There are a lot of Syracuse-based food trucks at the New York State Fair this year, and if I’m being honest, I was sort of intentionally trying to avoid going to them during The Fair.
Why? It’s pretty simple: I’ve had food from almost all of them multiple times before, and I know what it tastes like. Some of them I really love, and some not so much. So I didn’t want to waste my stomach room and my money going to places I’ve already had before.
For me, eating and drinking at The Fair is mostly about getting those Fair classics you only get once a year, trying new places and meeting new people. But when I saw the menu from Soup R Smash Bros, I knew I had to check them out.
They have some really fun creations at The Fair this year that I’d love to try, but my heart was set on the Blooming Onion Burger. I absolutely love a blooming onion, and while I know there are a few places I could get one any time of year, I always get one at the New York State Fair every year.
So off I went to the Expo Center to find them — they’re located right in front of it.
Take a Martin’s Potato Roll, butter and toast it, then add a single smash patty, melted cheese, special sauce and fried onion petals. What you get is a really delicious cheeseburger — salty, crispy and cheesy, with some spice from the special sauce and that sharp fried-onion flavor cutting through everything.
The smashburger and a small side of fries come in one boat for $18. Upgrading to a double smashburger is an option too — that’s just a few dollars more.
I’d order this burger off a regular menu at a burger place. For the portion size, I feel like you’d eat this as a meal by yourself, or it’d be perfect to split four ways with friends so everyone can sample it and still go on to try more around The Fair.
And I think that’s the trick with The Fair: Go with three or four friends, everybody chips in, and you split food four ways. It lets you try a lot of different things without spending too much or feeling too gross at the end of the day.
Special shout out to our friends at GT Automotive for sponsoring today’s visit to The Fair. If you’re looking for a place to take your car, truck, van or any motor vehicle, give them a try — that’s where I take my truck for all its needs to make sure I’m driving in top shape while I travel around New York.
