What to eat at Junk Food Alley

PHOTOS

Click on image to view.

RELATED VIDEO

Flash Player must be installed to view our videos.

DISCUSS

Comments Comment on this story

Every year, Junk Food Alley teaches Fort Wayne one powerful lesson: Anything can be fried.

Fort Wayne Newspapers Three Rivers Festival's annual Junk Food Alley sizzled with fried favorites and a new German Chocolate Funnel Cake on today at Headwaters Park.

As reporting interns with notebooks and empty stomachs, we braved the heat to taste the fairest festival foods and seek out the most refreshing delicacies to keep you cool.

We rated each dish on a scale of one to five forks, five being the best to satisfy your sweet tooth and your budget.

But don't take our word for it. Visit Junk Food Alley anytime from 11 a.m.-11 p.m., now through July 21, and see for yourself.

Vendor: Funnel Cakes

Cost: $7

Rating: 5 out of 5 forks

Like last year's Red Velvet Funnel Cake, the German Chocolate Funnel Cake is sure to be a hit. The new dish is a soft and gooey pile of chocolate funnel cake topped with powdered sugar, homemade coconut custard and crushed pecans.

Jane Harris of Pensacola, Fla., developed the dish from her own German chocolate cake recipe, and even those who don't like the traditional cake might find something to love about this tasty adaptation.

Harris tries to create new recipes for her Funnel Cakes vendor every year. Next year's creation will be a chocolaty, cost-effective treat more portable than a plate-sized funnel cake.

Vendor: Pence's

Cost: 5 for $1 or 30 for $4.50

Rating: 5 out of 5 forks

Pence's salt water taffy is everything you would expect from the gummy treat. The texture makes them easy to bite and chew, and the assorted packs of 30 are filled with fun flavors, such as banana, cinnamon, chocolate and vanilla. The taffy is individually wrapped, easy to share and easy to afford.

Vendor: Hot and Crispy Vegetables

Cost: $7 including ranch dipping sauce

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 forks

If you want a half healthy option, try the veggie combo. It's a mix of broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and onion rings, all fried for your delight.

The vegetables balance the fried breading to make a crisp, crunchy snack that goes well with ranch dipping sauce. But the vegetables still taste like, well, vegetables.

Once you're past the fried breading, it tastes more like mom's steamed veggies than a fried indulgence.

Vendor: Arctic Ice

Cost: $3 small, $3.50 medium, $ 4 large

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 forks

Sno-balls are the classic shaved ice in a styrofoam cup. The vendors say blue raspberry is their most popular flavor.

Like most shaved ice treats, the sweet flavor falls to the bottom of the cup, so you don't taste much of it until you've eaten about half a cup of ice. But in the middle of a hot, dry summer, icy treats are simply refreshing.

Vendor: Papa George's Gyros

Cost: $8

Rating: 4 out of 5 forks

For a lighter meal, Papa George's doesn't disappoint. Their most popular, traditional Greek Gyro is taco-like concoction of onions, tomatoes, lamb and beef meat topped with a sweet tzatziki sauce. The tzatziki sauce has a cucumber base, so it's cool and refreshing with the gyro's surprisingly soft and fluffy bread.

This treat won't leave your stomach feeling heavy, but it might make your wallet lighter. It's a bit pricy for vendor food. But if you don't mind spending a little more, your stomach may feel a little happier.

Vendor: German Roasted Almonds

Cost: $4 small, $7 medium, $12 large

Rating: 3 out of 5 forks

If you're looking for a simple snack when walking around Headwaters Park, give the German Roasted Almonds stand a try. There are several options of nuts to choose from, but the German roasted almonds are why this vendor is here.

The recipe of cinnamon and vanilla roasted onto the almonds comes straight from Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany. They are a bit pricey though, coming at $4 for a small bag.

Vendor: Chan's Famous Chicken-on-a-Stick

Cost: $7 Chicken-on-a-Stick, $9 with Fried Rice

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 forks

If you're looking for an escape from the endless fried food options, Chan's is a good place to start. Specializing in Chinese food, Chan's boasts the chicken-on-a-stick as one of its main items.

Two chicken breasts are grilled on a stick, which gives it a smoky flavor. The chicken is juicy and doesn't have a spicy flavor for those who stay away from such foods.

It can be tough to pull apart from the stick and can be ordered with a plate of fried rice. It's worth $9 if you're tired of eating fried food.

Vendor: Fruit Smoothies

Cost: $4 small, $7 large with alien water bottle

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

The name is as simple as the smoothie. The stand only has strawberry as a flavor to choose, but it's a strong tasting strawberry with real seeds. It's made fresh in a blender right in front of customers, and it tastes like a blended frozen fruit bar.

The smoothies should be popular on Junk Food Alley with the extreme heat the city has been having this summer, and it was a refreshing way to end our day.