May Fair Was Deep Fried and Delicious

Everybody's got their own personal summer signifier.  You know, that nostalgic scent or sight that triggers your mind and body to indulge in three lazy, humid months of bbqs and swimming pools.  Summer has its own language, its own pulse, and when summer officially begins, it's a feeling of being swept away into another, better reality.  For some, it's the smell of fresh cut grass, or breathing in the ocean salt for the first time.  For me, my summer began as I walked towards May Fair this sultry Memorial Day Weekend and smelled the deep fried doughey goodness emanating from the funnel cake stand.

And so, summer hath arrived.  May Fair seems to be a pretty big deal to the Collingswood populace, so despite not knowing entirely what to expect (this was my first time!), I was pretty excited.  I anticipated a carnival atmosphere, and if my instincts were correct, that meant plenty of artery clogging deep fried treats to look forward to.  Boy, was I in luck.  

But first: A quick run down of the non-edible attractions at May Fair.  The cars were cool, the trinkets were expensive and the games were juvenile with an unfortuante 21st century twist where "everybody is a winner", and simply paying to play garnered you a prize.  It took some of the fun out of winning my giant inflatable money bat, but you know what? At least everybody left with a smile on their face.  Even if they didn't earn that smile.

Onto the food.  After stuffing myself with funnel cake and becoming overwhelmed with emotion as I felt summer creep through my veins like a beautiful poison, I was ready to throw myself at the mercy of Mair Fair.  Next up were deep fried oreos, which are just as wonderful to eat as the words are to say.  The old saying is that lying is the most fun a woman can have without taking her clothes off?  That woman never had a deep fried oreo.  Then there was the ten cheese mac & cheese that was garnished with, what else? Bacon.  Sure, it wasn't deep fried, but all ten cheeses sang to me like a church choir.  It was angelic.  Healthy options did exist, good ones, namely in the form of oven roasted corn served on the husk that struck a delicate balance of smokey and sweet.

What I found most intriguing were the gourmet carnival snack options, presented in tents sponsored by the wonderful restaurants dotting the Haddon Avenue strip.  I stopped by West Side Gravy/Blackbird, where they were serving a number of treats.  I tried the cheesesteak eggrolls, the Quasimodo of snack foods, because what appeared to be an ugly brown lump opened up to a juicy steak that rivaled anything Tony Luke slopped in a bun.  Ok, maybe not, but it was still very good.  So were the Italian roast pork sliders, an authentic taste of South Philly right in South Jersey.  

At this point I was anchored by my own gluttony, but I managed one more stop at Mangia Mangia's tent, a pizza place under new ownership with surprisingly above average pizza.  Definately worth a try.  However, their fried dough balls stuffed with rice and sauce?  Not worth a try.  They were dry and bland.  

May Fair was an excellent way to kick off my summer.  I'm looking forward to all the fantastic food events Collingswood has to offer.