AS STREET FAIR SEASON ROLLS ON IN...

I wrote this a couple of years ago... but everybody knows that carnival food never changes.
This summer, as the carnies start to drop into your towns... eat, drink and be merry.
I'll be drooling over my memories, as I doubt I will ever again be able to abuse my stomach the way I did on the night in question.
MOZZAREPA!
Every year we make it a point to take at least 2 trips to the Meadowlands Fair.
We don't go on the rides.
We don't ride the ponies.
We don't pick up the easy chicks.
We go for one reason and one reason only:
The Shish Kebab.
Now,
before you start cringing and thinking about what sort of domestic animal
was cubed and marinated, skewered and grilled...
let me assure you, whatever species it is-
It's delicious.
This year, however...
The evening got a late start.
Jimmy had been recording a band and I had been procrastinating on going to see my mom and by the time we had both finished respectively doing and NOT doing what we had to do,
it was already 11 o'clock.
It was a saturday night and the Fair stays open till 2am on saturdays, so we decided to take a drive over to the arena, pay $3 to park, 20$ to get in and then another probably 40$ on food that likely wasn't worth the napkin we'd use to squeegee the grease from our chins.
On top of this-
I wasn't all that hungry.
I had always gone to the fair with a ravenous appetite in the past...
but this year I was just really not hungry.
Also-
I had made the mistake of wearing little white shorts and a t-shirt as it had been broiling hot all day long,
but by this time there was a sub-arctic chill in the air and my teeth were chattering so furiously that I feared for the tip of my tongue.
We made our rounds, had a kebab... which was decent save for the fact that we mistook the barbecue sauce for hot sauce and a kebab slathered in barbecue sauce can be less than appetizing.
We bought a 5$ cup of lemonade, which was really neither lemon nor ade...
just a cup of lukewarm water with a half lemon floating in it.
Then things started to look up-
I convinced Jimmy to share a plate of sweet potatato fries/chips with me...
and shockingly, they were incredibly delicious with melted cheese and a horse radish dipping sauce.
We huddled in close to ward off the icy wind and enjoyed the sweet,
hot, crispy slices of yam.
We swabbed our greasy fingers and lips and stepped back out into the windy night.
At some point-
I was absolutely an ice cube and was desperate to find any sort of hot beverage so I decided to seek out a cup of tea coffee or boiled water while Jimmy made his way over to the "Fried peanut butter and Jelly sandwich" kiosk.
Of course-
There was no hot beverage to be had,
for whatever reason nobody had hot water in their concession stands,
so I shivered back over to where jimmy was waiting in what appeared to be an endless line to purchase his fried peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
I was freezing, I was desperate.
I needed something... ANYTHING that was hot to warm my insides.
That was when I spotted the "Mozzarepa" stand.
Something between mexican and italian fare, this treat was something which I wont soon forget.
I shuffled over to the Mozzarepa stand and saw what looked like thick, flat yellow pancackes all perfectly uniform in size and colour, sizzling on a hot grill.
Every few moments, a spanish kid would flip each pancake, exposing a perfectly browned underside.
Upon closer inspection,
I noticed that there was cheese oozing out of the center of the steaming yellow cakes.
I glanced up at the sign which read
"Mozzarepa- Sweet Corn Bread cakes with delicious melted mozzarella cheese"
I was sold.
I forked over my $4 and the young spanish guy handed me a paper plate with a lovely yellow disc upon it.
I was freezing so I ignored the incredible heat that was coming off of my
Mozzarepa.
I grabbed it and took a bite.
Listen-
I dont know if there is a god... but if there IS one,
he eats mozzarepas.
The corn bread cakes were perfectly sweet and doughy.....just crisp enough on the outside and moist and warm on the inside.
A copious amount of mozzarella cheese dripped from between the 2 cakes every time I squeezed.
Sweet and hot and fresh and delicious-
This treat gave me the same sort of 'close your eyes' thrill as a fresh summer peach has been known to do.
Simply amazing-
The Mozzarepa.
As I finished my last few bites of my mozzarepa,
Jimmy approached with an equally incredible treat:
The Fried peanit butter and jelly sandwich.
Dear Jeebus-
This was incredible and much lighter than one might expect for it to be.
A standard and already delicious pb and J samich is enrobed in fried-dough batter, flash fried and doused in heaps of powdered sugar.
Sweet and hot and light and lovely, the peanut butter was melted and had permeated the dough...
Simply divine.
We took a last walk about
and made our annual stop in the candy hut, where we purchased 20$ worth of mary janes, now and laters, smarties, peanut chews, zotts, abba zabbas and more.
The next day-
I awoke from a sweet dream with an awful cold and a miserable stomach ache... craving corn cakes and cheese.