From fried watermelon to bacon iced tea, here’s what to eat and drink at the Maryland State Fair

On a midway full of turkey legs and deep-fried Snickers bars, Fred and Agnes Corder have something fresh to contribute to the staples of state fair food.

The couple, who live in the Philippines, are spending the waning days of summer in the U.S. serving deep-fried watermelon balls from a booth at the Maryland State Fair. The treat has all the hallmarks of a fair food crowd-pleaser: a fried, doughy exterior, a sweet, fruity filling and plenty of novelty.

“It’s soul food in the most Filipino way possible,” says Fred, who grew up in Bowie and now lives in Manila, where he and Agnes run a restaurant called Maryland ChickAn.

They drew inspiration from Fred’s grandmother, who would fry watermelon by the slice as a summertime dessert. But the large pieces of fruit didn’t appeal to their Filipino customers. So the couple decided to scoop the watermelon into bite-sized balls instead, producing a more manageable, hand-held snack reminiscent of Manila street food.

They’ll be at the Maryland state fairgrounds in Timonium for the next two weekends as visitors flock to the state fair, which kicked off Aug. 24 and runs Aug. 31 to Sept. 4 and again from Sept. 7-10. My colleague Annie Jennemann and I paid a visit to the fairgrounds to try some fried watermelon and other salty, sweet — and sometimes slightly wacky — foods. Just make sure to eat these after you take a spin on the Tilt-a-Whirl.

Pork sundae from the pork booth is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

This layered dish, found at the pork booth in the Maryland Food Pavilion, is basically a summer picnic in one bite. It may be called a “sundae,” but there’s no ice cream involved. Instead, a base of sweet cornbread is topped with tender pulled pork and coleslaw that strikes the right balance of creamy and tangy. A drizzle of barbecue sauce takes the place of the cherry on top.

Mr. Bud's Nevada Crunch from the pork booth is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

While you’re at the pork booth, grab a cup of Mr. Bud’s Nevada Crunch, a riff on a walking taco that subs in smoked pork shoulder for the usual ground beef. Accompanying the meat are hearty Nevada beans, shredded cheese, barbecue sauce and a smattering of scallions. Crushed Frito chili cheese chips add a satisfying crunch. The snack is named in honor of the pork booth’s late owner, according to the staff there.

Corn fritters from the Maryland Food Pavilion is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

If you’re feeling like you need a vegetable after all that meat, grab an order of corn fritters, also found in the Maryland Food Pavilion. These are still the fair’s version of “healthy” food, so they come wrapped in a casing of warm, fried dough. Be careful when taking a bite: we expected to find kernels, but instead got an entire piece of cob. Think of it like corn on the cob with pillowy dough, rather than butter, as a garnish.

The OG + truffle oil from Cambodian Street Corn is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

It’s corn season, so we had to try a cob from the Cambodian Street Corn stand, too. This one falls somewhere between lunch and dessert, combining a mildly sweet coconut milk glaze with a drizzle of truffle oil and a coating of sea salt and scallions on a full ear of corn. It’s a snack that’s traditionally served in Cambodia during holidays, according to the booth’s operators, and also a nice break from all the fried and the super-sweet offerings found elsewhere at the fair.

Maple bacon sweet tea from Tiki Tea is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

The Tiki Tea booths at the fairgrounds have plenty of flavors you’d expect: sweetened and unsweetened iced tea, peach tea, frozen iced tea. But you’ll have to find the booth next to the pig races to sip on Tiki Tea’s maple bacon sweet tea, a special flavor for the fair. We couldn’t detect any maple in the tea, which instead tasted mostly of smoke. After a few sips, we opted to dump the drink and redeem our free refill ticket for a standard sweet tea.

Brown sugar boba tea from the turkey stand is offered at the Maryland State Fair. (Annie Jennemann/Baltimore Sun)

As big bubble tea fans, we were excited to see brown sugar boba tea on the menu at the turkey stand in the Maryland Food Pavilion. And the milk tea, lightly sweetened by brown sugar, was pleasant enough. But we couldn’t get past the tapioca pearls, which were tough and chewy, as if they hadn’t been sufficiently boiled before serving. We decided to ditch the tea for a classic lemonade, prepared in front of our eyes with an entire fresh-squeezed lemon and a generous scoop of sugar. Sometimes, the classics really can’t be beat.