I don’t do high fructose corn syrup, I try to eat local and I’m not much of a fast food person. But for festival food, I make an exception. I can’t explain the allure. I don’t know how I can be so disgusted with KFC’s double down, or the rumored chicken skin sandwich, only to throw all caution and foodie morals to the wind at the first sniff of festival food. Maybe I justify it since most fairs and festivals occur once per year, it’s a special treat and it’s all about experience. Blinking lights, carnies and the pervasive smell of deep-fried goodness.
I saw a plea from Foodspotting begging someone in Indiana to please spot a newfangled creation called the Doughnut Burger. This burger is an unlikely marriage – a hamburger with all the fixings, bacon and egg optional, sandwiched between two gooey, glazed Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I felt a call, a mission. I’m not really sure what I expected, but it seemed to promise adventure in burger form. It would be my first trip to the Indiana State Fair with its tractor rides, up-close encounters with farm animals (I’d never been within a few feet of a cow before) and my first ever Doughnut Burger.
I walked through half the fair, scouring booths, looking for it. I rode a shuttle, hauled by a bio-diesel fueled John Deere, and got dropped off right in the heart of the deep fried section. The fair had organized it so that all of the deep-fried oddities were all together so you wouldn’t have to walk too far between your deep-fried courses. Neighboring booths boasted everything from chocolate covered bacon to deep-fried butter.
The line for the Doughnut Burger stretched across the street, a whole slew of fair-goers, eager to try it. I couldn’t be deterred. I was going to wait, no matter how long it took. I finally got close enough to see the magic happening – the Krispy Kremes toasting on the grill, the giant pile of bacon waiting to grace Doughnut Burgers. And I also noticed there was an awful lot of grease on the glass window. But this is what I was here for right? A five-inch high, over-the-top festival food experience.
But then my mission came to a sobering halt. I wanted to like it. I really did. I’d heard reviews of awesomeness from multiple sources. The doughnuts make for sticky, messy eating, and the flavor just didn’t offer enough of a pay off. To me, it tasted like saccharine Krispy Kremes with biting onion. Both overpowered the flavor of the hamburger, bacon and the cheese. The first taste smacked of novelty, then made me feel a little sick.
Doughnut Burger concessionaire Dennis Reas told the Indy Star that he has to challenge himself each year to come up with a new food to draw the crowds. I’m both in awe of and a little disturbed by the American obsession with one-upping the indulgence in fried-food. Hot beef sundaes and deep-fried Pepsi. How did we become a culture that encourages that? Despite this, (and even with Mission: Doughnut Burger ending in disappointment), I can’t say I wouldn’t stand in line for the next creation. Once my curiosity is piqued, I can’t help myself. I just might give the next deep-fried wonder (whatever it might be) a whirl.
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Links:
The Doughnut Burger on Foodspotting
http://www.foodspotting.com/reviews/99691
This post was originally published on August 21, 2010 on Sundayed.