Top 5 best foods at the N.C. State Fair

Recess' Christy Kuesel and Elizabeth Djinis sampled the N.C. State Fair's culinary offerings on Friday, and through a scientific rating system known only to Kuesel and Djinis, Recess has rated the foods accordingly.

1. Fudge, flavor: Rocky Road—We came into this experience not knowing what to expect. The stand had no lines, and fudge isn't what you typically think of as stereotypical "fair food." But one of our writers literally did a dance the second she tasted this fudge... it was that good. The melted marshmallows combined effortlessly with the slightly-melted chocolate for a taste suspiciously akin to that of heaven. 

2. Deep-fried Oreos—The staple of every state fair, we knew that deep-fried Oreos had to be on our list. And did they deliver. Although it’s a greasy diet ruiner, every bite of that deep-fried Oreo is worth it. (Although we will say that we seemed to feel the adverse health effects within seconds of our first bite.) The Oreos were covered in powdered sugar, which makes everything better, and the creamy filling of the Oreo was fried to perfection. We each had two and were going to wait to each the second one, but we only waited mere minutes between Oreos. 

3. Roasted corn—Roasted corn is not the first thing you think of when you hear ‘state fair.’ Corn? It sounds almost...healthy. But when you see this slathered-in-butter concoction, you’ll realize just how far from healthy it really is. Still, it was a nice departure from the typical fair sugary goodness. Although it may be more like butter with a side of corn, it was a good starter course. Clearly we were not alone in our beliefs. Patrons lined up behind the roasted corn booths, ready to get their fix. And don’t even get us started on the table full of condiments. 

4. Candy Apple, flavor: Duke themed—On the surface this seemed like the best idea, but in reality it's kind of underwhelming. The blue sprinkles, caramel and chocolate layers are great, but after that, it's really just an apple. And we didn't come to the state fair to eat apples. Really, it was a good apple. But an apple nonetheless. 

5. Corn dog—The corn dog was disturbing. One of us had never tried a corn dog, so we figured it was a fair must, but now it has become a fair mustn’t. We ate more of the fried, dough-y exterior than the actual hot dog interior. Until Kuesel tried it, she didn’t actually realize the “dog” in corn dog referred to a hot dog. Looking for a dinner substitute at the fair? This is about all you can get. If you’re going to the State Fair, there’s so much to choose from that there’s no point in settling for the merely mediocre.