5. Pork Strip Basket, Iowa State Fair, near the southwest corner of the fairgrounds (Aug. 16)
“Three delicious Chuckie’s Pork Strips, made from center cut pork loin; hand breaded with Chuckie’s Famous batter, seasoned waffle fries, creamy cheese sauce, bacon bits and topped off with savory chives.”
Worth every single one of the 10 minutes I had to wait. I could eat this once a week and then have to spend the other six days burning the calories from it. It wasn’t among the finalists for best new fair food — the finalists were just a wee bit “out there” for me — but I hope this one becomes a tradition.
Supper was a Gizmo (video), which I’ve had before, and despite being almost freshly served the meat was a bit too cool. But it was still tradition-laden food at what, as far as I’m concerned, is one of the best places on Earth.
Travels in Iowa 2019: 150-plus towns, 52 counties, 11 separate days including front/back ends of trips, 2 Little Mermaid statues, 1 previously visited state capitol photographed, 0 presence north and east of Webster City.
Weird flex cross: Shelby County, which I hadn’t been in since 2014, got two separate visits about 30 days apart.