- On the hunt for the "healthier" option at the Allentown Fair
- Those in attendance say they are possible to find
- Gyros seem to be the best option for counting calories
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — For many, the word fair is synonymous with the word food.
From fried Oreos to funnel cake, the Allentown Fair has many of the traditional offerings that, while delicious, may clog an artery.
So is it possible to count calories or even choose a “healthier” option while enjoying all the fanfare that’s been on display in Lehigh County for 171 years?
We set out to find out.
"You're gonna come to eat and have a great time."Julie Intrepido-Kmetz of Nazareth
“If you're coming to the fair, I guess you're gonna come to eat and have a great time,” said Julie Intrepido-Kmetz of Nazareth.
Intrepido-Kmetz is the fair's culinary supervisor and runs the event’s culinary contests all weekend long.
On Thursday, she was judging the Sweet Girls Bakery fruited cookies contest, which had somewhat of a health-conscious vibe.
“I went with the theme of homegrown fun, fruits and vegetables,” she said.
Intrepido-Kmetz, who has been part of the fair for 25 years, said she had a hard time thinking of some low-calorie options.
“I don't know, because I'm a junk food junkie,” she said with a chuckle. “I guess you would have to look around. I'm sure there is, but a lot of it is fried, deep fried like the Oreos and everything.
"I don't know if there's really a slim option.”
"They're big. They're messy, so they're fun to eat.”Tyler Schlener of Allentown
Fair-goer Tyler Schlener of Allentown recommended, "maybe don't eat as much sweets, I guess, and try to just have a good protein base.”
Schlener had a famous Vince’s Cheesesteak in hand as he answered the question of whether it’s possible to eat healthy at the fair.
"They're big. They're messy, so they're fun to eat,” he said of the Allentown fair food favorite.
Christina Malthouse said she came down from Albany, NY, to see musical act Tyler Hubbard at the fair grandstand Thursday and spend the day enjoying the food and festivities.
Malthouse had a pineapple drink in hand.
“It's refreshing,” she said.
She said she thought her group found a more health-conscious food to sink their teeth into.
“We got gyros right here and they're fairly healthy," she said. “Other than that, if you go for the fried food it might not be as healthy, but there's plenty of healthy options.”
That gyro was from John the Greek Food Concessions, based in Pittsburgh. Jason Tkatschenko was behind the counter making the pita, meat, veggie and tzatziki sauce snack.
“We get a lot of people coming here to eat healthy,” Tkatschenko said. “We get questions all the time, like, ‘Is there gluten in the bread?’ We get a lot of vegetarians because we do veggies on a pita as well.
"Everything that we do is vegan for the most part, except the meat, obviously.”
Tkatschenko is part of the fair circuit and travels to different events almost weekly. When asked about eating healthy at a fair he replied, “you have to watch very carefully."
"Lots of fried stuff, lots of cheesy stuff, but there's people making fresh lemonade that's not too bad for you," he said. "There's always good spots if you know where to look.”
Some may think they’ll find a healthy option at the Allentown Fair when pigs fly, but hey, the pigs are racing at the fairgrounds, so it might just happen.
