Food Around The World: Tasty Travels with Fellow Blogsherpas.

I have been on a journey for three years now… not just a trip on the road but a sojourn into a new part of my life. In three years I have crisscrossed the United States, been all over the American South and found almost every little burg and village in my home state. Strangely enough, it’s all been financed through food.

Not that I’m a restauranteur or chef, mind you. I discovered early on that there was a lack of food reporting in rural areas of my state and throughout my section of the South; because of this, I turned in and focused more on the cuisine of this place. This garnered notice from several outlets, and today my bread-and-butter comes from writing about food.

I’m blessed to be part of the Lonely Planet Blogsherpa program, and as a featured blogger on the Lonely Planet website. But I am far from alone. There are nearly 100 of us now, all over the globe, broadcasting from our little slices of Earth and sharing them with the world around us. So when it came to hosting my own Blogsherpa Carnival, it was a no-brainer. I wanted to share the experience of food around the world.

Food, in the end, is the universal language. You don’t have to know another language to appreciate it, you don’t have to steep yourself in another country to experience it. It’s also a doorway into the opportunity of discovering other worlds.

So here are some windows on the experience of food around the world in this 11th Blogsherpa Carnival.

Abigail over at Inside the Travel Lab has a tale of Valencia in two bowls -- one of a salad of flowers and another a sculpture of a storm at sea in the form of rosemary ice cream.


Jason at Alpaca Suitcase explores the Anticucho, a Peruvian beef kebab sometimes made from beef heart, his experience with it and a recipe for making it yourself (not necessarily from beef heart).


Denise at Travel with Den Den covers the foods you want to injest in Seoul this winter, including my favorite Korean dish, Bibimbab, along with Korean barbecue, Kimchi and Banchan.





Dave and Deb over at The Planet D couldn’t just settle on one destination. They share all their favorite dishes from around the world, including ceviche, ox tail, fondue and the delicious Ethiopian stew called a wat. And then there was the Bedoin who brought dinner to the desert…


Back here in the States, John with The Dotted Route covers a vacation spot, Club 33 at Disneyland in Anaheim, California.


Eric over at Trans-Americas Journey took on a story I could really eat up -- a tour of tacos in a city best known for the tortillas of love, Mexico City. This taco cook really cracks me up.


Over at Todd’s Wanderings, Todd’s wife Kay introduces us to a food that the kids will love, along with a recipe for Chinese Fried Chicken.

Kerry over at Music Road takes a different approach, covering Potato Music -- which is, strangely enough, a collection of songs and song lyrics about potatoes.

Tamara from the States writes at Quillcards about her experiences drinking tea in a variety of cultural settings - from invitations to drink ginseng tea in Korea, to drinking spicy chai in India, to the mysteries of 'afternoon tea' in England. Along the way she tells the story of how tea came to be introduced into England and how ladies were able to enter the newly-fashionable 'tea rooms'.

Georgia at Ginger Beirut gives us a glossary of several different sorts of Lebanese foods, like aubergine, miniature cucumbers and labneh. I keep rose water for the bath, too.

Claire at First Time Travel gives a first time traveler's guide to hole-in-the-wall dining in Manila, at restaurants that serve up Thai fare, pizza and other missing-home foods.

Vibeke at Photito's Blog delves into a decadent favorite of mine, churros -- not just on the dish itself but how to order them in Spanish and how to make them, too. Churros -- they're what's for breakfast.


A weekend in food is the focus of Julie's food post on A Lady in London -- a veritable food tour of fancy and tasty items shared on a cherished trip. Lots of food photos -- click through for the full size versions.

Jennifer at Orange Polka Dot covers a native dish of Spain, jamon (a pig's leg cured in sea salt), how it's made and its varietals. Move over, Christmas ham.


Erin over at La Tortuga Viajera (The Traveling Turtle)covers a truly Spanish experience and shares a paella recipe in Pine Cones, Paella and A Perfect Spanish Afternoon.


Kirin celebrates Street Food in Mauritas, including sugar-cane juice, cut fruit, dhol-puri and such at Indian Bazaars.


Vera over at A Traveler's Library covers something I hope to utilize some day -- a top ten list of cheap(er) places to eat in Paris. Sign me up.


Barbara with Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel covers Malaysian food and culture on her blog... and talks about eating things like steamed sweet custard filled sesame buns and fried fish cakes at a hawker court at the end of her street.


LeX over at LeX Paradise shares thoughts and photos of Korean fare he's sampled during his sojourn in the Eastern country.


And Benny with Sunset Mood reveals the traditional Angkriyan, roadside dining served up in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.


Interesting perspectives on the universal language of food. My fellow Blogsherpas cover much more than cuisine, though. Want another taste? Check out the listing of Lonely Planet Blogsherpas on the bottom of the right hand column, or browse through the last Blogsherpa Carnival (#10) over at Sophie's World, a neat collection entitled "Your Favorite Place On Earth." The next new Carnival will be hosted by Joe over at Hello Pineapple, on "Spooky Stories." Ooh.

A Guide to Arkansas State Fair Food.

Before you head out to the Arkansas State Fair this year, you probably want to know what’s available to eat. Along with cotton candy, corn dogs and funnel cakes, you’ll find a large variety of items that will tempt your palate. Here’s a quick guide to those neat foods you’ll want to watch for and perhaps consume with the assistance of friends while you’re contemplating what rides you’ll tackle on the Midway.

BARBECUE RABBIT SANDWICHES: Shredded rabbit meat simmered in a sweet BBQ sauce and served up on a bun. While tasty, the sauce covers up most of the flavor of the rabbit. Yes, that means it tastes like chicken. Unless you’re just dying to try it or want to check that one
special fair food off your scorecard, go for the likely cheaper barbecue pork or beef sandwiches instead. An Arkansas State Fair original.

CABRITAS (GOAT) WRAPS: Tasty smoked goat tucked into a tortilla and served with your choice of regular or spicy barbecue sauce. Simple yet delicious -- by not covering up the meat with a bunch of condiments or vegetables, you can really get to that great goat flavor.

CHOCOLATE SMOOCHES: Original to the Arkansas State Fair, these are battered and deep fried Hershey’s Kisses. Thanks to the fluffy dough used and the relatively small size of said Kisses, you’re left with a confection half the size of a doughnut that’s both savory and sweet. A real winner. Pick up a tray to share with friends.

CREAM PUFFS: Big fluffy bigs of crispy dough stuffed with a Bavarian style cream between the layers. Served with a little powdered sugar or topped with chocolate and almost as big as a baby’s head.

DEEP FRIED APPLE SLICES and DEEP FRIED APPLE DUMPLING: While both are similar in taste, go for the apple slices instead. They’re both served up hot, but you get a better texture on the slices and besides, they’re far easier to share. That, and have you ever tried to eat a hot apple dumpling standing up and holding it?

DEEP FRIED CREAM CHEESE AND BACON ON A STICK: This might have gone too far. You end up with a corndog style breading around a lump of cream cheese about the size of a box you’d get at the store, studded with Bacon bits. Unless you really like bacon and cream cheese, go for the Wisconsin Fried Cheese instead.

DEEP FRIED PEANUT BUTTER CUPS: Seen at the Texas State Fair, these are simply Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups wrapped in dough, deep fried and topped with sugar. Tasty but very, very sweet. Go for the Chocolate Smooches instead unless you’re a huge Reese’s fan.

DEEP FRIED VEGGIES: Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, zucchini and onions are all batter dipped and dropped in the fryer for this treat. Tastier than it sounds -- and the one sure-fire way to get your kids to eat veggies at the fair.

EGG ON A STICK: This is a hard boiled egg, battered up and deep fried just like a corn dog. It’s not as icky as it sounds -- in fact, it actually sorta works, if you like hard boiled eggs. Get yours with Jalapeno Ranch sauce -- or if you’re a mustard sort of person, they have a nice stone ground sauce, too.

ELEPHANT EARS: Big (12-14”) oblongs of thin dough deep fried and topped with one of many toppings -- cinnamon sugar, icing, cherry topping, blueberry topping, strawberry topping or chocolate. They’re meant for sharing and are very light. Eat them quick, though -- as they get cool they become harder to tear apart.

FRIED DILL PICKLES: They’re spreading everywhere! The difference is (like with the Fried Green Tomatoes) is that they’re deep fried with a tempura like batter. Don’t forget the sauce.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES: Not your Whistle-Stop Café variety, these rounds of green tomato are dunked in tempura batter instead of cornmeal before they head to the deep fryer. Have yours with Ranch or Honey Mustard.

GATOR ON A STICK: Chunks of alligator battered and deep fried on a stick. It’s exotic, sure, and if you’ve never had gator before you might as well give it a shot. Tasty, a bit salty, but some folks are going to say it tastes like chicken. Sorta.

GIANT COOKIES: Can you ever really go wrong with a big cookie? Probably not. This year’s varieties include M&M and peanut butter.

HILLBILLY HOMEBREW: A sweet yellow blend of orange and pineapple juice with lemonade, sweeter than lemonade and not as harsh. Pretty good, actually.

HOT FUDGE BROWNIE A LA MODE: A big chunk of brownie with an impossible for one person to safely consume scoop of ice cream and whipped cream on top. Tasty, but you can get this almost anywhere.

HUBCAP BURGERS: These massive one pound burgers come served up on a Community Bakery baked bun for roughly $8. They come across the bar just meat and bun; vegetables and condiments are also provided. Other variations include the Hubcap Chicken Sandwich and the Hubcap Fried Steak Sandwich.

ONION BLOSSOM: Twenty years ago this was a novelty. Now the big reason to get this at the Fair is if you really like onion rings but don’t want to worry about dropping those rings everywhere. Still tasty, just not that unusual.

PEPPERONI PUFF ON A STICK: Basically a pepperoni pizza, rolled up and tucked in and skewered on a wooden rod. The idea is good and the execution is nice, but our experience is that it’s similar to a Totino’s Pizza Roll in flavor. You can have pizza at home.

PINEAPPLE WHIP: I know far too many people who swear by these to argue. A delicious blend of vanilla soft serve and pureed pineapple, served in a cup or cone.

TATER DOG: The Tater Twister, but with a hot dog inside. Actually, this is a pretty neat idea -- taking a hotdog and inserting it in a spiral cut potato before deep frying it. The frying process gives the hotdog an unusual texture; you might ask that they go light on the salt, it can be way too salty otherwise.

TATER TWISTER: The name is almost more interesting than the dish. What you get is a single long potato that’s been spiral cut, deep fried and sprinkled liberally with salt and seasonings, served up on a stick. More potato chip than French fry but more fun to eat.

WISCONSIN FRIED CHEESE: Cheese curds and cheese fingers from Wisconsin, battered tempura-like and served very hot. Better than cheese sticks at your local restaurant and highly addictive.

Click here to watch Kat talk about the cool new foods at the Arkansas State Fair on KARK Today at Noon with Mallory Hardin.

Fried Belches.

Every year there’s something that just turns the heads of fairgoers, some amazing idea for food that catches on and sweeps the fair circuit in a blaze of “what the heck?” glory that brings people in from far and wide. Last year it was fried butter. In previous years, we’ve had Pig Lickers, Fried Coke and the granddaddy of them all, the Fried Twinkie.

I keep my ear to the ground year-round to see what’s coming up at the big fairs, since that’s my gig. The Arkansas State Fair is of course my home beat, but this year I wanted to run down bigger fish and catch a preview of what might be coming here by heading to the Texas State Fair. And the big buzz this year has been over Fried Beer.

Mind you, there’s actually a contest. Each year vendors who plan to sell their wares at the Texas State Fair submit their menus, and the most exciting of the entries compete against each other. The Fair chose eight fried items to feature in their promotions, their on-site booklets and such. And Fried Beer took the title of Most Creative in the Big Tex Choice Awards.

I saw it talked about all over the media, even saw photos and a demonstration of how to make them. But no one talked about the most important thing to me -- how does it taste? And that, to me, was the most important thing. So photographer Grav Weldon and I packed up and headed to Big D on a quest.

Mind you, getting into the Fair isn’t so big a problem -- the parking lots stretch out for miles, sure, but there are trams to shorten the distances and even the DART to take you to one of the main gates if you don’t want to take your car (parking, by the way, is $15 a car -- admission is $15 a person). Still, once you get in and get your map, you really realize just how massive the Fair is, and just how far you’re going to have to go. In our case, the route to the nearest Fried Beer vendor took us north of the Cotton Bowl and what felt like miles down a food-lined boulevard on an amazingly beautiful and cool Sunday morning.

We passed by all manners of shopping opportunities, an Ocean Spray cranberry bog booth, the Food and Fiber pavilion and dozens of food vendors with growing lines of folks ready to try things like Deep Fried Pizza, Fried Lemonade and Fried Cookie Dough. Grav and I both had our cameras out and I was taking notes as well… we weren’t going to just cover Fried Beer, after all.

It took us about an hour of shooting here and there and scanning the area before we finally made it to the booth down by the Esplanade. The same booth was also selling chocolate covered strawberry Belgian waffle balls, which sounded a heck of a lot more appetizing. But you knew what we were there for.

This is the point where I need to pause and explain Fried Beer. It’s not like Fried Coke or any of that jazz. It’s a pellet of concentrated beer frozen and placed in what the vendor said was a pretzel case, then dropped in the deep fryer. In fact, the Texas State Fair folks quote creator Mark Zable as saying "Nobody has been able to fry a liquid before. It tastes like you took a bite of hot pretzel dough and then took a drink of beer."

Now, I had hypothesized that this creation could be a source of a liability lawsuit if served incorrectly. After all, the process takes something that freezes near the point of water, namely beer. It’s put in grease which I am assuming is pretty darn far past the point of boiling. I worried that on opening the little pockets that they’d explode.

This wasn’t the case. When we walked out a woman was putting out tray after tray of these little beer raviolis, five to a tray, to cool on the counter. I grabbed one shot around the glass and she offered to show them to us. To me, they appeared to be pasta, not pretzel. She emphasized that we needed to get the Shiner Bock logo on the side of the tray. You couldn’t see the little raviolis that way, though.

After a short interlude and break, we came back and forked over the 10 coupons (everything at the Texas State Fair is purchased with coupons, which will run you 50 cents apiece) and got our little tray.

“Now, you need to make sure you put them all the way in your mouth before you bite into them,” she warned us.

“All the way?” Grav asked.

“Yes, and shut your mouth. It will explode in your mouth and it WILL cause a mess.”

I raised my eyebrows at him, and he mirrored the move. We moved a bit away to find good light to shoot the little pieces in. I made a point to see if they were hot. They were lukewarm.

After our cursory shots, I invited Grav to go first, partially so I could get that reaction recorded without my own reaction on my mind but more out of fear and concern. I mean, it looked very questionable. I really didn’t know if I was going to care for it or not.

Grav picked one up, looked at it and grinned, and tossed it back in his mouth. The look of what had been a slight adventurous glee immediately disappeared and was replaced with a rather regretful look, a momentary wish that maybe he shouldn’t have stuck that in his mouth. He managed to swallow it, though, and to keep from saying anything about it.

“Was it that bad?” I asked.

“You need to try it. I don’t want to color your opinion.”

“Really? I mean, it can’t be that bad.”

“It’s… edible.” I doubted that from the look on his face, but he shook his head. “Remembrer, I’m not real big on beer.”

“Oh, well, all right.”

I picked one up and tried to grin at the camera Grav had on me. Then I got up the gumption and popped it in my mouth.

At first, all I tasted was what came across as underdone pasta, like a not-too-well-fried T-Rav. Then I bit in. This gush of warm beer filled my mouth, and it was… well, it was not good. I mean, I’m not a great domestic beer fan, but I do like a good dark stout and can enjoy from time to time a decent pale ale. This was neither, and I couldn’t quite determine what was in it. What it was, was warm beer in a pasta pocket that was certainly not salty or crispy enough to even bring the idea of pretzel to mind.

Grav started to laugh, and I opened my eyes. He’d caught the whole thing on camera.

“Pretty bad, huh?”

I winced and stuck my tongue out. “It tastes… familiar. But not in a good way.”

“Do you want anoth-”

“NO!” I told him, looking down at the remaining 3/5ths of our $5 investment. “But I want to see what it looks like on the inside.”

“The woman over there said it’d explode.”

“It’s nowhere near hot enough to explode,” I stated, pretty darn sure of that. I estimated the beer inside was about 80 degrees, nowhere near the point of popping. I balanced the little tray on a light post and Grav tore one in half. The weak liquid of the beer instantly dampened the bottom of the tray. We shot it the best we could.

I think part of the disgust was the blandness of the whole thing. It was just meh. Very meh.

“Can you try another, in case maybe we were wrong?” I asked Grav, and he shook his head.

“There’s no way I’m eating another one of those.”

“Then what?”

He took the tray and turned towards three guys that were passing by. “Hey, have you tried the Fried Beer?” he asked.

I just gawked for a moment, then joined in the act. “We’re trying to get a good opinion on this. We’re journalists.”

The guys, curious I guess, looked in the tray. Two of them took a ravioli each. The look on their faces pretty much told us we weren’t far off.

“That’s… that’s pretty bad,” one of them said.

“Thanks, now I won’t have to buy it and find out,” said the other.

We had tossed the tray and wiped our hands and were heading in the direction of a Fried Cheese Curd vendor when it came to me, where I’d tasted that flavor before.

“It tasted like a beer belch,” I spit out, and Grav grabbed my shoulder and looked at me.

“You’re right. That’s it.”

“I mean, yeah, a bad beer belch, like with cheap beer.”

“Like the belch you have before you get sick.”

“I wouldn’t go that far!” I told him.

“I would! It was vile!” Grav said back.

The Fried Cheese Curds managed to get the taste out of our mouths. We spent the rest of the day sampling different fried foods all over that fair, but there was nothing else that just turned us off. I can’t quite get that flavor out of my head, either. And as I’m writing this piece today, I look back at my notes and see the notation:
“Fried Beer: God, Why?”

UPDATE: We thought that was bad. We hadn't tried the Fried Bubblegum yet from the 2011 Texas State Fair. See my reaction on Serious Eats... or check out my Texas State Fair Food Primer.

Eggin' at the Fair.

• KAT ROBINSON
• LIKE A CORNDOG: But with an egg

That there is something I thought was an original — something no one’s every really done before. It’s adeep fried battered hard boiled egg, and it’s one of the many things you’ll find this year at theArkansas State Fair. That’s the thing, though — even though the dish makes its first appearance this year, it’s not completely original.

• 1001RESEPI.BLOGSPOT.COM
• SIMILAR? Sambal Telur

No, there’s a dish called Sambal Telur in Indonesia that is essentially battered and deep fried hard boiled eggs with sambal sauce (a tomato-chili sauce) out of Malay. Then again, look from one to the other and there’s not all that much to compare. There are eggs and a frying process. That’s about it.

So what does a deep fried battered hard boiled egg taste like? And what’s the one true new original product we know that’s coming to the Arkansas State Fair this year? Go check it out, on the jump.

• KAT ROBINSON

First off, the deep fried battered hard boiled egg. I was hesitant — I mean, after all, I’ve eaten more eggs this summer than I usually consume in a year. But that’s what I get paid the big bucks for — trying out food so you know what to expect.

(I hear laughter from the boss out there somewhere — he knows how much I make doing this.)

• KAT ROBINSON

Well, frankly, it’s a corn dog with a hard boiled egg instead of a weiner. There’s not as much flavor to the cornmeal batter as you get with a corn dog, but that’s because there’s no exchange of grease between what’s batter-dipped and the batter. That being said, it’s a nice clean flavor. The egg is just salty enough to not taste bland. The batter is unsweetened.

But dip it, that’s a different story. There are a couple of different dips available. The stone-ground mustard was all right, but I really liked the jalapeno ranch with it. Gave the whole thing a nice bite, kinda Southwestern.

So, how’d I get this preview? The State Fair folks held a press conference today to talk about what was coming up at this year’s big show. And they pulled out all the stops and shared with us what’s going to be served up by vendors this year. Pretty awesome, actually.

• KAT ROBINSON
• HARD WORK: Grav samples a Donkey Tail

Not that I haven’t already been doing a lot of research. I just got back from the Texas State Fair, where photographer Grav Weldon and I spent a few days in Dallas and traversed the vast span with hundreds of thousands of other fairgoers. We were especially keen to discover new foods that might be introduced at the Arkansas State Fair, and to give you the big story behind some of the more infamous items to come from there this year. Later on, I’ll be bringing you the story of our fried beer experience. Trust me, you’ll want to stick around for that.

But back to the subject at hand — what’s new and unusual at the Arkansas State Fair? While I’ve discovered Fried Gator on a Stick at several Arkansas festivals, battered and deep fried broccoli at the Finish Line Café at PTC’s South Campus and fried dill pickles just about everywhere, there are two items that I have seen nowhere else. The first one — I’m kicking my own butt over because I didn’t get a good shot of it. But it really doesn’t matter. It’s the BBQ Rabbit Sandwich, and frankly I just wonder why. I mean, rabbit is quite tasty. It has a particular flavor I find rather enjoyable. But shredded and stewed in a sweet barbecue sauce and it might as well be chicken. Really. If you’re going to get it, just realize you’re paying for the rights to say you ate something cool and leave it at that.

Or get a Goat Wrap. Another thing where the photo just didn’t come out (what the heck was up with my camera this morning, anyway?), I found it to be far more satisfying. And we’re not talking about rocket science here. It’s basically a tortilla wrapped around a nice pile of smoked chopped goat served up with a regular or spicy barbecue sauce. And it’s great. The full flavor of the goat comes through — somewhere between beef, wild boar and racoon, in my opinion. If you’re wanting to brag about your exotic meat experience, here you go.

• KAT ROBINSON
• ORIGINAL: Chocolate Smooches

But the truly unique item at the Arkansas State Fair might surprise you. You’re going to wonder how come no one else has thought of this yet. It’s the thickly battered, deep fried Hershey’s Kiss, and it’s called a Chocolate Smooch. Each Kiss hit’s the deep fryer somewhat frozen in its coating of dip, which puffs out quite a bit. Each one is dusted with powdered sugar. I like this. This is the perfect sharing item for the fair this year. The finished product is a little smaller in mass than a doughnut, and it’s a lot like a chocolate filled doughnut, just not that sweet. The dough is salty enough to provide a good balance. This is the dish I’ll be ordering when I go to the fair with friends — so I can share the experience.

There’ll be a lot more these coming days about the Arkansas State Fair and all its food. Stay tuned.

My State Fair Memories

I have been going to the Arkansas State Fair since I was a little girl. It was my birthday treat -- an evening or afternoon spent doing things I could do nowhere else. Back then, I was given an admission pass, a sheet of ride tickets from Affiliated Foods and $20 and let loose upon the Midway. If I’d been smart that year I’d have a few dollars stuck back from my allowance. But back in the ‘80s this was about all I would need to have a pretty good time.

I had this route I’d always follow. I’d start at the front gate and walk all the way down the midway, then turn left at the Swine Barn, head along the backside of Barton Colliseum and end up at the Arts and Crafts building. I had two methods to my madness: I wanted to see which rides I’d spend my tickets on, and I was checking to see if there was any cool new food on the Midway. And if I was lucky, when I got to the Arts and Crafts building there’d be some sort of demonstration I could watch and sample, like a Tupperware party or a homemade ice cream demonstration.

Then I’d go down the hill past the front of the Hall of Industry, walk through the Food Court back to the Midway and double back again. I’d stop for a few minutes to see if there were any freebies being given out at the giant KKYK radio, then head into the Hall of Industry.

And back then, it was always packed with vendors. I’d get a sack from the Highway and Transportation Department (complete with a free map!) and go to town, collecting pencils and key chains and all sorts of stuff. I’d try Dippin’ Dots and bites of food at the cookware demonstrations and samples of dips and chips from the guy back in the corner of the big room. Every radio station, every politician, every local cause would have something to give away, and I’d take home a haul.

I’d usually check my watch about that time to make sure I hadn’t used too much of my time. Then it was to the Food Court to try something new and exotic. I can recall a year when egg rolls were strange and new and weird. Another year it was gyros, another big beef skewers. There was always something new.

I’d always be very careful with the money I had -- I had a certain thing I wanted to get before I went! That meant I walked past a lot of carnival barkers, though. I saved my games-of-skill money for the cheap things like darts -- I was really good at popping balloons with darts, and could always end up with something, even if it was one of those tasteless little square mirrors with a hair metal band’s name on it. Stuffed animals were better prizes, but those were best left for getting ready to leave or they were a liability on the rides.

And there were rides! I was always nervous about the really big tall rides like the swings and such, but things like the Scrambler were AOK. I loved the funhouses, and they usually didn’t take as many tickets as the other amusements. And then there was the year that the Gravitron 2000 came in. This big space-ship thing came to the fair, and it was four whole tickets to get on the thing, and there was a line back past the big swings to get onto it. It had to be good, right? Well, it was okay, but that was the only time I wasted my money on it.

I’d always end my Fair trip with a funnel cake purchased from the place right next to the long corn dog stand, and I’d sit and eat it by the KKYK Music Machine and see what sort of stuff they were giving away. I’d usually hang out there until about five minutes before I was supposed to be picked up, and that was it.

I still go to the State Fair every year. I spend a lot less time on the rides and a lot more tome strolling through the animal barns and educational displays, but it’s still a favorite for me. I hear there’s a possibility it’s gonna be moved, and that sorta makes me sad, but on the other hand I understand the reasons why. I hope whatever happens, Hunter gets as big a thrill out of it as I do.

Pub Fare at Hibernia.

• KAT ROBINSON
• IRISH CHEESECAKE: Tastes like Bailey's

I’ve had a lot of friends tell me I’d just adore Hibernia. And I should — I mean, an Irish style pub close to where I live, somewhere I could enjoy live music with curry chips? Yeah, that should be right up my alley.

But my schedule lately hasn’t allowed me to make it over there. Every time I’ve been in town for a few days my restaurant schedule’s been taken up by breakfasts and by obligations here and there. Which is why Hibernia’s been open nearly two months and until last night I had yet to darken its door. But the hubster and I finally got free for a date might and went to try it.

The menu’s big. There’s a lot on it, and thankfully our waiter fetched us drinks and didn’t pester us too much about making up our minds.

• KAT ROBINSON
• MEATY: Oscar Wilde Garlic Mushrooms

One thing I saw right off the bat that I wanted to try was the Oscar Wilde Garlic Mushrooms ($7.49). I held off on suggesting them because my husband’s just not a big mushroom fan. I suppose the description including the words “Irish cream stout reduction” won him over — he does love a good stout.

Let me tell you what — they were better than even I expected. These ‘shrooms were well soaked in the sauce and flavored with savory spices, and I’m pretty sure there was some deal of Worchestershire sauce there, too. They were rich, meaty things that I coulda eaten by themselves for a meal. The one disappointment to me was that the menu said they’d be served with Irish brown bread — but we received little garlicky toast rounds instead. Maybe they were out. I was too busy sopping up that cream stout sauce to mention it.

• KAT ROBINSON
• FISH & CHIPS: Hibernia style

I was going to go for the Fish and Chips ($8.79) but changed my mind when I saw something else on the menu — which was fine, because Paul had come in with the singular thought of eating Fish and Chips. Now, I’ve noticed ramblings about the authenticity of said dish lately, and frankly I couldn’t care less. It’s a classic. Chips at Hibernia are eighth-inch thick rounds of potato fried up with herbs and coarse salt, and they’re yummy. The fish itself (of course I tried them off his plate — what sorta wife would I be if I didn’t?) was a nicely flaky whitefish, a little undersalted but the golden batter made up the difference. He doused his with a good deal of malt vinegar, but I didn’t see the point. The creamy tartar that comes with it works okay for it, but I liked the fish on their own.

• KAT ROBINSON
• CURRY GRAVY: Chicken & chips

• KAT ROBINSON

I had passed up this repast because I saw curry on the menu. You can get Chicken, Vegetable or Beef Curry served up over rice pilaf or chips for $8.29. Now, a word of warning here. Yes, there are curry spices involved in the preparation of this dish. But Irish curry (any British Isle curry, for that matter) is not Indian curry. It’s more of a gravy than anything else, a thickened roux with curry powder in it. And Hibernia gets it right. It’s tangy and the chicken bits were fall-apart soft. Along with the chips there were long green beans, yellow and orange carrots and red bell pepper in the mix. A very filling pub meal.

• KAT ROBINSON
• BEHOLD THE POWER: Of cheesecake

• KAT ROBINSON

Which is why I stopped and boxed up half of it. I had seen something on the menu I just had to try. That was the Irish Cheesecake ($3.89), “Baked with Bailey’s Irish cream, Bailey’s Irish whipped cream and a Banana Brule.” We shared one — I’m guessing the “baked with” meant the whipped cream was in the cheesecake. On first bite I was smacked in the face with all the flavor of a shot of Bailey’s Irish Cream without the annoying smack of downing alcohol. It was gorgeously flavored. Paul really liked the Bailey’s soaked graham cracker crust but didn’t care for the bananas; I adored the bananas but could take or leave the crust. The bananas had been topped with sugar and torch for that same sort of crust you get on cream brule, and I was all about that.

We have other things we want to try. I like the idea of the Egg Mayonnaise ($4.19), a pair of eggs dusted with spices and topped with Hibernia house sauce served up with brown bread. There are plenty of sandwiches — including a Reuben — and I do want to give the Cottage Pie a whirl. And, for those who are wondering, yes there’s a cheese dip on the menu, White Queso ($5.89) served up with tortilla chips.

I’m hoping Hibernia can pull it off. It’s a crazy location on the hill above Rodney Parham. But there was a pretty good crowd there while we ate, and the musician who came in to play was very good natured with the kids (okay, I know they’re in their early 20s, but they seemed like kids to me) who were drunkenly joshing him. Gotta go back again, once I get off the road from all this fair stuff.

You’ll find Hibernia at 9700 Rodney Parham Road in Little Rock. (501) 246-4340 or check out the website.