Can a vegetarian find anything other than pizza, funnel cake, roasted peanuts, snow cones and french fries at the Grange Fair? You might be tempted to swipe the judged fresh produce in the Grange Building or rummage through the private stock hidden in the hundreds of green tents. You have to look very carefully and ask a lot of questions but there is always something legal to be had.
There are options but, like most fairs and festivals, it isn’t the healthiest selection. We always rely on the Bonfatto’s subs or the fruit cup stand at the south end of the fair to fall back on. Last night we extremely pleased to have found a vegetarian Cream of Broccoli Soup ay Gunzey’s stand on the main drag.
When I asked about both it and the Cream of Potato, even though they were busy with peak fair traffic they went back to ask the person in the know in the kitchen. Cream of Potato had bacon (NOT an herb you know) but the Cream of Broccoli wasn’t even made with a chicken stock! We could get the soup in a bread bowl or cup to go and chose to hoof it and enjoy the rest of the Grange.
It had a taste that reminded me of canned or dried milk and was warm and thick with a little broccoli here and there. I had never been compelled to tip at a festival stand before but was so impressed that this woman didn’t blow off my request that I did. For the sake of vegetarians, I hope it produces some good ripples.
