Apple Fest is not just a festival of apple vendors, it is the ultimate Ithaca foodie experience. I kid you not, I waited a whole year for Apple Fest to come back into my life after discovering it last year. I usually say that there is no food experience that one cannot find in New York City, but this is the exception. There is just something about the community of Ithacans and vendors, in conjunction with classic and refined treats, that make this festival special and shows how Ithaca deserves to call itself a food mecca.
There are vendors as far as the eye can see, selling much more than apples. Yes, there are the famed spiced apple cider and boxes of gorgeous granny smiths, but it is the presence of certain other vendors that I think makes Apple Fest really shine.
I have never been a big fan of caramel apples on a stick, so what do I get instead? CARAMEL APPLE SUNDAES. That’s right. Slices of crisp apples smothered with HOT caramel, topped with anything from crunchy nuts and smooth whipped cream to sugary candy corn and M&Ms. True bliss, I tell you. If I could have, I would’ve simply ordered a whole bowl of that caramel. There is something about hot caramel that just makes you forget about all the papers and prelims that await you when you get back on campus.
Another vendor that stands out is the one responsible for a mind-blowing PUMPKIN funnel cake that takes me back to my childhood. Granted, it’s a hit or miss if you get the perfect consistency (see below), but when you succeed to obtain one that finds the perfect balance between layers of chewy, soft and crispy dough, dusted with flakes of powdered and cinnamon sugar, it’s like taking a bite of heaven. Unfortunately, there was one other big hit which I didn’t get to try because of a 30 person line: Purity ice cream apple crisp sundae. Some of my friends had enough incentive to wait in line, and from the one miniscule bite I was allowed, it tasted like the wait was worth it.
Granted, you’re probably thinking how this is a lot of sugar to take in. I’m not denying it, but me being the foodie I am, I went both Friday and all day Saturday, so I got to spread out my sugar intake! But when you add up everything I had, including 3 apple caramel and chocolate sundaes + maple cotton candy + 2 pumpkin funnel cakes + 1 bag of kettle korn + 1 bite of ice cream + a whole bunch of other Applefest treats = me going into a crazy hyper mode and not being able to focus on any work for the rest of the weekend because I was in a food comma.
In addition to the sweet treats, there is a entire section of restaurants and caterers around Ithaca featuring some of their signature dishes, from Saigon Kitchen and Tellez Mexican Catering to classic vendors selling hot hamburgers and gooey, melt in your mouth, Philly cheese steaks. I think I went through some sort of an identity crisis trying to decide.
The first day I was there, after walking up and down that street for about 10 minutes, I decided to try a vendor selling a braised pulled pork slider with an apple chutney. Anyone who knows me can testify how I am a huge pulled pork lover, and although this was on the pricey side for its miniature size, it was a damn good pulled pork slider, and the sweet apple chutney was a perfect complement to the tender pork. On the other spectrum, you have the cheesy, but classic, carnival food stands, with treats like maple cotton candy and the famed Bloomin’ Onion, which is an ethereal fried treat and in a league of its own, especially with honey mustard on the side. But let’s be real, people mostly order it so they can use it for a photo shoot.
After I came back, I think I went into denial that my beloved Apple Fest was already over. But I guess it only being one weekend a year is what makes it so special, and with that, I shall start the countdown until I am reunited once again with the world of apples, caramel and onions. Until next year, Apple Fest!
