SEMO Fair dishes up fish, Fritos pies and more

This year's SEMO District Fair ushered in nearly 30 food vendors -- some new and some old -- with several offering a rare take on traditional fair favorites.

Local vendor Agnes Eyler's food truck Chuck Wagon Concession offers hamburgers, Frito pies and other homemade goodies. This is the first year she has been part of the fair, Eyler said.

And everything Eyler makes is homemade, she said, including fresh-cut French fries and Coney Island-style chili for the chili dogs.

The Wild Willy Burger -- named after Eyler's son -- is Chuck Wagon's No. 1 seller, she said, "and of course the Rowdy Fries."

"We had a food concession trailer before, and the Rowdy Fries I just came up with because I made salsa, so I thought chili, cheese, salsa, sour cream and jalapeños ..." she said.

A security guard purchases a box of taffy from Katrina Jeter of Marion, Illinois, at the Malone's Taffy stand Wednesday at the SEMO District Fair in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

Eyler retired from the Army National Guard on May 31 and decided to participate as a vendor at this year's fair, she said.

"So I figured, 'Hey, why not work for myself?' I love to cook," she said.

And gauging from the success of this week, Eyler said she plans on returning next year.

Paulette's Food Service employee Taylor Collazo was assisting customers Wednesday at one of two food stands the business operates at the fair each year.

Collazo said the stand has had a presence at the fair for nearly 35 years, and the most popular items include funnel cakes and corn dogs.

Agnes Eyler of Cape Girardeau prepares a plate of rowdy fries inside the Chuck Wagon on Wednesday at the SEMO District Fair in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

The business was named after Paulette King, she said, and has become recently famous for its Turtle Funnel Cake.

"We got No. 1 for that in Springfield," she said, "so that's our main seller here, and the Reece's Funnel Cake, too."

The stand keeps coming back year after year simply because of "the history behind it," Collazo explained.

"Paulette's has been doing this route for so long now," she said.

Tuesday night was "insane busy" for the stand, according to Collazo, during what's known as "Two for Tuesday."

Martevion Curry orders a jumbo corndog from Paulette Keene, owner of Paulette's Food Service, on Wednesday at the SEMO District Fair in Cape Girardeau.BEN MATTHEWS

"Our funnel cake stand was nonstop for like seven hours. And this [stand] was nonstop, too," she said.

Collazo said by 9 a.m. on a typical fair morning, she is already selling corn dogs and fried Oreos.

Scottie Jeter and her husband have operated Malone's Taffy at the SEMO District Fair for 38 years, she said.

"Two Malone brothers started it, and it passed down to their offspring," she said. "My husband worked for one of them, and none of his family wanted it." So she and her husband bought the stand.

Jeter said they come back to the fair each year because of their ideal setup location and because they enjoy the camaraderie of the other vendors.

"We look forward to seeing everybody," she said. "We travel and we end up in the same spots throughout the summer. Some we only see once a year, but that's always something special."

Matt Hopkins also was in attendance Wednesday representing the Grace United Methodist Church food stand -- known for their bone-in fish.

The stand has made the SEMO District Fair its temporary September home for 70 years, according to Hopkins, and it began with the main goal of providing fish.

Hopkins said The Grace United Methodist Church food stand is the only vendor at the SEMO Fair offering "old-fashioned" fish, or Whiting -- also known as Jack Salmon.

The stand started as a fish-only stand back in the 1940s, he said, and over the years it added hamburgers, hot dogs, fries "and all that" to its menu.

"We sell a lot of fish, and it's consistent over the years," he said.

Hopkins said, "when you fix something on the bone, it just is better."

Through the week, the stand requires nearly 125 volunteers to operate, according to Hopkins, and sells 1,000 pounds of fish.

The 163 Annual SEMO District Fair continues through Saturday.

jhartwig@semissourian.com

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