#indianapolis

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ballpark-snacks-cake.jpgNo, this isn’t a Taste of the Fair dish or a Man v. Food eating challenge. This is a single cake.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

…such as cakes! Back in 2019 we discovered for the first time in our entire fair-attending lives that the main 4-H Building wasn’t their only exhibit hall. Next door Centennial Hall was formerly a dormitory — and is still inaccurately and unhelpfully labeled as such — and contained entire competitive categories that we’d never seen before. The cakes in particular were awesome sights to behold.

Then the State Fair went on hiatus in 2020, because 2020. Without that annual reinforcement of the lesson we’d learned, we totally forgot about Centennial Hall until this year. We were only pointed toward it because the contents of the main 4-H Building were restructured, rearranged, and/or relocated elsewhere. For some reason the entire second floor appeared to have been converted into an indoor driving range for 4-H golfers. Thankfully we were redirected to Centennial Hall and discovered the joy of 4-H cakes all over again — the results of hours of effort, imagination and concentration on the part of whoever was blessed with these amazing colossal talents. A shame we couldn’t eat any of their works, merely behold them. Call it the Great Hoosier Bake-Off.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/victory-field-cake.jpgVictory Field cake, based on the home of our own minor-league Indianapolis Indians.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/baseball-cake.jpgOfficially this year’s fair’s theme was The Year of Baseball, but we didn’t capture a lot of relevant references. This one’s from the Indiana Arts Building.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/art-cake.jpgMultimedia art class cake!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pumpkin-harvest-cake.jpgSincere pumpkin patch cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/harry-potter-cake.jpgHarry Potter cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/mario-cake.jpgSuper Mario cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bluey-cake.jpgBluey cake!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/circus-cake.jpgCircus cake…

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/carnival-cake-1.jpg…not to be confused with carnival cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pink-carousel-cake.jpgPink carousel cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/popcorn-cake.jpgPopcorn cake. We didn’t touch it to see whether or not the kernels were real.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/casino-cake.jpgCasino cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/minion-upside-down-cake.jpgMinion upside-down cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/i-love-lucy-cake.jpgI Love Lucy cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/lorax-cake.jpgThe Lorax cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/charlie-brown-christmas-cake.jpgA Charlie Brown Christmas cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/charlottes-web-cake.jpgCharlotte’s Web cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chicken-cake.jpgChicken cake. No idea whether it’s also an ingredient.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/oz-cake.jpgWizard of Oz cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/wicked-cake.jpgWicked cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pooh-cake-2.jpgWinnie-the-Pooh cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/pooh-cake.jpgPooh mega-cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/south-pole-cake.jpgIceberg cake at the intersection of the North and South Poles.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/asgard-cake.jpgMarvel’s Asgard cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/little-prince-cake.jpgThe Little Prince cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/memento-mori-cake.jpgMemento Mori cake!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/banjo-cake.jpgBanjo cake, defying gravity.

Meanwhile over in the Indiana Arts Building, once again the annual Ugly Cake Contest fielded entries with very different objectives.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/dentistry-cake.jpgHow your teeth will look after eating every cake here.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/scary-blob-cake.jpgGoogly-eyed orange killer space blob cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ashtray-cake.jpgThe cakes are so good, you’ll need a cigarette afterward. Wait, no, this is also a cake.

To be continued! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:

Part 1: Our “Taste of the Fair” Tour, Worst to Best

Part 2: The Year in VHS

Part 3: The Year of America’s 250th

Part 5: [coming soon]

https://www.fogolf.com/1365653/jon-rahm-left-facing-uncertain-future-after-liv-golf-season-finale/ Jon Rahm left facing uncertain future after LIV Golf season finale #ColorImage #Day4 #FacialExpression #Golf #GolfNews #GreenGolfCourse #Horizontal #Indiana #Indianapolis #JonRahm #LivGolf #photography #sport #USA

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/merica-eagle-cake.jpgMeet the radical new Sam the Eagle from Mark Millar’s Ultimate Muppets reboot.

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

…and one splashy theme recurred throughout the various exhibits of arts, crafts, cookery, and antiquing across all participating buildings: the 250th anniversary of July 4th, 1776, generally considered the date of birth of the United States of America. Granted, not all citizens observed the only semiquincetennial party our nation will ever have, particularly among a statistically significant percentage of the terminally online. No, America isn’t perfect and never will be, which is kind of the point, no matter who’s in charge. If you only love people, places, or things that are perfect, then how many absolutely perfect people, places, or things do you genuinely love? If you count more than one, you’ve gotten it wrong.

As it happens, our road trip this year began over the Independence Day weekend and showed us evidence of folks proud to celebrate offline, about which I’ll get to post about here someday when I get caught up on sharing our travelogues, Lord willing. Anne, for one, was excited to see America cross that milestone without preemption by the Second Coming, collapsing under a giant meteor, or being conquered by a conspiratorial Canada/Mexico tag-team invasion. She braked at every roadside attraction that acknowledged its happening and was overjoyed to see that same enthusiasm here at the fair.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-250-soybeans.jpgWall art made entirely of soybeans.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/usa-quilt.jpgA Liberty Bell quilt hanging high above in the Indiana Arts Building.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-icons-thin-quilt.jpgMore American quilt blocks.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/flag-variant-quilt.jpgAmerican flag but with the stars replaced by quilting versions.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/rushmore-quilt.jpgMount Rushmore blanket.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/us-flag-handbag.jpgAmerica: the Handbag!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/250-blanket.jpgAmerica: the cozy blanket!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/usa-christmas-tree.jpgAmerica: the Christmas tree!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-wreaths.jpgAmerica: the Wreaths!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-lunchbox.jpgAmerica: the Antique Lunchbox!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bicentennial-flask.jpgRemember America’s previous Independence Day mega-party with a vintage Bicentennial booze flask.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-250-lady-painting.jpgDown in the 4-H art galleries, this American traveler is proud of what she can do and who she can be here.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/wooden-statue-of-liberty-250.jpgThe largest Statue of Liberty at the fairgrounds.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/lego-flag-and-eagle.jpgLego representation included a Lego flag and Lego bald eagle.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/lego-flag-tractor.jpgLego American tractor.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1776-cake.jpgAnd wow, did the American bakers turn out to compete and/or cater the occasion.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/liberty-bell-and-two-fiddy-cakes.jpgAn entire Liberty Bell-shaped cake and a “Two Fiddy” birthday cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fireworks-cake.jpgFireworks cake.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/memorial-cake.jpgA Washington DC cake topped with the Jefferson Memorial.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/stars-stripes-stitches-cake.jpgIt’s a quilt. It’s a cake. It’s quilt cake!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/plane-landing-cake.jpgA fighter jet and an eagle landed on the same cake and then there were fireworks, and they all lived happily ever after.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/happy-american-forest-animals-cake.jpgHappy forest animals hate fireworks but love American holidays!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/america-cookies.jpgAmerica cookies!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/join-or-die-cookies.jpgAmerica cookies but for history buffs like Anne!

To be continued! Other chapters in this very special MCC miniseries:

Part 1: Our “Taste of the Fair” Tour, Worst to Best

Part 2: The Year in VHS

Part 4: [coming soon]

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/disney-vhs.jpgRemember when Disney released its movies on home video in those oversized white cases that were incompatible with VHS racks?

Previously on Midlife Crisis Crossover:

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context…

…and once again the most interesting exhibit was hosted in the Harvest Pavilion: “Rewind: A VHS Revival”. Same as last year’s tribute to LP cover art, the curators started with a simple premise — in this case, “Remember movies on videotape? Those were awesome!” — and didn’t tailor everything to Indiana specifically, so much as it hearkened toward ye olde American entertainment monoculture. They assembled a collection of simulated video-rental store shelves, videotape boxes, movie posters, painted recreations of posters and iconic images, a few educational sections about filmmaking, and so on. Their contributors offered some offbeat choices, so it wasn’t all just Spielberg and Star Wars.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/video-shelves.jpgSample video shelves, except nobody bothered to alphabetize them like any real, competent video store would’ve.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/horror-videos.jpgThe Guinness World Record holder for tiniest Blockbuster Video horror section.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/star-trek-vhs.jpgStar Trek‘s syndicated reruns were okay until you could start buying the ones you liked best and watch them again and again and again and again.

Remember when you could only see the most famous movies when cinemas or broadcast networks let you see them? The invention of home video was a revolution in consumer choice and convenience. It broadened access to films of all sizes, pedigrees, and countries of origin. It also contributed to the last few decades’ ongoing cultural fractionalization — now that everyone self-curates at their own paces and caters to their own particularly peculiar preferences, it’s much more challenging nowadays to persuade mainstream audiences to watch the same films at the same time (a few 2026 theatrical success stories notwithstanding).

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/gone-with-the-wind-poster.jpgOnce upon a time, Gone With the Wind was an annual TV event that drew high ratings. Decades after it won awards and became one of the all-time highest-grossing films, its eventual scarcity created demand for years. Now that we can rent it online anytime, nobody cares anymore.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/oz-re-release-poster.jpgThe Wizard of Oz was one of countless beloved films re-released to home video every so often and kept in print “for a limited time only” with a sense of fake urgency.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/police-academy-2-vacation.jpgRemember when there were comedies? And some were for adults but some weren’t just for adults?

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/star-wars-posters.jpgThe largest poster collection on hand: the first six Star Wars films in the correct viewing order.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/wings-of-desire-corner.jpgThe German classic Wings of Desire gets its own corner with a poster and a painting homage. I have the Criterion 4K set.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/poitier-and-whoopi.jpgSidney Poitier and Whoopi Goldberg starred in some of the more topical examples on hand.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/denzel-and-keenan.jpgMore Black Cinema of note: Denzel Washington in Carl Franklin’s Devil in a Blue Dress and writer/director/star Keenan Ivory Wayans’ A Low Down Dirty Shame.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/the-mask-painting.jpgOther painted subjects included The Mask, whose director Chuck Russell passed away last month.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/hard-boiled-painting.jpgChow Yun-fat IS the Two-Gun Kid IN Hard Boiled! I can’t remember if this or The Killer was my first John Woo film…

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/face-off-painting.jpg…but it definitely wasn’t my last. In his Hollywood years, Woo never topped Face/Off.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/bruce-lee-diorama.jpgA large section about martial-arts flicks celebrates Bruce Lee with an entire diorama.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/crow-standee.jpgWith this standee, you too can become The Crow! Hey, others have done worse than you.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/fight-club-soap-logo.jpgI am Jack’s eye-rolls at Film Twitter.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/daniel-day-lewis-painting.jpgAcademy Award Winner Daniel Day-Lewis in In the Name of the Father.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/godzilla-live-painting.jpgThis Godzilla, King of the Monsters poster repro was painted live on site, earlier during the fair.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/tank-girl-soundtrack-cover.jpgI’ve never seen Tank Girl or listened to the soundtrack, but maybe I should, judging by some of the names here?

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/adults-only-corner.jpgA nod to adults-only video in the way back (apropos!) failed to pay respects to the old Movie Gallery at Tibbs Avenue and Lafayette Road.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/logans-run-matte.jpgA section about matte backdrops in films included an example from Logan’s Run.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/amy-madigan-and-kevin-costner.jpgThe largest screen in the pavilion played Field of Dreams, starring Academy Award Winners Amy Madigan from Weapons and Kevin Costner from Yellowstone.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/20th-century-fox-logo.jpgRest in peace, best studio ident ever.

…and there was more, more, more. Far as I noticed, they avoided references to Betamax, videodiscs, laserdiscs, DVDs, streaming, and all other high-def formats except for one HD TV looping a trailer for My Fair Lady‘s 2021 4K re-release, which had the most crystal-clear visuals in the whole pavilion.

To be continued!

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/deep-fried-lindor-dubai.jpgCeci n’est pas une corn dog.

It’s that time again! The Indiana State Fair is an annual celebration of Hoosier pride, farming, food, and 4-H, with amusement park rides, cooking demos, concerts by musicians either nearly or formerly popular, and farm animals competing for cash prizes without their knowledge. My wife Anne and I attend each year as a date-day to seek new forms of creativity and imagination within a local context.

Most years, we’re all about the food. Each time our favorite part is the “Taste of the Fair” competition, in which vendors showcase ostensibly new dishes in hopes of enticing foodies and/or impressing attendees who seek more to fair-life than eating the same tenderloin again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!) The TotF lineup is announced weeks in advance so everyone can plan their meals and experiments accordingly.

This year’s Taste of the Fair dishes and drinks numbered 39 in all. We sampled twelve such items during our 7-hour stay and walked off several of those cumulative calories around the fairgrounds and inside the exhibit halls, whose contents we’ll cover in subsequent chapters. Prices ranged from $9 to $15, comparable to the average AMC concession stand. The high prices hadn’t improved over last year, but we mitigated the budgetary strain with funds leftover from last weekend’s Fan Expo Chicago that we reallocated here. I wish we could’ve tried more, but we only attended a single day. I’m told the older we get, the less we should be eating, and the less we can eat.

Last year I shared everything we tried in random order. This year we’re back to ranking them against each other just because I’m awake enough to do it tonight, plus I’m annoyed with so many letdowns here. I won’t be surprised if my extended sugar rush runs out before I finish. I’ve divided our results into two separate lists — nine foods and three drinks. Pitting foods against drinks just felt weird. We’ll start with the grub.

9. Deep Fried Lindor Dubai Chocolate Truffles. This was the corn-dog-shaped serving in our lead photo. Batter-fried snack foods can be the best, but not all ideas can achieve the Deep-Fried Oreos platonic ideal. Dubai chocolate might be one of today’s hot fads among some foodies, but the fryers showed Lindor’s tiny, sugary musket balls no mercy. Anne took the first bite; in retaliation, the liquefied truffles spewed out at her, dribbled on her nice holiday shirt, and flooded the dish. That micro-eruption left us with an empty corn dog husk that’d gotten soggy from the inside. Exact same thing happened to us years ago when we tried deep-fried butter once. ONCE.

Speaking of butter…

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/butter-dipped-ice-cream-cone.jpgNo, that isn’t banana or lemon flavor. If only!

8. Butter Dipped Ice Cream Cone. Soft-serve ice cream dipped in hardened chocolate was a scrumptious treat for anyone who ever grew up near a Dairy Queen like I did. Some mad food scientist has invented a new kind of ice cream casing: hardened butter! I love the occasional salty/sweet snacks for their contrast and the way they capture The Duality of Man, but…butter? Like, just butter? There’s a difference between eating the butter pats that came with our school lunches (or was that just me?) and eating a crust made of just butter, as if someone tried to bake a flaky pie crust but a computer glitch deleted the rest of the recipe after the first line.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/chile-lime-smoked-chicken-leg.jpgNot quite “winner winner chicken dinner”, but the sauce is a keeper.

7. Chile Lime Smoked Chicken Leg. We knew we’d need at least a few protein dishes to balance out the sugar smorgasbord. Smoked meats are awesome when treated properly, or well accessorized — in this case, a perky avocado sauce I’d buy in a small jar if I could. Too bad the sauce drowned out all other seasonings, including the “chile” and “lime” selling points. The sauce also didn’t mask the lukewarm dryness of my drumstick. It didn’t help that the cashier failed at communication and they lost Anne’s order for several minutes until someone in charge finally turned around and wondered why she wasn’t going anywhere.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/charlies-mexican-street-corn-pizza.jpgAt last, authentic Mexican pizza like they serve in Italy!

6. Charlie’s Mexican Street Corn Pizza. A tentative first developmental step toward some future entrepreneur creating an eatery called Pizzeria Elotes, this cheesy corn pizza was inoffensive in every sense — texture and flavor were just-okay, not exactly a challenge to the corn-on-the-cob vendors. The lime was a welcome garnish, but the spice level was zero despite the visible tajin flecks. Anne generally avoids spicy foods, so if she’s complaining that your food isn’t spicy enough, it’s possible some practical joker filled your shakers with sawdust.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/junkyard-spam-dog.jpgCall it a Throwback Thursday flashback to that time we visited the Spam Museum.

5. Junkyard Spam Dog. As if “hot dog made of Spam” weren’t daring enough, this normal-sized wiener is loaded with coleslaw, macaroni and cheese, potato chips, barbecue sauce, and sliced jalapeños. After I discarded the peppers (I have to be in the mood), the coleslaw effectively swallowed all the other toppings. And yet I could totally taste the Spam, because nothing stops Spam from being Spam and marching through all other ingredients like the military meat it is.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/smork.jpgPork: the best State Fair meat ever!

4. The S’Mork. This year’s official Taste of the Fair Winner — announced early this very morning before our arrival — is the latest brainstorm from Nitro Hog BBQ, the geniuses behind 2024’s TotF-winning Fried Sugar Biscuit n’ BBQ with Apple Butter Sauce, which is literally The Greatest Taste of the Fair Dish in World History. This year they stuck with their potent salty/sweet foundation — the freshly fried biscuit with sugar coating, their trademark smoked pork, and the optional barbecue sauce — and easily recaptured the glory…except then they went and added a goopy La Brea pile of melting marshmallows and chocolate chips. That lipstick wasn’t quite the right shade for this expertly prepped pig. Making things worse: our plastic forks kept tearing at the flimsy foil under the sandwich and stirring shreds of it into the meat.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/strawberry-delight.jpgStrawberries in sight! Afternoon delight!

3. Strawberry Shortcake. That’s the name on the list, but the menu also called it Strawberry Delight. Anne’s favorite dessert of the day was also the heaviest thing we bought, even outweighing the proteins. Two scoops of ice cream and whipped cream atop, like, two or three pounds of syrupy strawberries with some kind of starchy discs submerged below — shortbread? biscuit? hardtack? — that proved a nifty little treasure-chest of texture once they were unearthed and brought to the surface. The syrup was a little rich for my taste (and I was beyond stuffed by this time), so Anne ate most of it herself. Frankly, I can’t believe she even fell asleep tonight.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/soul-train-egg-rolls.jpgDon’t let the taquito shape fool you.

2. Soul Train Egg Rolls. Now here’s the spice I was looking for: tightly packed dollops of jerk chicken, Caribbean spiced cabbage, rice and cheese in a crunchy shell and served with an optional packet of Thai chili sauce. The spices exceeded Anne’s tolerance threshold, but great things intertwined for me in these small packages.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/vegan-homerun-sliders.jpgBelieve me, I’m as surprised as you are…

1. Vegan HomeRun Sliders. The good folks at Black Leaf Vegan have been offering an alternative to the fair’s traditional farm-animal dominance for at least a good five years or more, but I’ve often failed to reach their faraway northeast-corner spot with any appetite left. This year I made sure to save room and didn’t regret it: I quickly devoured this trio of plant-based patties on faux White Castle buns, topped with slaw, red onions, pickles, some sort of bacon bits (soy?) and copious cheddar sauce (vegan, I assume?). Maybe it made a huge difference that the patties were freshly cooked (though I ended up patiently waiting so long that they apologized and threw in a courtesy drink), but they pulled off a hat trick of perfectly balanced hits of flavor, crunch, and food-group variety. This was the precision creativity we’d hoped to find.

…

…as for the three drinks:

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/great-american-shake.jpgSome folks hope July 4th never ends this year.

3. Great American Shake. Anne was bound and determined to celebrate the American semiquincentennial cheerfully somewhere in this country in 2026, and the fair did not disappoint her. This extra-large dessert was nothing too fancy, and designed more for looks than complexity — they drizzled red and blue syrups into the glass, filled it with a vanilla shake mixed on the spot (not in a broken McDonald’s shake machine) and capped with whipped cream and a tiny flag. It’s worthy competition to the Dairy Barn across the street, though Anne couldn’t tell what kinds of syrups those were and thinks “red” and “blue” might have also been their flavors.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/strawberry-pineapple-twister.jpgI declined the option to add boba for $3 because I am over 25.

2. Strawberry Pineapple Twister. The Twisted Drinks stand outside the Indiana Arts Building is always my last stop before we leave the fairgrounds for the day. They were frazzled and running behind today, but eventually I got my refresher for the rush-hour drive home, filled with chunks of actual strawberry and pineapple. For a change of pace, they offered Splenda instead of sugar — not my favorite artificial sweetener, but the antidote I needed to the rest of the day’s excess.

https://midlifecrisiscrossover.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/raspberry-sweet-tea-slushie.jpgIt looks like milk chocolate or floodwater runoff, but hear me out…

1. Raspberry Sweet Tea Slushie. I’ve never seen all those words in the same clause before. Maybe it was the dehydration talking, or maybe the melange was just that addictive, but with every sip I wanted more more more now now now.

…

…and that’s it for us this year. The State Fair runs through August 23rd, so if you’re reading this early enough and you’re free to head there this weekend, check out the Taste of the Fair master list and form your own action plan. You might love the other options we skipped — say, the numerous alcohol variants, or any dish definable as “the same staple we’ve been selling for decades, but we put a new hat on it.” Your Mileage May Vary.

To be continued!

Good evening drum corps fans! I am providing LIVE! From the Stands coverage of the 2026 Drum Corps International World Class Championship Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Drum Corps Planet! Click on the link below to follow along. It’s free and there’s no account required. You can also join the conversation with a free DCP account (sign up here!).

I’ll see you from the press box!

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