My Dear N.C. State Fair,

The season of my love is finally here, although the fond memories never left. October brings you back to the Raleigh fairgrounds, where my heart and stomach can once again be filled with your guilty pleasures for eleven whole days. This year I want to make it official and declare my deep fried love to you.

Oh fair one, the mere thought of you awakens my senses. The sweet scent of your funnel cakes and roasted corn waft through my mind, igniting my appetite for you; and even when you smell like a farm animal, my love remains. Your screams echo from the rides in the sky, reminding me of the thrills you bring to town—no number of tickets could put a price on my love for you. At night you light up my eyes with your colorful fireworks display, shining down on the sea of people who travel near and far to be with you.

(Last year, one of us even had a wedding photo shoot at the fairgrounds!)

If food is the way to a person’s heart, then I must be love sick (or is that a sugar high?). Your inventive menu of fried delights fills cravings I never knew I had, arousing my taste buds and leaving me more satisfied with each bite. At every turn your tasty temptations taunt me, making me want to get my hands on your turkey legs and take a bite out of your country ham biscuits. You are the candy apple of my eye, and I could just eat you up.

Like a pig race you run through my mind, and every fall I put all my money on you. I'd spend my last dime to win you a giant stuffed gorilla at the ring toss and a Thanksgiving bird at the turkey shoot. When I'm out of money I'll stand in line to get your free hush puppies and samples of the state's best products.

N.C. State Fair, you complete me (and my daily calorie allowance). Year after year, it keeps getting better and I want to grow old and fat with you. Last year I introduced you to my closest family and friends and they’ve given us their blessings. This year I hope you will honor my love letter to you and accept me as the ambassador to your deep fried ways.

Love,

P.S. Why would we make great ambassadors? Because we have the passion, the appetite and the experience to showcase the state fair in all of its glory. It would be an honor to have this opportunity to cover the fair (and our home state of N.C.) with a sense of humor, curiosity and pride.

We know the fair is about more than food—it's a showcase of the state's culture, commerce, tradition, and spirit. GWG is ready, and more than willing, to share new and familiar experiences with those who will visit the fair for the first time as well as the regulars.

We look forward to the new memories this year's fair will bring as well as the renewed sense of love we feel with each visit.

A Sticky Situation

Mission: sample as many locopops as possible

Location: Locopops, 2600 Hillsborough Road, Durham, NC‎

Obstacles: the sun, brain freeze

Objective: beat the heat and eat 11 locopops before they melt

Outcome: messiest food challenge, yet

We've devoured a one-pound hotdog, we've taken down the double down, one of us even attempted the two-pound burger...but our messiest challenge to date, 11 locopops, outside, in June.

On a recent afternoon, GWG ventured to the Locopops on Hillsborough Road to sample a variety of their frozen treats, available in a range of traditional to adventurous flavors. After reviewing the menu (and ten minutes of indecision) we each chose five flavors—a decision that paid off as we instantly filled up a frequent buyer card, earning us a free pop (or 'paleta' if you live in Mexico)! Locopops offers water and cream-based flavors, so we sampled a combination to get a good feel for what this local shop has to offer.

Much thanks to the guy behind the counter for his friendly offer to label each flavor in order to help us maintain the integrity of our experiment. We should also apologize to the kids in line who had to wait a little longer than usual to enjoy their afternoon treat! There is always a welcoming atmosphere at Locopops, and they understand their customer—zip lock bags, baby wipes and other supplies are available to help those of us who are used to eating with bibs.

We took our bag o' pops and set up shop at the bright purple picnic table out front—drivers-by had to get a kick out of two grown women attempting to devour popsicles at a faster rate than they were melting. Some of the flavors were instant favorites and others were a little different—overall we found a preference for the cream-based choices.

Here is what we thought of each flavor:

• Cookies-n-Cream - they've got this one nailed; with huge cookies chunks this is sure to be a unanimous favorite
• Watergate Salad - tastes exactly like that mystery salad that always turns up at pot-lucks; sweet and enjoyable
• Thai Rice Pudding - sweet and milky in a subtle way
• Strawberries-n-Cream - more of a blend than strawberry chunks; not our personal favorite
• Chocolate Banana - instant favorite; great flavor combination
• Pomegranate Tangerine - sweet, fruity and refreshing
• Chocolate Brownie - chocolate chunks make this a dead-ringer for Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie
• Mighty Mojito - a slightly tangier option that will refresh you like a glass of ice-cold lemonade
• Guava Jalapeno - fun to try for the oddity, but this one was hard to finish
• Mango Chile - tastes just like the fruit, but heavier than some of the other fruit flavors
• Rosemary Apple Cider - we suggest a little more on the apple cider and less on the rosemary

Locopops offers 'The Regulars' all the time (the tried and true favorites), but they also mix it up daily by rotating in "Guest Stars"—now it's your turn to try some flavors and let us know what you think!

Nathan Hula Big Burger

A good friend did some foodie recon and passed along word of an epic challenge in North Durham—a two-pound burger served up at Eno River Eatery off Roxboro Rd. Coined the "Nathan Hula Big Burger" after the original record holder, this gut check dares you to down a 2 lb. burger (coated with cheese, bacon, lettuce and tomato), loaded fries, a small side of apples and a pickle in under 20 minutes. As the menu states, "if you can eat it all and beat the record, it's FREE!!!"—a lofty goal considering the meal will cost you $16.99 otherwise.

If you decide to take on this massive meat feast, prepare to wait at least half an hour while your burger is under construction—a perfect opportunity for you to prepare your game plan or do breathing exercises. Once the burger is ready, it is served up with appropriate fanfare to notify you and the entire restaurant that the challenge is on—waiters banging pots and pans surround you and place the beef tower and a timer on your table—the wait is over.

The burger is divided into four patties, so a natural strategy is to devour one layer at a time. The first bite will whet your appetite and make you think that anything is possible, but as you move to the second patty your pace will likely slow-down and swallowing may require effort. Both brave souls who attempted the challenge (one guy, one GWG) hit a wall at the half-way point (2 patties) and neither came anywhere close to beating the time limit. Even the most passionate beefeater will struggle with this one—the greasiness and density of the beef make for a formidable yet delectable opponent. The fries and apples are the easy part.

Even though no one won the challenge on this attempt, we did come away with enough leftovers for two additional meals! If anyone decides to try out this burger beast, make sure to let us know how you stack up. Even if you aren't up for the Hula, the Eno River Eatery feels like a nice place to frequent with fresh, tasty food and a friendly staff.

The One Pound Takedown (Joe's Diner)

What better way to start a blog about gutsy girls than to devour one pound of meat? We couldn't think of one so when we heard the buzz about Joe's Diner we thought we'd take on the challenge.

The sign outside of Joe's Diner boasts "home of the one-pound hot dog"--the signature dish that drew us in to try this local diner. It is safe to say that we had no idea what we were in for--you have to see this one to believe it. Appropriately named "The Shaq" on the original menu, this all-beef dog requires two large buns and a cafeteria tray to accommodate its size. The selection of toppings allow you to have it your way from traditional add-ons like chili, slaw & cheese to more adventurous options including jalapenos and mango salsa.

We each opted for a different combination--one with chili & cheese, the other with jalapenos & cheese. Once the hot dogs were served up and we got past the initial size-shock (it did seem to take a while to prepare a hot dog of such epic proportions), the best approach for conquering this beefy beast seemed to be cutting it in half and taking it on in two parts. The hot dog meat is very tasty and the toppings give additional flavor that make the first side go down without much effort...it's the second half that starts to be a challenge. When it comes to timing we probably didn't break any records but in just under an hour we had both cleaned our plates. This may not be a challenge for the likes of "Man vs. Food" but it is certainly not for those with a weak stomach or a weak mind. That being said, our work here is done (with documentation to prove it).

Joe's offers additional menu selections typical for a short-order diner--breakfast, burgers, and of course a large variety of more average-sized dogs. The owners have created a friendly and inviting lunch spot in a section of Durham that is under transition, and a place that already seems to have a local crowd. There will definitely be a next time to try out some of their more reasonably portioned meals.