Eating your way through the Lane County Fair

You’ll want to bring your appetite — and your pocketbook — to the Lane County Fair, because the variety of treats is overwhelming.

The fair has 28 food vendors, 14 of which are based in Lane County, said Jeff True, the fair’s vendor manager. True’s favorite? Oriental Village, a family-run booth serving teriyaki chicken and vegan yakisoba noodles, that has been at the fair since the 1980s.

Lookout Eugene-Springfield reporters tried out a few of the fair offerings. What is your favorite fair food? Let us know by emailing vanessa@lookoutlocal.com. 

Local vendors include Great Philly Steak, offering Philly steak and chicken and veggie sandwiches, Larsen’s Ice Cream, Monster Cookie Co., and Moo Ping Thai Street Food. Frozen In Time Ice Cream, located inside the main fairgrounds convention center, is serving Prince Puckler’s ice cream. The Hawaiian Shave Ice booth was voted People’s Choice in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

True said one local favorite, Matt and Mitty’s, which took the People’s Choice award in 2024 for its blackberry grilled cheese and blackberry pulled pork, had to back out at the last minute due to an emergency. 

The Pronto Pup: an Oregon original

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference was between a Pronto Pup and a corn dog, wonder no more. The Pronto Pup is the original, an Oregon institution that has been serving up its signature cornmeal-battered hot dogs since the 1940s. The Pronto Pup originated in Rockaway Beach, Oregon, and made its public debut in Portland in 1941.

“It’s an Oregon thing,” said David Solmonetti, Pronto Pup’s owner.

The Pronto Pup booth is Lane County Fair’s oldest food vendor. This particular booth has been using the same recipe since the 1950s.

What sets a Pronto Pup apart from a regular corn dog? According to the vendors, the key difference is the batter. While both are hot dogs on a stick that are battered and deep-fried, Pronto Pups ($7) are made with a batter closer to pancake batter. Corn dogs typically use a cornmeal-based batter, resulting in a sweeter, crispier crust. 

There are other non-Pronto Pup corn dogs as well, including a Korean corn dog booth. Korean corn dogs typically use rice flour or panko for a lighter, crispier crust. They can also be dusted with sugar. 

Deep-fry everything

The Sinful Treats booth is offering its version of a corn dog dipped in sweet garlic sauce ($7 or $10 for a jumbo dog). The Sinful Treats booth is also the place to get deep-fried coffee, deep-fried Oreos, deep-fried Twinkies, deep-fried Snickers bars and deep-fried cheesecake (all $7).

Erma Eldridge, who lives in Salem, has worked at the Sinful Treats booth for 35 years. The booth has been at the fair for 60 years, and is run by its third-generation owner.

The deep-fried coffee is a batter infused with a syrup made from an espresso blend, so it has a kick of caffeine, Eldridge said.

“We fry it up to look like french fries,” Eldridge said. “We put it in a cup, add more syrup, powdered sugar, whipped cream and cherry, and we give you a fork. You eat it like a dessert. It’s very popular.”

Sinful Treats also deep-fries Pepsi and Dr. Pepper. 

“The question people always ask is, ‘How do you fry liquid?’ And we say, ‘very carefully,’” she said. 

Elephant Ears: hand-stretched perfection

Just steps away, the Dottie’s Elephant Ears booth offers a different kind of fried indulgence. Dottie’s manager of 11 years, Kristina Gallegos, said the booth has been at the fair for 65 years. 

Elephant ears ($10), are an eastern European pastry of yeasted dough the size of a dinner plate. The dough is hand-stretched, deep-fried and finished with butter and cinnamon sugar or raspberry jam — or both. It’s similar to Fri-Jo’s, which is another fair booth with the same owner.

“We’re different than Fri-Jo’s because we don’t run it through a machine,” Gallegos explained. “We make it actually right here in the booth.” 

For the indecisive fairgoer, Gallegos gave simple advice: “If you like something more crispy, then you would get the elephant ear. If you like something more thick and sugary, then you would get the Fri-Jo.”

While elephant ears and Fri-Jos are similar, another fried-dough favorite at the fair — funnel cakes — are something different entirely: long tubes of coiled dough that are fried and dusted with powdered sugar.

Barbecue and other classics

At Smok’n Gingers, owner Jonah Foust serves elevated comfort food like brisket mac and cheese and barbecued chicken thighs. The E-Spicy booth is serving Flamin’ Hot Cheetos street corn on the cob ($12), though the corn is also available in an easier-to-eat format off the cob in a cup, with the same toppings. Wash it down with a soft-frozen lemonade ($6) from New England Lemonade.

Fairgoers have their favorites. Anthony Meyer got the brick of fries from Walla Walla Burger. It’s $16 for fries, but it’s big enough to feed five people. For upgrades, you can add chili, nacho cheese, fried onions or garlic aioli.

Meyer and his family get the five-day pass to the fair so they can attend each day. The brick of fries is his favorite food.

“It’s why I come to the fair,” he said.

The International Foods booth had a steady line, thanks to employees doing most of their cooking in large, wide skillets. Wood-fired chicken skewers grill in full view of the attendees. Willie Jacks, who was cooking up a pile of grilled onions, said, “Come on over here, everything is good.”

Melissa Rice was working the booth The Wurst, which is based in Eugene. The Wurst was voted People’s Choice fair favorite food in 2022, and the menu features bratwurst and knockwurst, a beef dog or a vegan dog (all $9). The cart’s specialties are schnitzel with mushroom gravy ($18) or currywurst with fries ($14).

“The curry ketchup is housemade,” Rice said. “It’s the best thing ever, in my opinion.”

Want to go?

Lane County Fair

• Where: Lane Events Center, 796 W. 13th Ave.
• Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday, July 23, through Saturday, July 26; 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, July 27
• More: https://www.atthefair.com