Alabama Fair Food: Pickle Pizza, Gator on a Stick and Fried Snickers in Birmingham

It’s the tail-end of summer in Alabama -- the time of the year when hopes for a hint of fall chill in the morning air are returned with an afternoon sweat. While fall isn’t quite here yet (the season officially starts in three days, even though Walmart decor indicates otherwise), what is here is fall festival season.

Cue the Alabama state fair, which kicked off on Sept. 13 at the Birmingham Race Course and closes on Sunday (note: this isn’t the Alabama national fair in Montgomery. That fair is in October).

At AL.com, we’re exploring the world of midway cuisine. Earlier this week, our foray into festival food took us to the Baldwin County Fair where our Mobile reporter took a true critic’s eye to the traditional fair food for a verdict that was, well, reasonable.

Alabama Fair Food: Chicken meets waffle in Baldwin County

Baldwin County Fair mostly sticks to the basics

Here in Birmingham, the food at the Alabama state fair had more flair. When we got to the grounds, we called fair owner Mark Lovell to give us the scoop (see what we did there? Our jokes are just getting started) on the festival’s best eats. Most of the food vendors are from out of state ( probably because the fair is under Universal Fair and Expo South, based out of Tennessee). While we didn’t see any Alabama vendors, we did eat loaded fries from Florida and gator on a stick from Louisiana, drizzled with the cayenne pepper and vinegar magic of Louisiana hot sauce.

Here’s a look at some of our favorite foods at the Alabama state fair:

Pickle Pizza from Rick’s Pizza

The pickle pizza from the Rick’s Pizza was the most interesting fair food that we never got to try.

Topped with a homemade ranch dill sauce, mozzarella cheese, and dill pickles, the pickle pizza from Rick’s Pizza won best new fair food this year at the Calgary Stampede.

“It was going out the window,” the Rick’s crew told us.

The pizza sold out in Calgary. But here in Alabama-- not so much. The crew said people barely ordered the pickle pizza last week, so they stopped making it every night.

The good news: If enough people request the pizza this weekend, they may put it back on the menu.

Loaded French Fries from Attavio’s Fries

The same father-son team that owns Rick’s Pizza also owns Attavio’s fries. Based out of Sarasota, Fla., Attavio’s specializes in hand-cut regular, curly or ribbon fries. Dipped fresh to order, patrons can order a regular size or a bucket.

Want to fancy those fries up? Attavio’s toppings include cheese, bacon bits, sour cream, ranch and pulled pork.

Not in the mood for french fries? Attavio’s also has baked potatoes and chicken strips.

Fried Shrimp on a stick from George’s Fine Foods

Based out of Louisiana, John George, the owner of George’s Fine Foods, has been in fair food all of his life.

“I was raised in the business,” he told us. “You see a lot of the country. A lot of good people.”

George’s specialty is fried goodness on a stick, and savory options include chicken, shrimp and a bloomin’ onion. For eight dollars, we ate the fried shrimp on a stick with onions and bell peppers, drizzled with Crystal Louisiana hot sauce.

Looking for dessert? George’s has fried cheesecake, fried Twinkies, fried Oreos, deep fried Snickers and deep fried s’mores.

Fried gator on a stick George’s Bourbon Grill

Festival food is actually a family affair (see what we did there?) for John George. A few stalls down, his daughter runs George’s Bourbon Grill, where she and her crew serve up polish sausage, shrimp and catfish po-boys, and the piece de resistance: fried gator on a stick -- all with plenty of Tony Chachere’s creole seasoning.

That delicious gator will cost you a little extra, though. Be prepared to shell out $12 for that bad boy. Don’t forget the hot sauce. And if your household is split between Louisiana and Crystal, don’t worry -- George’s Bourbon Grill has both.

Elotes and the Mangonada at A&M Concessions

Also based out of Florida, A&M Concessions has two stands at the festival, both devoted to Mexican and Tex-Mex street food. The most popular item on A&M’s menu is the elote, or Mexican grilled street corn. Patrons can have it two ways: on the cob or elote en vaso (in a cup.)

The second stand has cantina-style tacos, burritos, tortas, and a “walking” taco -- in lieu of a taco shell, A&M fills mini bags of Doritos chips with steak or chicken and taco fillings.

For refreshments, A&M has Horchata, pineapple juice, mango juice, and the Mangonada -- a mango slushy topped with chamoy syrup, Tajin (chili-lime salt) and a tamarind stick.

Candy apples and cheesecake on a stick at Kandy Kate’s:

Kate Stanley, the granddaughter of John George, has two stands at the fair, both devoted to sweet treats. One stand boasts cotton candy, candy apples, and caramel apples dipped in homemade caramel.

Down the line, the Kandy Kate’s frozen treats stand features homemade ice cream, milkshakes and soda floats. Also on the menu: cheesecake on a stick and chocolate-covered cheesecake, berries and bananas.

The smoked turkey legs from Mitchell’s Delight

The self-described “Bayo boys” from Mitchell’s Delight run two stands at the fair. One serves up the standard festival fare of wings and nachos. But the smoking tent is where the magic happens.

If you get there at the right time, you can see the crew baste and line up giant turkey legs on the grill. Another specialty: the pork chop on a stick.

Hurricanes & Daiquiris

We’ve saved the best news for last: this isn’t a dry festival. At the end of the midway, festival goers can find a tent serving up hurricanes, daiquiris, and margaritas -- all in collectible drink ware.

If you know you’ll want to get more than one drink, the best value may be to order a souvenir cup or drink container. They’re a little on the pricey side (they start at $30) but they come with free refills. Not a drinker? The daiquiri tent also offers non-alcoholic pina coladas.

DETAILS:

This year’s Alabama state fair is located at the Birmingham Race Course at 1000 John Rogers Dr, Birmingham, AL 35235. The fair ends on Sunday, September 22. For times and more information, go to alabamafair.org.