The food at the Parkview was amazing which is the main reason why there need to be more Parkview’s and fewer Applebee’s, but also because the places themselves are just far more interesting. Look at that tin ceiling. The old Marigold milk clock on the wall.

It was the start of the state fair and we did a drive-by to see if we could find the taco in a bag stand...supposedly they park their stand outside the fair but if it was there we didn’t see it. We did not have the time to go into the fair and do it right, so we did the next best thing and hit the Parkview Cafe. It’s been a few years since i’ve been to this place but it was even better than i remember it being. The world needs more places like the Parkview and less places like Applebee’s.

After work we had a meeting at Lucia’s and this dude was out front playing his accordian creating an atmosphere that made us feel like we were in europe somewhere. Lucia’s was opening a new place in the space next to the wine bar that’s more of a quick take-out soup and bakery type place. Looks like it’s going to be super cool.

One of the best parts of summer i’ve found out this year is the heirloom tomato. Heirloom tomatoes taste amazing and look cool as hell. In colors of deep reds, yellows, oranges and even purples, they are the best looking tomatoes i’ve ever seen, and they taste the best too. Real sweet and full of flavor. The damn things cost nearly as much as sushi so you pay for the taste and good looks, but they are worth it. Throw a little mozzarella cheese, basil and salt and pepper on top and you’re eating like a king.

There are a few different “brands” of cheese curds at the fair, but only one has reined supreme for as long as i’ve known about cheese curds...not sure of the name, but they have a little mouse with a piece of cheese (clever, huh?). Well last year these new guys came to town and laid down a pretty strong claim: Real hand dipped  beer batter mozzorella sticks and cheese curds. I jumped on the band wagon last year with the sounds of those mozz. sticks and they were amazing. You can actually watch the guys making the things and dumping cans of beer into the batter; Pabst Blue Ribbon, Hamm’s, Milwaukee’s Best...now that’s CLASS! And unlike any other “beer batter” i’ve ever had, i could actually taste the beer in the batter. Can’t ask for much more than that! I went back this year instead of wasting my time with the “old” brand and what did i see?...Two of the same booth stuck side by side! The damand was so great they bought another booth and stuck it next to the old one and doubled in size! One thing i noticed was most people were ordering the cheese curds, and i’m sure they’re good, but the mozz sticks are the way to go for me. I’ll be back next year for sure...maybe they’ll have 3 of those booths stuck together?

I’ve been a pretty insane fair goer for a few years now...actually reaching 7 visits a few years ago. I seem to have leveled off at 5 visits...that seems to be the right amount of times. Last year i really couldn’t get into the fair and i figured it was because it was an election year and every where i looked i saw Bush/Chaney buttons on people...that sucked. I thought this year i’d be back to normal and ready to hit 7 visits...but i wasn’t. In fact i have to say me enthusiasm for the fair may have been lower this year than last year. What the hell? Have i actually been over-faired so bad that the fair hangover made me never want to do it again? I don’t really know. I know for a fact that i can’t eat as much as i used to even a few years ago...i can no longer walk in the fair and down a footlong hotdog, corn dog, cheesecurds, lemonaide and deep fried pickles all in the first 20 minutes. I can’t even eat that much in one day anymore! I think i went an all time low 4 times this year...maybe it was 5, but that illustrates the problem; i’m not really even sure how many times i went to the fair. Maybe i need to take a year off and really make myself want it bad again? I guess i’ll just have to wait til next year and see what my plan should be. Not to be a downer, don’t get me wrong, i still had a good time and here’s some drawings to prove it.

The Skyride sure is cool, but it seems like a nasty way to die.

I get the concert part of the grandstand (Heck, Motley Crue was there one night), and i used to dig the sound of the stock car races they used to have there. It’s the inside of the grandstand i don’t understand. It’s full of booths selling nothing but trinkets and trash. Back scratchers. Fuzzy bear keychains. Bean bag pillows...and all sorts of other stuff people really don’t need. And on top of it the building is not even air conditioned...and it gets packed in the damn thing. People see people and they go where everyone else is...”There must be something going on in there...let me in...i wanna buy some crap!!!” I just like to stand out front and watch all the fat puffy red faced families come dragging themselves out of there all tired and and sweaty and pissed off at each other because even though they wanted to go in there, even they know they just wasted a couple hours of their lives even worse than sitting in front of the TV eating Cheetos.

Maybe they should...or maybe some people just shouldn’t eat the damn things. The sad thing about the fair is seeing the amount of over weight people that are out there. It’s scary. For so many people the fair isn’t there once or twice a year where they really just loose their shit and eat whatever they want...it’s really just a reflection of how they eat on a daily bases. Sad.

The best part of the fair (besides the “about a foot long hot dog”) is the people watching. There’s the obvious freaks, and that’s great...but just sitting and watching normal people and how they act and catching little moments like this dude looking over his wife’s shoulder at her map...full well knowing that it doesn’t matter where he wants to go, they’re going where SHE wants to go. Next stop: The grandstand.

After work we had a meeting at Lucia’s to talk about Spike’s and this dude was out front playing his accordian creating an atmosphere that made us feel like we were in europe somewhere. Lucia’s was opening a new place in the space next to the wine bar that’s more of a quick take-out soup and bakery type place. Looks like it’s going to be super cool.

The fresh fruit stand. Fresh fruit??? What the hell??? Is it covered in batter and deep fried?...Because if not it’s got no place at any state fair i know. I know i just got done bitching about how fat people shouldn’t eat so much, but come on...this is the state fair for christ sake. I have one rule about fair food: It must be something you can’t normally get. “About a foot long hot dog”? Can’t get those anywhere but the fair. Corn dogs? You can get these somewhere i suppose, but they suck. Cheese curds? Only at the fair. Deep fried pickles?...Fair. Deep fried ravioli?...Fair. Watermelon? Fruit bowl? Come on...that’s not fair food! I always see some poor sole standing out front of this stand handing out coupons trying to convince people to eat something good. Tough job...AND they make the person wear that stupid melon hat. I will say this; that stand has stayed open for a really long time, so somebody must want to eat the stuff (probably in between corn dogs).

I’m afraid of heights big time, but i’ll take these ski chalet things or whatever they’re called. It’s a pretty cool way to get a birds eye view of the fair and a great way to rest the tired legs.