Click here for this week's Quick Bites.

Sundaes with cotton candy or bacon?

Deep-fried bubble gum?

A “bucket of donuts”?

It's time to eat at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair.

In addition to the hundreds of items we see every year — funnel cakes, elephant ears and just about every type of grilled farm animal — food vendors are offering new items.

As Americans, we're accustomed to being offered a “new food.” Fast food chains are masters at it.

Fair food is no different. As people look for something new, a vendor wants to have this year's hot item.

Two years ago, deep-fried butter caused a stir at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair.

This year, will it be the bacon corn dog? The deep-fried bubble gum?

Here's the list of new foods at the fair:

Bacon corn dog

Where: Pacifico's Giant Corn Dog stand inside main gate on north side of grounds

Cost: $5 ($1 more than normal corn dog)

Review: Bits of real bacon, not the fake red bits, are added to corn dog batter. The flavor doesn't really come through. A hot dog wrapped in bacon somehow and turned into a corn dog would be a hit. This is ho-hum. Three stars out of five

Bacon elephant ear

Where: Pacifico's elephant ear stand inside Gate G on east side of grounds

Cost: $6, $1 more than regular elephant ear

Review: The one I tried Thursday night was tough and like the corn dog, you couldn't really taste the bacon. Stick to the regular elephant ear. Two stars

Bacon banana split

Where: Pence's at the northeast corner of the midway

Cost: $6

Review: Ice cream with strawberries, chocolate and chips of dried banana and bacon will either delight people or turn them off. With fresh bananas, I may like this better, but I wasn't a big fan. Two stars

Cotton candy sundae

Where: Pence's

Cost: $5

Review: A dab of cotton candy on ice cream actually added to it. It made an interesting sundae. 3 1/2 stars

Bucket of donuts

Where: Donut Family booth inside main gate on Food Row and near Draft Horse Barn inside Gate G

Cost: $10

Review: The mini-doughnut stand, formerly called Tom Thumb Donuts, has been at the fair since the mid-1970s, according to Todd Hawkins, one of the owners. A bag of 20 is $5, but now a plastic bucket of 44 — 40 plus four for 4-H — is $10. The cake doughnuts are great when they're hot. Four stars.

Cajun shrimp on a stick

Where: Jake's Bayou Grill at the northeast corner of the midway along Food Row

Cost: $6.50

Review: Jay Rounds of Goshen and Tom Hodson, a longtime professional vendor, have a new Cajun food booth with cajun chicken sandwiches, charbroiled or fried shrimp kebabs, and red beans and rice. The lightly battered and fried shimp with vegetables are a great fair food: something with a little kick and something recognizable, yet fried. Five stars.

Baked oatmeal

Where: 4-H Saddle Club booth on west side of grandstands

Cost: $3.50

Review: The saddle club is adding a number of new items this year, including a “saddle bag” with fresh fruit. The baked oatmeal is sweet and yet not a dessert. It's a nice bowl of baked oatmeal, cream and fruit. Four stars

Stallion burger

Where: 4-H Saddle Club booth

Cost: $7.50

Review: The double cheeseburger with bacon also has fried onion petals and barbecue sauce. The toppings are good. The burger is decent, but not as good as the grilled burgers in the Goshen Noon Kiwanis booth. (In full disclosure, I work in that booth at the fair.) 3 1/2 stars

Giant Amish donut

Where: Pacifico's booth inside Gate G

Cost: $3 or two for $5

Review: They're not really Amish, but the doughnuts are good. They're big and very rich. The guy selling them wasn't Amish. But at the fair, it's all about marketing. 3 1/2 stars

Other new items not yet reviewed

German chocolate funnel cake: The McGrath family's booth near the grandstand will have a German chocolate funnel cake starting today, according to Kevin McGrath II. The chocolate batter will be topped with a coconut cream icing and pecans.

Breakfast haystacks: The 4-H Dairy Feeder Calf booth will have this from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Thursday, tractor pull day. It'll be a big plate of food.

Elephant ear with new toppings: The Withers family has added peanut butter and some other flavorings to its offerings of sugar and fruit.

Deep fried bubble gum: Just haven't gotten it yet. We'll see.

What are my other five-star items at the fair?

I spent 14 years covering the fair and tried most of its food. I'm still a huge fan of:

• the pork chops and pork burgers from the Elkhart County Pork Producers.

• the soft-serve ice cream from the dairy bars.

• the $1 grilled cheese sandwich at the dairy bars.

• lamb burgers and lemon shake-ups from the 4-H Lamb Club.

• Saratoga chips from Best Around booths.

• Potato wedges, Greek salad and spinach puff from Joe's Gyros.

I know others favor strawberry shortcake, Nelson's chicken, the sirloin tips or many other items. That's great. They're all good. But this is my list of favorites.

As you eat this week, be smart and be mindful. I'd try to eat stuff you can't get other places or other times of year.

The fried food and sugar from this week won't likely kill you. It may make you woozy and isn't something you should eat every day. And yes, you can find healthy items.

But enjoy the food at the fair. I'll be in the Goshen Noon Kiwanis booth helping make and sell steakburgers and sweet corn. I'll enjoy those, and knowing that buying them helps put money into good causes in our community.

I'm hungry. Let's eat.

Marshall V. King is news/multimedia editor and food columnist for The Elkhart Truth/eTruth.com. You can reach him at 574-296-5805, mking@etruth.com, on Twitter or Instagram @hungrymarshall or via www.facebook.com/diningalaking.