Sunday, February 24, 2013

Food court is family affair


ANDY JONES/STAFF
A variety of vendors and entertainment greet people Thursday in the food court at the 66th annual Pasco County Fair.
from:  tbo.com
By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune
February 22, 2013
DADE CITY --From farm-raised catfish to deep-fried candy bars, it's safe to assume you can find anything to eat at the Pasco County Fair.
Greeting fairgoers as they enter the food court — nestled between a fried candy bar vendor and a kettle corn stand — is a white food trailer with a large, hand-painted blue catfish named Cecil. The name of the food stand: Bite Me Southern Fried Catfish.
The Lithia-based business snags farm-raised fish and shrimp from Texas.
Their menu features fried pickles, fried green tomatoes, fried green beans, catfish, of course, and clam chowder, among other items.
Owner Ann Strickland was introduced to the fair vendor business 20 years ago with her sister. They dished out catfish at the Florida State Fair for six years. Now, it's Strickland and her partners Shirley Betancourt and Al Porter who travel in and out of the state to different fairs and events.
"I knew it was a big hit back then because there's not too many fairs that you walk into that you actually see real food," Strickland said.
They participated in Bug Jam and Sparklebration for the first time last year and plan on returning this year. This is their first time at the Pasco County Fair.
So what about that name?
"It was a joke. We were discussing it in the truck one day — what we were going to name it — and I said something and (Ann) came back with, 'Bite Me,' " Betancourt said of the unintentional business name. "I said, 'That sounds good.' "
 
 
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Grilled sausages of all sizes and flavors are among the food available at the fair, which continues through Sunday.
Deeper into the food court — past concessions trailers filled with hot dogs, Polish sausages, Italian sausages, kabobs and caramel apples — is Eddie Porcelli and his Spaghetti Eddie's Pizza and Pasta.
read more at:
 http://www2.tbo.com/news/pasco-news/2013/feb/22/panewso1-food-court-is-family-affair-ar-640643/

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