HARRINGTON — From poutine to birria tacos, the State Fair in Harrington is serving up a diverse array of options for its hungry attendees this year.

The food court offers several internationally inspired cuisines, from our North American neighbors Canada and Mexico, to across the pond in Ireland.

Our neighbors to the North

Mike Tkacs and his mother Pam Tkacs run a food truck at the fair that is named after the signature Canadian delicacy — poutine. A Connecticut native, he is a fourth-generation Canadian-American. Ms. Tkac’s grandfather immigrated to the United States several decades ago.

“This is my second year at the Delaware State Fair. I’m owner and operator of Authentic Poutine. We make Canadian comfort food, so it’s seasoned french fries topped with brown gravy and cheddar cheese curds,” said Mr. Tkacs.

He was convinced by a close friend, who also runs a food truck at the fair next to him, to open a food truck a year ago, and Mr. Tkacs recruited his mother to help run it.

In the year since, he has done the fair circuit in Connecticut, New Jersey, and Delaware. The First State’s fair in Harrington is the largest fair that he attends.

“It’s huge! It’s the biggest fair that I’ve seen ever,” said Ms. Tkacs.

Aside from the hot and humid weather, Mr. Tkacs has no complaints.

“This is the largest fair that I do. I love it here, except for the heat – you guys like it hot down here. Other than that, it’s great. People are great down here.”

Across the pond

Across the food court from Mr. Tkacs and his mother is a small white food truck emblazoned with a dark green logo: Fiona’s Irish Fish & Chips.

While it’s a food business used to be a brick-and-mortar located in Long Neck, it has since moved full time to a food truck due to the impact of COVID.

Owner and operator Gerardine Hendrix moved to the U.S. from Dublin, Ireland, a few decades ago, and has lived in Delaware ever since. She was inspired to open her business in 2018 after hearing a common complaint from fellow Irish immigrants.

“I am Irish. I am from Dublin, Ireland. I’ve been here for about 30 years – I love Delaware. And the one thing that all the Irish say that they miss was a good fish & chips shop, so as soon as I heard that, I was like that’s what we’re going to do,” said Ms. Hendrix.

In fact, the authenticity of her food is rooted in a recipe from an Irish fish and chips restaurant.

“With the permission of a fish & chips shop in Dublin, we kind of mimicked, or were inspired, by their setup and their recipes, and things that remind me of home as well.”

In her third year at the fair, Ms. Hendrix is glad to be “playing with the big kids in the food court.”

“We love it here, we’re dying for the evening rush, and we’re looking forward to serving our food,” she said.

South of the border

Around the corner from Gerardine Hendrix’s fish & chips is La Taqueria, a Mexican taco truck offering a wide variety of popular dishes.

Owner and operator Alfonso Ledesma has been running this truck for 15 years. Originally from San Diego, he now travels from coast to coast selling his food at state fairs.

“We are dedicated to doing specifically only state fairs,” said Mr. Ledesma. This is his second year at the Delaware State Fair, a step towards his ultimate goal of reaching state fairs in all fifty states.

After leaving Delaware, Mr. Ledesma will travel to the Midwest before returning to the East Coast for the Carolinas and heading south to Florida for a three-month fair circuit that runs until April.

“We stay pretty busy around the clock,” he said.

Being so well traveled, Mr. Ledesma commented that the fair in Harrington “feels like just any state fair, really, because you get this feel for it.”

“I like the agriculture, and I like the rides they have here. Also, the professionalism in the office, a lot of great people here, I like the tech workers that they hire, the seasonal workers, they’re all a lot of young people with a lot of vision. And all of that projects into the fair, really, it’s a great state fair,” he said.

His food offerings are diverse, and he is passionate about them, but he is most passionate about his tacos, which he describes as his “go-to.”

In addition, he sells burritos, quesadillas, and nachos. His two specialty dishes are the steak and shrimp burrito and the birria taco.

For those who are not familiar with the birria taco, Mr. Ledesma explains it as “the shredded beef one, and you can see them online, it’s that red taco where you dip it in the sauce. I bring that to the fair as a novelty.”

A third generation Mexican-American, he is excited by the prospect of bringing new and unknown foods to the fair circuit.

“It always seems to be one of the popular, and more different foods. Compared to carnival foods, corn dogs and funnel cakes, tacos are very different. And I’m happy to bring something different to the fairs and what comes along with it, the tradition.”

The Delaware State Fair will be open until July 30, with gates open from 8 a.m. to 11p.m. each day. The aforementioned food trucks — Authentic Poutine, Fiona’s Irish Fish & Chips, and La Taqueria — can all be found in the fair’s food court.