Gastro Fridays: Food on a Stick

July 17th, 2009

The infamous pickle on a stick. Sure, you might lose a few friends, but you also get to eat a pickle on a stick, so…awesome.

I recently had the joy of attending the Putnam County Festival, a wild three days filled with tractor pulls, judging the merits of various pigs, cows and pygmy goats, and of course, eating a million deep fried things on a stick. It certainly is the season for eating things on a stick as counties, cities and towns across the U.S. hold fairs, festivals and carnivals during the summer months. According to the New York Times (via Serious Eats), last year’s Minnesota State Fair had over 60 foods on a stick available. 60! Spaghetti and meatball on a stick, anyone? Not sure if this is solely an American obsession, or if people around the world enjoy many different foods served on sticks. I do remember seeing corn dogs in Australia, only they called them Dagwood Dogs (no clue why). I know many Asian countries have meats cooked on sticks roadside, kabobs and your occasional scorpion. But is any other country as obsessed as we are with eating foods on a stick? Particularly with battering and deep-frying foods on a stick? That would be a fun research paper to write…Foods on a Stick–Loved Internationally, or American Obsession? I don’t even know if I can think of 60 foods served on a stick, but I’m gonna try based on foods I have eaten or seen at American fairs, festivals, street carts and carnivals. Feel free to help out! Foods on a Stick 1. Corn dog 2. Pickle 3. Corn on the cob 4. Elotes (Mexican corn on the cob, slathered with crema, mayo, cotija cheese, chile powder and lime juice) 5. Deep fried cheese 6. Chocolate dipped frozen cheesecake 7. Cotton Candy 8. Ice cream 9. Caramel Apple 10. Candied Apple 11. Shishkabob (various meats) 12. Fried shrimp 13. Hot dog 14. Deep fried pizza 15. Deep fried pickle 16. Deep fried Snickers 17. Deep fried Oreos 18. Deep fried twinkies 19. Rock candy And…that is about all I can do. Sure, I could cheat and copy down the menu of the Wisconsin State Fair, but I’d rather know about food on a stick people have actually eaten. Makes it more authentic that way. So help a bitch out–what foods on a stick have you enjoyed? Happy Friday, everyone! ~LTG! ********************* Other articles about food on a stick I found on the Internets New York Times Serious Eats Now Thats Nifty Wisconsin State Fair food on a stick

This entry is filed under Gastro Fridays, The Gastronomical Leena.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

http://www.twitter.com/AshleyEngelman Ashley

Fave food on a stick? It’s like trying to choose your favorite child. But harder.

I’m a personal fan of chocolate covered apples you find from street vendors in Munich, Germany (CHOCOLATE, mind you, not the caramel ones you get here in the States). White chocolate is best.
http://www.twitter.com/akgrenier akgrenier

Oldie but a goodie for me – Corndogs all the way! With a side of cheese on a stick.
steve

I’ve become a big fan of the choco covered banana. Im late to the party, but at least I showed up.
leenatrivedi23

Ashley-Chocolate covered apples sound awesome. Good to know other countries share our love of food on sticks!

Adam-I am forever on the hunt for the infamous foot long corn dog. When I find one, I plan on eating two–at once.

steve-I totally forgot about chocolate covered bananas. And I fricking LOVE choc covered bananas. Thanks!
http://ncsuemme.blogspot.com/ Emily

Mmmmmmm corndogs. My favorite.
And I’ve never had one but would like to try the chocolate covered banana. It’s normally frozen, yes?
http://www.cari-vicarious.com/ Cari Sanchez-Potter

Dude. Is it wrong that I’m giggling uncontrollably at this photo of you holding a huge pickle on a stick? tehehe

Anyway…. I think the Japanese might be even more obsessed than Americans with food on a stick! They skewer EVERYTHING on bamboo sticks. They do all sorts of weird stuff but my favorite was always these tender little chicken meatballs they’d char over embers and slather with a smoky teriyaki-style sauce. OMG. They also would just skewer chicken skin – not the meat – and get it all crispy and ridiculous. Yakitori – oishiiiiii
A-Lo

Food onna stick can also be awful. I was in Darwin recently, and had the dubious pleasure of eating at the road kill cafe at the Mindle Beach markets. They were selling hunks and sausages of things like roo, croc, emu, camel, wallaby and possum onna stick. They had obviously been sitting under the heat lamp for too long because the meat was stringy and chewy and bland (the lack of seasoning probably didn’t help this) and just generally terrible. This is shame because I know these meats can be delicious if cooked correctly – but instead we have hordes of tourists returning from Australia thinking bush meats are inedible. Very sad.

However, I am a big fan of food onna stick – the classic for has to be the dagwood dog (also known as the pluto pup in some states). Similar to your yanky corn dogs I believe.
Amy Letcher

Girl, I got your back. Memphis in the summertime, find any outdoor festival happening that particular weekend, and get yourself a Pronto Pup. Covered in your choice of mustard and/or ketchup. Most delicious footlong corndog ever.
http://uggbootshop.net/ ugg boots

Wow, thanks for the insightful post. I look forward to reading more from you.

Leena Eats, Gourmet Communication ... Food, Travel, Gastronomy