Fried Butter, Bacon Sundae - Wisconsin State Fair

Nothing compares to the cream puffs at the Wisconsin State Fair, but new offerings come along that do attract attention.

In 2009, the Machine Shed did big business with its chocolate-covered bacon.

This year at the 160th Wisconsin State Fair, the Machine Shed is once again giving fairgoers a new treat: deep fried butter.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

The wacky food machine is up and running at the Wisconsin State Fair, with deep fried butter and a bacon sundae (vanilla ice cream with pancake syrup and bacon bits) among the notable entries on the menu.

The fried butter - a battered treat that's been showing on fair menus across America - comes to the Wisconsin fair courtesy of the Machine Shed, which also will introduce fried mashed potatoes this year.

The butter treat is described as "big, doughy, warm, butter-filled deep-fried goodness," according to Patrice Harris, the fair's communcations manager.

Cedar Crest Ice Cream serves up the vanilla ice cream sundae sprinkled with genuine bacon bits.

"There's so much new stuff for people to try. With the hit of chocolate covered bacon a couple years ago, and bacon in general lately, anything with bacon will do quite well," said Harris.

The foods-on-a-stick category gets a few new entries this year, too. "People are obsessed with the foods on the stick," she says. "And it's convenient - to walk and eat."

Among the offerings there: country fried back with gravy. Not all the foods on a stick are deep fried, she says, but she adds, "The deep frying holds it together on the stick."

...Other confirmed new offerings this year:

Sweet corn jalapeño nuggets, at Krautland; the "Hold Shot" (a double hot dog with cheese, bacon and peppers), at Leadfoot's Bar & Grill; sweet potato tater tots, Major Goolsby's; a beer battered walleye fry and sandwich, Lakefront Brew Pub & Eatery.