With a view of the Maryland State Fair’s midway games and flying swings from the window of her trolley food truck, Maggie Ramirez-McGraw kneaded a mound of pretzel dough, flattened it and stuffed it with blue crab and cheese.
Then she repeated the process, filling a second pile of dough with Nutella. One savory, one sweet.
Ramirez-McGraw did it all from a former St. Michaels trolley converted into a food truck and tricked out with a dough mixer, reversible dough sheet and an oven. She and her wife, Alejandra Ramirez-McGraw, bought the trolley in 2020 to launch Get Baked, their mobile soft pretzel business.
They’re among the new vendors at this year’s state fair, where the dining lineup extends beyond classics like lemonade and funnel cake (though there’s plenty of that to be had). We stopped by the fair’s opening day on Thursday to check out the selection.
Here are five foods — and one drink — worth a try:
Soft pretzels
Clik here to view.
Maggie Ramirez-McGraw first got a taste of pretzel-making as a teenager in Ocean City, where she worked at The Wrapper, a stuffed pretzel shop. When she was furloughed during the pandemic, she decided to return to those roots and open Get Baked.
The trolley’s stuffed pretzels come in plenty of savory flavors (spinach and artichoke, cheesesteak, mac and cheese), but the blue crab offers a particularly Maryland twist. The Ramirez-McGraws source their crab meat from a St. Michaels crabber and season it with a generous shake of Old Bay. Melted American cheese lends a creamy texture to the toasty, buttery snack.
A Nutella-stuffed option offers a gooey and satisfying blend of salty and sweet. Both pretzels are finalists in this year’s new fair food competition, called “The Mallet.” A panel of judges will choose winners Sunday at 10 a.m. on the State Fair Park Free Stage.
Smoked pork belly fried rice
Clik here to view.
Another new fair food contestant is the smoked pork belly fried rice, which you can find at the pork stand in the Maryland Foods Pavilion.
When they say smoked, they’re not kidding. Depending on your tolerance for smokiness, the flavor could be enjoyable or overwhelming, and it permeates the rice and meat, washing over the taste of chili crisp and scallions. The pork belly, a highlight of the dish, is tender, fatty and delicious.
Strawberry chocolate sweet tea
Clik here to view.
We recommend a dose of sweet to clear the smoke.
The Tiki Tea stalls scattered throughout the fair have your standard sweet tea, but if you’re in the mood for something a little different, grab a strawberry chocolate tea. It’s essentially a chocolate-dipped strawberry in a drink.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C_BS0_xPTM3/
Though we couldn’t taste much tea, the strawberry was pleasant and not overly sweet. Hershey’s chocolate syrup adds a nostalgic chocolate flavor. Bonus: it’s very Instagrammable, served in a souvenir mug with three chocolate-dipped strawberries as garnish.
Catfish and chips
Clik here to view.
Beef, turkey and pork options abound at the fair, but we wanted to try some seafood, too.
Maryland catfish takes the place of the traditional cod or haddock in Jimmy’s Famous Seafood’s spin on fish and chips. The breaded fish was tender and surprisingly light for a fried food, and thick-cut fries made for a filling side. An Old Bay-adjacent seasoning and some spicy Jimmy’s sauce give the meal an extra kick.
Strawberry banana pudding crunch mini donuts
Clik here to view.
You might recognize Robin Holmes from her stall inside Lexington Market. The Deddle Donuts owner brought her mini donuts to the fair for a second year in a row, and this time around she’s serving a Charm City-inspired flavor.
Banana pudding is “so Baltimore,” Holmes said. She tops her donuts with fresh banana slices as well as pudding. Strawberries and strawberry glaze add another layer of sweet, as does whipped cream, powdered sugar and a strawberry crumble “crunch.” This one is a sugar bomb — but you’re at the fair, where indulgence is part of the experience.
Fresh peach sundae
Clik here to view.
We couldn’t leave without grabbing one of the fair’s beloved desserts.
The peach sundae, which you can find at the Maryland Foods Pavilion, combines the delicate sweetness of ripe peaches to vanilla soft serve, topped off with a dollop of whipped cream. It’s late summer in a cup: simple, sweet and perfectly in season.
If you go
The Maryland State Fair runs for three weekends: Aug. 22-25, Aug. 29-Sept. 2 and Sept. 5-8. It’s held at the Maryland State Fairgrounds at 2200 York Road in Lutherville-Timonium. Tickets can be purchased at the gate ($15 for adults, $12 for children ages 6-11, $10 for seniors 62 years and older and fee for children 5 years and younger) or at a discount online.