You still have one more day to get ‘yer fill of foods-on-a-stick, fried foods, cotton candy and cream puffs at this year’s Wisconsin State Fair. I made my annual pilgrimage yesterday and had my fill! Surprisingly, I was able to eat dinner last night, too.

Each year, Wisconsin State Fair touts the latest and greatest food experiments on sticks or things that just blow your mind. This year’s great creation was a Krispy Kreme donut cheeseburger from The Machine Shed. No, I wasn’t brave enough to try it, and my heart and veins are thanking me right now. However, we did try one of last year’s new creations that made a sophomore stand. The chocolate-covered bacon on a stick.

I was a bit apprehensive at first. Sweet, dark chocolate coating. Savory, salty, hickory-smoked bacon. The combination is almost mind-blowing (or else that could have been the 90+ degree temperatures with 80% humidity…) I really enjoyed it. You start off with the sweet, thick chocolate coating. With yesterday’s heat, the chocolate covering was melting pretty fast so you had to make quick work. But you bite in and you’re greeted with the chocolate but then slowly you get a hint of the bacon. I would compare it to the combination of french fries and chocolate shakes. A good sweet and salty mixture to balance out your taste buds. The Machine Shed gives you two sticks for $3.

We also tried the deep friend peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I imagined a Smucker’s Uncrustable being deep fried. But, the coating tasted very similar to french toast. The inside was a warm and gooey strawberry jelly and peanut butter mixture. Sticks really aren’t needed but napkins are a must! PB&J was flying out the end. All I needed was a tall glass of cold milk. The Machine Shed also has an all-day all-you-can-eat pancake special for $5. Any place that has a spiggot of maple syrup is OK by me!

The Machine Shed's friend PB&J.

Inside of the fried PB&J.

Our next culinary stop at the Wisconsin State Fair was the New Berlin Lions Club corn roast. I LOVE THIS CORN! The only thing that could make this booth any better was if some dental company sponsored tooth floss at the end. Although, they do provide you with toothpicks. This corn is just amazing. Girls will dip your corn (with the husk still attached) in a vat of hot, butter goodness. The dripping corn concoction spills all over your clothing, down your arm. But you don’t care. It’s sweet. It’s tasty. And corn = summer.

Our corn being dipped at the New Berlin Lions Club corn roast booth.

Besides the firsts of trying Machine Shed’s choco-bacon and the fried PB&J, I also wanted to try a Wisconsin baked potato. In the Wisconsin Products Pavilion, just follow your nose passed the duck fajitas, the Usinger bratwurst, the Door County cherries and the honey ice cream to a little window that sells tickets. For $4, you purchase a ticket to stand in a different line to receive your freshly baked potato from northern Wisconsin. You have your choice of toppings: sour cream, butter, cheese sauce, bacon bits and more. Load it up – this is one creamy good baked spud! I don’t know how I’ve gone to the fair without trying one before!

Baked potato from the Wisconsin Products Pavilion.

My food fiesta is nearly done. Just a few last stops. Some freshly squeezed lemonade from Catalano’s. Then, some fried cheese curds. The curds at places like Culver’s and elsewhere during the year have nothing against the cheese curds at the state fair. The fair’s curds have a light, airy battered coating. The cheese, all white cheddar, is stringy and makes your mouth happy. They’re little nuggets of joy that come once a year! You have the option to get condiments like Ragu spaghetti sauce or ketchup, but these little bundles don’t need any dressing up. They’re good on their own!

Deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds.