Her book, Ribbons of Highway: A Mother-Child Journey Across America, takes you around the U.S. Her blog takes you around the world. Lori Hein, who's written for scores of publications including the Boston Globe and Philadelphia Inquirer, hopes you enjoy these brief trips to far-flung places. Text & photos, all copyright Lori Hein, are available for reuse and publication for a modest fee. Contact Lori at www.LoriHein.com.
November 23, 2009
Meals on the midway: Deep-fried and supersized
File this under "Only in America."
A short piece in a recent issue of The Economist chronicled a visit to the Texas State Fair. The reporter focused not on rides and games but on the frightening foods on offer. The reporter (whom I'd credit, but The Economist doesn't use bylines) writes, "People were queuing up for an unusual delicacy: balls of butter, dipped in dough and cooked in a vat of boiling oil. Fried butter, in other words."
I am disgusted but not surprised.
America, land of the free and home of the fat.
The journalist goes on to note that "fairs are known for their decadent snack offerings" and then enumerates several: Meat Lovers' Ice Cream, fried guacamole, fried Coke. (No, I've no idea.)
Happy Thanksgiving. Go slow.
www.LoriHein.com