It's really something to be able to say that in one hour and 21 minutes (yes, I timed it), I tasted red wine from Bulgaria, lemon ice cream from Belgium, sausage from Spain, beer from Poland, bananas from Cameroon and five different cheeses from the United Kingdom, all for 6€. In case you were curious, the Red Devil cheese made by Snowdonia Cheese left me with the best taste in my mouth – pun definitely intended.
After seeing different country's specialties, I started to think about what types of food would be at an event like this if it was held in Wisconsin. For convenience's sake, let's just talk about Midwestern delicacies, shall we?
- Wisconsin: Obviously, bratwurst. Preferably beer-battered and grilled, piled high with kraut, Dijon mustard and some raw onions. Wisconsin is proving one sausage at a time that the 'wurst is the best.
- Illinois: The classic Chicago-style Hot Dog, possibly my favorite thing to eat of all time no matter where I am. It's messy, colorful and represents almost all of the food groups. What more could a real Midwestern girl ask for in a meal?
- Minnesota: I would make some joke here about how Minnesotans probably just live off of Viking blood, but then I remembered my Minnesota native friend, Sarah, consistently brings up something called hotdish. For all you normal folks out there, "hotdish" is Minnesotan for casserole. And I'm a fan of any sort of casserole – they make for great leftovers.
- Iowa: Corn on the cob, doused in butter, sprinkled with salt and showered with (extra) pepper. I'm pretty sure corn is the most plentiful living thing in Iowa, humans included.
- Missouri: Saint Louis-style Pizza. Pizza is great wherever it's from, really. But I've always been partial to a slice (or five) of thin crust. Plus, pizza cut into squares always tastes better than wedges. Why? The same reason that Spongebob-shaped macaroni and cheese tastes better than the normal kind. It just does.
- Indiana: Let's be honest, the only thing good about Indiana is the fact it traded Peyton Manning to the Broncos so we could stop constantly hearing about Tim Tebow. Am I right or am I right?
- Ohio: I've only been to Ohio once, and I can't recall a single thing I ate. But the food there must be good if Drew Carey lived there (I know what you're thinking, but I assure you that was not a fat joke. I just really appreciate Drew Carey, and I'm sure he has excellent taste).
- Michigan: Michiganders probably just snowmobile on down to Ohio to hang out with Drew Carey. That's what I would do.