State fair food battle

👋 Hey, it's Monica. This week I got a baptism by fried foods at my first Illinois State Fair. I've since tried more dishes, including:

• Tastiest: A bag of warm cinnamon mini doughnuts ($8).

• Weirdest: A dill spear wrapped in cream cheese and pastrami ($3).
• Worst: Sirloin on a stick with dry, tasteless beef ($10).

The intrigue: Fellow Axios Local reporters have sampled their share of wacky fair food this year — maybe even weirder than ours — and they shared their reports.

Iowa: Axios Des Moines' Jason Clayworth indulged in a deep-fried queso burger featuring batter-encased beef chips and Cheez Whiz this year. But it was hard to compete with Linh Ta's 2021 find of Flamin' Hot Cheeto funnel cakes.

Minnesota: Axios Twin Cities' Audrey Kennedy highlighted vegan chorizo balls dipped in corn dog batter last year. This year, she gave her stomach a rest with a tasty process story about chefs developing winning fair fare.

Florida: Axios Tampa's Seline San Felice went to Florida's January State Fair for a Donut Dog featuring a grilled weenie nestled in a Long John drizzled with icing.

Ohio: Axios Columbus' Alissa Wildman Neese praised the garlic stuffed, deep-fried olives on a stick but said to skip the deep-fried, mac 'n' cheese-stuffed turkey leg on a bone.