With summer festivals and fairs comes a mouthwatering menu of guilty pleasures, from corndogs and nachos to funnel cakes and jumbo lemonades. Here are some sweet and savoryfood vendors to whet your appetite.
Corndoggies – Crispy, golden goodness
You’d be hard pressed to find a couple who has cooked up more corndogs than John Lawyer and his wife, SJ, of Fort Collins. Since launching the Corndoggies food truck in 2016, they estimate they’ve made more than 235,000 artisan corndogs. That’s about 23 miles worth of corndogs (sticks excluded)—the equivalent of lining U.S. 34 with corndogs from downtown Greeley to past Lake Loveland. By the end of this summer, their corndog mileage will extend into the foothills.
“ I kind of went through a little midlife crisis,” says Lawyer, a longtime chef, about his journey to frying up hundreds of thousands of craft corndogs, which aren’t exactly the type of food he envisioned creating during his time as a restaurant owner.
He initially thought the idea of a corndog truck was silly—“the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard,” he says—but then he did some research and discovered there was a market for it.
“One thing led to another, and I had some encouragement around me to just keep cooking because it was really my passion,” he says. “I came across this RV, and it was like, ‘Oh, this could be our food truck.’”
Lawyer doesn’t grind the sausages by hand like he did in the early days of Corndoggies. That task created a lot of very long days. Now he uses a small Wisconsin operation to supply quality meats, and he focuses on the corndog preparation, like whipping up batter. He uses dairy and eggs in his batter, unlike many corndogs that are made with a dry mix combined with water.
“I think that’s what really makes us different,” he says. “It’s a royal pain in the butt because you always have to have your batters cold…we go through so much ice. But it turns into a fluffier batter. It just has a good texture and a good flavor.”
Corndoggies offers a classic, 100-percent beef corndog as well as a jalapeño chicken gouda dog, a Cajun-style andouille pork sausage, a mac-and-cheese-filled dog and other creative options. They also have a gluten-free option and a vegan corndog made with a three-bean mash.
A testament to their quality is that 10 seasons in, the couple still enjoys eating corndogs.
“ My wife and I have matching ‘certified wiener slinger’ tattoos,” Lawyer says. “I call myself the corndog king of Colorado. It only took close to a quarter million corndogs to get there.”
Where to Find Them: This summer, the Lawyers will be slinging corndogs at Taste of Fort Collins, the Greeley Stampede, Larimer County Fair and the Goodguys Car Show.
Nana’s Famous BBQ & Grill – Nostalgic classics
A long-time fair favorite, Nana’s Famous BBQ & Grill has all the classics covered, from fresh lemonade to brisket sandwiches and a wide variety of cheese fries. Owner Sandra Baker founded the business in Greeley 28 years ago as a college student who was inspired by her mother’s home cooking.
“My mom is one of the people who always cooked everything from scratch and was the best hostess,” she says. “We never left the house on an empty tummy.”
The family-run operation takes pride in creating nostalgic crowd favorites.
“We like to take an old-time favorite and put a new twist on it,” Baker says.
One of those twists this summer will be their funnel cake fries, served with toppings like whipped cream, Oreos, strawberries or the standard powdered sugar.
“It’s easier to eat as a family,” Baker says, explaining the fry concept. “ So, when you’re walking around a festival or a fair, instead of tearing it apart and getting the powdered sugar all over yourself, it’s just easy.”
She says her personal menu favorite is the cowgirl fries: Texas-style home fries topped with melted American and Swiss cheeses, bacon and a chipotle raspberry sauce.
Where to Find Them: This season, Nana’s will be at the Greeley Stampede, Windsor Harvest Festival, Larimer County Fair and the Anderson Farms Corn Maze.
Southern Soul – Down South favorites on the Front Range
Fort Collins-based food truck Southern Soul made its Greeley Stampede debut last year, and despite its placement outside of the main food court, word spread quickly about the Southern-style menu.
“We started having people come by and say they heard about us from their friends who had been before,” says owner Soren Avery, “and by the first Saturday, we did the most business we’ve ever done in one day.”
Last year, their number-one seller at the Stampede, where they won Rookie of the Year, was their brisket mac and cheese, served with brisket smoked in house and their own blend of cheese and barbecue sauces.
Another crowd pleaser is their fried catfish basket, which was inspired by Avery’s years as a cook in Florida and Georgia and is served with house-made tartar sauce, fries and hushpuppies.
“We didn’t put it on the menu at first. I wanted to, but I was kind of timid about it,” he says, because he was unsure how the Colorado public would take to the dish. “After about the first month, it became our number-one seller, even at breweries, and it still is.”
Other savory items to keep an eye out for include Southern Soul’s Cajun egg rolls, made with chicken and andouille sausage, and their smokehouse nachos with Hatch chili queso.
Where to Find Them: This year, you can catch Southern Soul at the Greeley Stampede, the Larimer County Fair and the Overland Expo Mountain West.
Photo by Jordan Secher
Fort Collins Aguas Frescas – The thirst quencher
Taste of Fort Collins attendees will get the first shot at trying the latest addition to the food truck scene: Fort Collins Aguas Frescas.
A long-time Latin American favorite, aguas frescas are nonalcoholic beverages typically made from a blend of fresh fruit, like watermelon or pineapple, or flowers, like hibiscus—perfect for beating the summer heat.
Founders Dakota Montez and Rafael Moreno drew inspiration from their family roots in Mexico and El Salvador, where the drinks are a staple.
“I remember my grandpa used to talk about getting it on the streets of Mexico, and it was the one piece that was really, really special to me,” Montez says.
His favorites on the menu are agua de pepino con limón (cucumber limeade) and agua de sandia (watermelon water).
For aguas frescas newbies, Montez says they’ll be offering lots of samples at Taste of Fort Collins. For a more exciting beverage, he suggests trying them Foco Loco style, served with fresh fruit and candies and topped with a savory chamoy sauce and Tajín seasoning.
Where to Find Them: Be the first to try Fort Collins Aguas Frescas at this year’s Taste of Fort Collins. They’ll be serving drinks on both days of the festival.
