More News

The food at the Montgomery County Agricultural Fair is, no doubt, far from haute cuisine. Sneer or scoff if need be. But know that what the dozens of vendors, churches and civic groups at the Gaithersburg fairgrounds have put on each of the last 60 years is the gut-bustingest nine days Montgomery County has to offer — a lesson one semi-starved reporter learned in what became nothing short of a one-man feeding frenzy.

First I fasted, then I feasted, and in the end, it was decadently delicious and eminently edible, a barrage of tastes and temptations — sweet, savory, drizzled and dripping, piping hot, fiery-spiced, enough to make the glutton in me go gaga then lay down and beg for mercy.

Especially high marks — dare I say the highest? — went to the right-tasty pulled pork sandwich from Wesley Grove United Methodist. ("We put a special rub on it," a cashier from the Damascus church said with a wink as she handed over the quarter-pound heap of chin-wiping bliss.)

And to a North Carolina woman selling Granny Smith apples. She coats the apple with a Russian teacake-crust. Dipped in caramel and white chocolate. Rolled in pecans. Finished with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Conjuring a few dozen of the 81 recipes of candied confections in her repertoire, Debbie Booth's candied confections are nary for the sugar-shy nor the orthodontically impaired. (Aside: lesson learned that these apples ought be sliced rather than simply scarfed into willy-nilly.)

Each creation starts with a Granny Smith — their tartness is a must to balance out the over-the-top sweet surrounding it, says Booth — covered in a slick coat of caramel. From there, her imagination runs wild, everything from pecans to powdered sugar to piÒa colada, fillings and dentures be damned. (For the record, Booth is quick point out that her dentist is among her most enthusiastic clients.)

Business at her table in the Chill Barn near the back of the fairgrounds has picked up in recent years, Booth says, as fairgoers' palates have embraced her more out-there concoctions.

"My husband's laughed at every single one I've come up with. But a few hours later, he's up there, making that apple."

It's gotta be the butta

While some of the fair's traditional fares are evolving with our changing tastes, others have stayed, well, downright primitive. And when it comes to Ed and Blanche Hogan's grilled cheese sandwiches that proves in every way to be a very good thing.

Doled out at "The Big Cheese" stand in the livestock section of the fairgrounds, the Damascus couple's emphasis is on Wisconsin, Ed Hogan says — the good grass, the prime stock of Jersey cows and the generations of cheese-making know-how.

But the finishing touch is pure Montgomery: shipped in 550-pound wheels, the cheddar is aged at the fairgrounds for at least nine months, with the temperature and humidity carefully controlled.

"There's a lot of good cheese, but if you want the good stick cheese that's good for the table, good for sandwiches, good for the oven, cheddar is the most popular," Hogan, 79, says of achieving perfect cheddar flavor, 30 years after he and his wife started grilling the sandwiches up.

But there's more than pedigree that sets theirs apart.

"We don't skimp … Every sandwich has a healthy amount of cheese in it."

Did he just say "healthy"? Do tell.

"Second thing is we use the same bread, all the time." Sunbeam white bread, natch, two slices of the primo cheese. Assemble, stack and make room on the griddle. Then bring on the butter. Go ahead, don't be shy: Slather the stuff on.

"So, yes, we may have cholesterol there," Hogan says, "but it makes the taste."

And what a chunk of cheddar it is. Fifteen thousand sandwiches worth, some 2-and-a-half tons by fair's end.

Just ask Mallie Schneider and Megan McWright, 6- and 7-year-olds from Silver Spring at the fair for the first time, eating their first Hogan grilled cheese. Come to think of it, don't ask; they know better than to talk with their mouths full.

"We say we're here for the kids, but we're really here for the food," admits mom Laurie McWright as her daughter happily gobbled up the gooey goodness.

This is also Bill Sine's first fair, and he brings on the butter. But in his case, it comes with even fewer frills and fuss: ears of corn fresh from Frederick, straight from the sack into a 450-degree roaster.

Now eating more corn than he ever thought possible, truth be told that the Pennsylvanian vendor's preference has progressed beyond the basic butter-salt combo. He takes his corn a la some of his Latino clientele; that is, with mayo, Parmesan and Ancho Chile powder.

Butter or no, the roasted corn is so popular that he and his niece Nicole had to shut down for a spell Sunday evening to replenish their supply.

Sales of Nate Martin's one-of-a-kind Crab Dawg — slogan, "One bite says it all" — were even more brisk. The deep-fried-crab-cake-wrapped-in-some-kind-of-crispy-skin sold out altogether on Sunday, and the 28-year-old from Kent Island had to shutter his stand for the night.

A more worldly fare

First-time offerings like Sine's roasted corn and Martin's Crab Dawg are the latest additions to the ongoing effort to satisfy the fair's ever-diverse demographic, as shrimp fried rice, quesadillas and burritos have set up shop next to the traditional stand-bys.

"We're trying to bring in as many ethnic and cultural foods as we can," said Marty Svrcek, executive director of Montgomery County Agricultural Center.

Then Svrcek, a self-proclaimed "eclectic eater" with a penchant for the Crab Dawg, throws down the gauntlet.

"We know what you did," Svrcek said Monday, catching yours truly wholly unaware that word of my gastronomic exploits had spread. "We eat our way through the fair for nine days."

So, ego deflated but belly still distended, I just might be getting hungry again — so long as its flash-fried and on some kind of stick.

Here's what Gazette Staff Writer Sebastian Montes ate at the fair.

Gyro

Kabob

Crab Dawg

BBQ Chicken sandwich

BBQ Pork sandwich

Cheesesteak

Sausage sandwich

Roasted corn on the cob with butter

Teriyaki pork skewer

Grilled cheese sandwich

Sweet potato fries

Deep-fried Twinkie

Candy apple (two)

Lemonade

Water (four)