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Piquant, with nuances of grease Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Mail Tribune fair-food taster (and reporter) Joanna Collins wrestles with a sticky clump of cotton candy. Collins, who sampled food for several days at the fair, judged the fair cotton candy only average. Fair fare�s tasty but not exactly a balanced diet By Joanna Collins "The fair is a veritable smorgasbord," a renowned food expert once observed. The expert? Templeton the over-eating rat from "Charlotte�s Web," who called the fair "a rat�s paradise." Well, after two days of sampling food at the Jackson County Fair, I know a little better how Templeton felt after his fair pig-out. In two days, I tried to sample as much food as possible. I also enlisted the help of other Mail Tribune employees� tastebuds and consulted fair-goers for tips on their favorite food and good buys. The conclusion? In general, there�s a lot of good food. But you wouldn�t want to live on it more than once a year � unless you have great health insurance. Our corps of treat-testers sampled elephant ears, corn dogs, taco salads, cotton candy, chicken fajitas, curly fries, tri-tip sandwiches, French fries, Italian sausage dogs and pepperoni pizza. Our tasters were disappointed in the chicken fajitas from the Grilled Chicken Fajitas and Greek Gyros stand. Sherrie McNeil from Ojai, Calif., however, who considers herself an expert, swore by the gyros: healthy, fresh and made with great homemade pitas. Her mother, Marilyn McIntosh of Talent, chose a not-so-healthy but "good" Italian sausage dog from the New York Style Italian Sausage stand. But a New Yorker secretly told me they weren�t close to East Coast authentic. David Preszler, the MT�s business reporter, thoroughly enjoyed the Polish dogs from Railroad Sausage near the Technology Pavilion. "Flavorful and juicy," he said � if anything smothered with sauerkraut can be called flavorful. Preszler also tested the fries from the Elks� stand and the pepperoni pizza from the pizza stand. The fries, he said, were on the lower end of average and the pizza was similar to cheaper delivery styles. The hamburgers from the Elks� stand, however, were "very good for fair food," judged Bob Maddox of Medford. The curly fries from Krazy K�s Korn Dogs, even though they were attacked with full fury by staffers back at the Mail Tribune newsroom, were average and a little too greasy. The tri-tip sandwich from Pacific Northwest BBQ was excellent, but you have to be in the mood for a very meaty meal. Ten-year-old Marcus Havniear from Gold Hill said the potatoes from Tornado potatoes were perfect. They�re similar to curly fries, but sliced and less greasy � and come with the choice of barbecue salt, ranch salt or regular salt. Havniear also spoke highly of the catfish sandwiches from the New Orleans booth. Melissa Braaten of Central Point and her daughter Hannah liked the Sea Food-Thai Cuisine. It�s better than a greasy hamburger, Braaten said, and at least a little good for you. On the sugary side, the elephant ears from the Homemade Indian Frybread stand were average. So was the cotton candy from the dipped apple and banana stand. So, for fair-goers on a budget, what�s the secret for decent food at reasonable prices? Local stands. The taco salad from the 4-H stand offered one of the fair�s best deals. The 4-Hers also sell 32-ounce sodas, lemonade and iced tea for $1. We couldn�t find 32 ounces of anything elsewhere for cheaper than $2. My informal survey found the 4-H stand a hit. "For nachos and taco salad, they�ve got a good deal," said Christine Garner of Eagle Point. It�s "the best thing they have here,�� said Connie Travesy of White City, a longtime fair-goer. She likes the fact that she can support local kids, she said. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA