NC State Fair 2018: New Food On The Menu, How To Get Tickets

The North Carolina State Fair is kicking off next weekend at the state fairgrounds in Raleigh, bringing together rides, live stock, live music, and — of course — incredibly delicious fried festival foods, many of which incorporate jaw-dropping combinations largely centered around bacon.

I hear you asking, will this year’s state fair offer bacon on a stick dipped in glaze, bacon-filled marshmallow s’mores or roasted corn dipped in doughnut glaze and rolled in bacon?

Why, yes — yes, it will have all of those things.

This year, the N.C. State Fair will introduce at least 25 new foods to the menu lineup. Just try to read the list without salivating.

Some of the new menu items at this year's fair include:

• Arepa Burger — Traditional arepa stuffed with prime choice homemade burger and served with a slice of tomato and onion then topped with stick potatoes and traditional pink and cilantro guacamole.
• Rolled Ice Cream — Liquid ice cream poured onto an anti-griddle with toppings such as cherry cheesecake, toffee, oreo and then rolled and topped with whipped cream.
• Unicorn Bacon and Jalapeno Cheetos Bacon — Unicorn Bacon: Bacon-on-a-Stick dipped in glaze and rolled in fruity pebbles cereal. Jalapeno Cheetos Bacon: Bacon-on-a-Stick dipped in jalapeno nacho cheese and rolled in cheetos.
• Cinnamon Toast Crunch Apple Cobbler Bites — Granny Smith apple slices coated in a special Cinnamon Toast Crunch batter, deep fried and topped with a drizzle of caramel, cinnamon sugar and powdered sugar.
• Cluck Puppies — A twist on traditional hushpuppies, Cluck Puppies are a fusion of Chick-N-Que's chopped chicken bbq and signature cheddar cheese hushpuppy mix, deep fried to perfection and offered with your choice of CNQ's dipping sauce.
• Italian Ice Tea Float — Two scoops of your favorite Sunset Slush Classic Italian Ice in a cup of Chick-N-Que's sweet tea.
• Savory Churros — Crunchy cheese churros topped with bacon and parsley.
• Jerk Pork Wrap with Mango Sauce — Jerk pork seasoned with our signature jerk seasoning served in a wrap with lettuce, tomato and mango sauce.
• Roasted & Glazed Sweet Corn with Bacon — Douglas Farms traditional roasted corn, dipped in doughnut glaze and rolled in bacon.
• Gobblin’ Gourmet — Chocolate brownie funnel cake topped with dark chocolate fudge, mint drizzle, whipped cream and oreo bit topping
• Thanksgiving Turkey Chop Sandwich — Hand-cut turkey chop deep fried and smothered in gravy on a buttery bun topped with thanksgiving dressing and cranberry sauce.
• Crack-N-Cheese Waffle Cone — A waffle cone of mac-n-cheese, topped with turkey bbq, turkey cracklings, coleslaw and signature sauce.
• Key Lime Pie Ice Cream
• Candied Bacon S’more — House-made marshmallow filled with scrumptious applewood smoked bacon ganache and dipped in chocolate resting on Carolina ground whole wheet graham cracker and topped with candied bacon.
• Triple Threat — A Granny Smith apple dipped in fresh caramel and rolled and M&Ms. dipped in white chocolate rolled in crushed Reesie peanut butter cups then drizzled with dark chocolate topped with a glob of white chocolate,M&Ms and peanut butter cups.
• Cream Brulee Cheesecake — A Granny Smith apple dipped in caramel covered in white chocolate rolled in crème brûlée cheesecake topped with toasted brown sugar.
• Pumpkin Spice Latte — A Granny Smith apple dipped in creamy Caramel, rolled in white chocolate chips, dipped in white chocolate and covered in pumpkin spice coffee. Drizzled in white chocolate. Then top with cinnamon sugar and a pumpkin coffee candy cup.
• Unicorn Apples — A Granny Smith apple dipped in white chocolate, with fruit roll-up mane and rock candy horn.
• SoJo Melt — Sauteed all-natural ground lamb with onions, soujouk spices, hummus spread, lebanese pickles, melted provolone and mozzarella cheeses, roma tomatoes and a new jalapeno/cilantro green hot sauce called "Shug" served on an 8" italian hoagie.
• Slow Smoked Bourbon Brown Sugar Rubbed Pork Loin — Whole pork loin slow smoked with hardwood rubbed with bourbon brown sugar, served a sliced "chop" with all natural juices.
• Country Ham and Cheddar Cheese Hushpuppies — Country ham and cheddar cheese hushpuppies served with molasses whipped butter.
• Chocolate Chip Hushpuppies — Chocolate chip hushpuppies with southern chip yaw gravy and powdered sugar.
• Bacon Ranch Pizza
• Texas Glazed Mini Donuts
• Shrimp & Cheddar Cheese Grits Eggroll — N.C. farm raised shrimp, NC stone-ground cheese grits, tasso ham, rolled into an eggroll wrapper lightly deep fried until crispy and topped with a red pepper remoulade sauce.

You can find photos of the new foods here.

How To Buy Tickets
The North Carolina State Fair runs Oct. 11 through Oct. 21. Fair visitors can buy tickets online or at the gate. Online, adult tickets are $8, and children ages 6-12 are $3. Seniors are free. At the gate, adult tickets are $10 and children are $5.

You can find a daily schedule of events here.

Photo via Shutterstock