Every year my husband and I look forward to the Hunsader Pumpkin Festival. What a great way to usher in fall, with an old-time festival farms.
We love wandering through the corn maze, seeing all the cute kids in costumes and shopping for handmade crafts (OK, maybe that’s just me). But the best thing about the festival is all the great food. Carl and I have a system where we split everything so we can sample more offerings and last Saturday was no exception.
The main food court area is comprised of more than a dozen food booths serving a variety of food — sweet potato fries, slow-roasted barbecue, funnel cakes, chicken on a stick, Italian sausage sandwiches and much more.
Folks were spread out over the lawn, either sitting on the grass or standing to eat.
We headed straight for the Greek Flame Food booth where we ordered a chicken gyro ($7). The chicken was prepared just like a lamb gyro, shaved thin and filled with spices. I liked it more than a lamb gyro because it was less salty and came with fried onions, which added a nice bite to the pita sandwich. Lettuce, tomato and tzatziki sauce topped the meat.
Next up was our annual favorite — fresh roasted corn grown at Hunsaders. The corn is roasted in an old machine and people line up to sample ears for $2 each. The corn is roasted in the husk, so you belly up to the garbage can to discard your husk, spray liberally with butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and dig in. It’s a messy process, but it’s worth it since the corn is roasted perfectly — sweet and not overdone.
Around the corner near the entrance to the craft area, you’ll find Maw’s Country Fixins run by Don and Eddie Philips of Washington, Pa. Every year we walk past and wonder why the line is so long. This year we decided to wait and find out. Maw’s offers cheese steaks, kielbasa with sauerkraut and fried potatoes. Everything is cooked on a giant cooktop and makes your mouth water while your are waiting in line. It took about 15 minutes for us to get our cheese steak ($7) and fried potatoes ($5), but we thought the wait was worth it.
The cheese steak was full of high-quality meat topped with peppers and onions and Cheese Whiz (it’s a Philadelphia tradition). We lucked out and found space at a picnic table in the shade. Since we were sharing, we fought over the sandwich, which was delicious. The potatoes were fried on the cooktop with onions, peppers, garlic powder and other spices until they were a crispy golden brown. You can have them topped with cheese if you dare. They were packed with flavor, and the texture was a big winner — crispy on the outside, but tender and moist on the inside. This was a very filling meal, so we took a break and walked around the petting zoo where I saw an earless rabbit. Poor bunny.
Next up was a giant corn dog and fresh lemonade from the Road Trip Cafe booth. By this time, the place was packed and we had to wait a pretty long time for the corn dog. But again, it was a giant hand-dipped corn dog. I’ve always had the pre-made ones and don’t really like them, but this was really good. It was larger than your average corn dog and the hot dog inside was really juicy and not as salty as some can be. Between the two of us it didn’t last long.
We contemplated going on the hayride, but decided to save it for this weekend.
On the way out, we grabbed a bag of fresh-made kettle corn ($5) for dessert. If you have a sweet tooth there’s tons of other treats — homemade ice cream, pumpkin pie, smoothies, a root beer float booth and more.
Last but not least are our tips for eating at the festival:
1. Bring extra napkins or wet towelettes because it can get messy.
2. Bring folding chairs or a blanket because seating is limited.
3. Go early or eat on off hours to avoid long lines at the food courts.
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