What fair doesn’t have far-fetched food? The Florida Strawberry Festival is no exception to the rule and has no problem accommodating food vendors that embrace weird eats. While many of these foods work as simple novelties, others are legitimately delicious.
And, yes, you can get a strawberry variation of just about anything. Everyone has different tastes but, if you ask the Plant City Times & Observer staff, you need to be on the lookout for these items while you’re roaming the festival grounds.
THE SWEETHEART
Almost as famous as the festival’s strawberry shortcakes are its Amish doughnuts, which locals will rave about.
This year, the Amish bakery is whipping up a variation they’ve dubbed “The Sweetheart.” It’s a chocolate-filled doughnut, which is then covered in chopped strawberries and topped with whipped cream and a strawberry. Consider it a chocolate lover’s strawberry shortcake.
“The Sweetheart” can be bought at the Amish doughnut stands near East and West Independent streets.
ORIE
Who doesn’t like Oreo cookies?
Here’s a variation on the American classic that can only be found on the festival grounds. The Best Around Concessions has created the “Orie,” a sandwich of flavored funnel cakes with cream cheese filling in the middle. The end result is quite a bit larger than an actual Oreo, so don’t expect to dunk this thing in a glass of milk.
There are three variations to choose from: chocolate, strawberry and “chocoberry,” which has a top layer of strawberry and a bottom layer of chocolate.
Look for these at Best Around funnel cake stands.
STRAWBERRY FRITTER
Perhaps the Lions Club’s strawberry fritter isn’t the strangest thing anyone could cook up, but where else could this be found?
This doughnut, which can be bought at the Arthur Boring Building, is a must-have for people who enjoy apple fritters but feel that something could make them even better. As an added bonus, fritter sales will benefit the Lions Club and their efforts to raise money for a shade structure for the Willis Peters Exceptional Center’s playground.
BURGER TIME
Burger lovers will leave the Strawberry Festival with something to talk about. There’s no shortage of tasty burgers coming to the grounds in 2016, but four in particular have caught the eye of the Plant City Times & Observer staff. All of them can be found at Carousel’s burger stands.
REDNECK BURGER
First, there’s the Redneck Burger. It’s a perfectly normal hamburger at first glance, but peek under the bun and you’ll find a slab of fried bologna on top.
HAWAIIAN BURGER
The Hawaiian Burger is this year’s take on the Luther Burger, which is known for replacing buns with glazed doughnuts. The Hawaiian adds pineapple to the mix, in both chopped and glazed form, as well as some ham. It’s served skewered and with a cherry on top.
ICE CREAM BURGER
Sweet-toothed burger lovers who enjoyed last year’s deep-fried strawberry burger may want to try the Ice Cream Burger. This one tops an otherwise normal hamburger with a scoop of frozen ice cream — a unique experience for the tastebuds, if nothing else.
HUSH PUPPY BURGER
Last, but not least, is the burger that made the Plant City Times & Observer staff drool. The Hush Puppy Burger is what happens when a grill master, bored with traditional buns, decides to sandwich the meat and fixins’ with giant hush puppies. They may not look anything like buns, but few can argue against the hush puppy as a Southern food staple.