesecake. The batter was pretty typical, the powdered sugar entirely unnecessary and the stick a failure (the cheesecake came right off). And while the first few bites were delicious and gooey, the thickest part was actual still kind of cold. Being cheesecake, this meant it was still delicious, but it meant that there was still much to do to ensure that Fried Cheesecake becomes a fair staple.

I find it important to note here that these were literally the only things I was capable of eating and even with that said, I couldn’t finish any of them. This is not because I couldn’t. And also not because I didn’t want to. But this was because I didn’t want to die. I mean I recognize that this is an inevitable fact of life, yet, the Arizona State Fair is not how I want to go down. Maybe at the Minnesota State Fair next year, though…

It’s easy to get stuck in a bubble no matter where you live or work. It doesn’t matter if neighborhoods and towns are separated by rivers, mountains or arbitrary delineations, it is almost inevitable to find a comfort zone and stick with it. But when you have a meat blog, you owe it to the world to get out of that bubble, and I did so with a journey to Mesa to check out Worth Takeaway.

Worth Takeaway is a sandwich spot, but may be better known for its banana pudding. Allegedly the chef bought up a ton of banana pudding from Magnolia Bakery, deconstructed it and then reconstructed it even better. But what especially drew me in on this day was the funfetti variation they were offering. So, I’ll start with dessert before dinner. I had kind of a love/hate relationship with the pudding. Look, I love funfetti and I don’t trust people who don’t, but also there were ‘Nilla Wafers in there and really just not enough banana or pudding. The bits I got were great, and again I applaud the creativity, but next time it’s going to be all about the original.

Oh, but there was also a main course sandwich, which I ended up ordering from the breakfast menu because much of the rest of the options had vegetables that I wanted no part of. It was the Croque Madame, which is essentially the sandwich that would have destroyed Instagram if Instagram had existed 100 years ago. This version had pastrami inside, along with bechamel cheese, aged white cheddar, dijonnaise and a fried egg. All this was held together by some sourdough from a local bakery called Proof. This was perfectly executed, with the egg being runny, the cheese being melty, the bread not being too soggy and the pastrami adding a punch of cured savory flavor. It was such a salty savory sandwich that the banana pudding made for a perfect balance.

While the funfetti variety of banana pudding could have used a little tweaking, I’ve got to say I loved Worth Takeaway. The concept was great, the sandwich was glorious and I have no doubt that they have some of best banana pudding in the Phoenix area. Hopefully next time I’ll actually get it.

The ladies of Sweet Square in Culver City contacted me recently because they wanted to give me a sampling of their dessert bars. I’m more of an expert on the savory end of the food spectrum, but never one to turn down free food, I obliged and we set up a date for them to hand-deliver them. In the interim, I checked out their site and saw a bunch of sweets that looked pretty good, but the best-looking one of all was their “Makin’ Bacon” Bar. I have made it well-known throughout this blog that I am not one of the proponents of the bacon craze that is sweeping the nation. Let there be no doubt that I love bacon, but I am constantly baffled by the notion that bacon has become the ultimate topping. Nonetheless, bacon in a dessert bar is intriguing, and I looked forward to the moment that meat would hit my taste buds in dessert form.

When Sweet Squares delivered my bars, they gave me a nice sampling, which predominantly consisted of those bacon bars. They really do know how to make an unvegan happy. I decided that these bacon bars would be the dessert on top of my other bars, then started digging in.

Aside from the bacon, my sampling consisted of a Toffee Brownie, a Magic Cookie Bar, an Oatmeal Fruit Square, a Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar and a S’more Bar.

The brownie is the most common dessert bar in the world (maybe) and there is good reason for that: the world loves chocolate. I’ve never really understood this love, but I do appreciate a good brownie every once in a while. The Toffee Brownie was a nice twist on the normal brownie and a good way to avoid over-chocolating my taste buds, but it wasn’t nearly as inspiring as some of their more unique bars.

The Magic Cookie Bar was reminiscent of a great dessert my mom cooks up annually. Consisting of coconut, graham cracker, white and milk chocolate and pecans, these were my girlfriend’s favorite. I enjoyed them, too, but again I was ready to dive into some bars without too much chocolate.

The Oatmeal Fruit Square was a yummy addition to the box of treats. It was like a homemade Nutri-Grain bar, but better.

Utilizing a similar fruit concept, the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar was awesome. Peanut Butter is one of my favorite flavors and Sweet Squares did a great job of transforming that elementary school lunch sandwich taste into a grown-up dessert bar. This was a bar I would definitely like to get again.

My final pre-bacon bar was the S’more. This one evoked memories of sitting by a campfire in the Northwoods. The trouble with this bar is that opinions on the right way to roast a marshmallow vary as much as a pregnant woman’s mood. Some like it golden brown, some like it burnt and some like it with just a hint of heat. And they are all correct. This bar tasted good, no doubt, but the personalization of the s’more has been lost.

Finally, it was time to taste the Makin’ Bacon Bar. I have always loved the combination of sweet and salty in Kettle Corn and my favorite bagel combo is a salt bagel with strawberry cream cheese. Yet, I was still a bit afraid, because neither of those involve meat. This bar looked pretty similar to a blondie, except that it was flecked with little bits of bacon all over. I bit in and was pretty happy with the result. The bacon taste was so subtle that it almost tasted like there were just extra chunks of salt thrown in. This was a good thing, as I feel like too much of a bacon dessert would have thrown off the balance of this bar.

Ultimately, I was pretty happy with the sampling. Although I expected the bacon bars to be my favorites, I found that the Peanut Butter and Jelly Bar was the tops. For info on picking up some of these desserty bars, check out the Sweet Square website. You won’t be disappointed.

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