Bristol Renaissance Faire

Hey, all. A group of us are headed out to the Bristol Renaissance Faire this weekend (geeky, I know, but really fun too) and I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on some "can't miss" items out there. We went last year and ate some good stuff (turkey legs, of course, and yummy Cornish dogs wrapped in bagels), but I'm sure there's something that we missed. We love fair food (MN State fair is a MUST every year for the food alone) and we're hoping to find some recommendations for the best of the best faire food offerings.

Huzzah for the tippers!

What I like to eat often depends on the weather....
Love the frozen sorbet in the fruit shells when it's hot out...
but the last few visits I have been very dissapopinted in the tempura veggies,
extremely greasy and undistinguished, so I'd take a pass on those.
The butterfly potato can be a nice treat if it isn't 100 degrees outside.
And the various beverages always hit the spot.
Also they have some really nice beef artisanal-type jerky in large sheets if you like that type of item.

Go MN state fair! Pronto pups and mini donuts!

I like the artichokes at the Faire - sometimes they have both tempura-fried and simply boiled with lemon and butter, though the latter seems to be the most consistent in availability and quality. Somewhat food related: I also like beaning the jester with rotten tomatoes, though he can be really, really mean. Last year he got his comeuppance when some minor league pitchers from the Kane County Cougars showed up and nailed the hole he sticks his head out of about twenty times, right on. Unfairly, he ducked several times, though perhaps self-preservation makes this an allowance.

WOO HOO!!!

Now this is a topic that I definately can help you out with.

My recommendations:
Cheese Fritters: Shredded cheese formed into a ball and deep fried. If you like fried foods then this is the place. If I knew how they made these, I wouldnt leave the house. lol

Cornish Pasties: Both beef and vegetarian come with an optional cheese sauce.

Ice cream crepes and the sorbets are good.

Artichokes: Simply devine.

They have soup in a bread bowl but be forwarned...the broccoli cheese soup is NOT vegetarian.

The curly fries with cheese are ok....comparable to the Arby fries though. The butterfly chips are good and they pile it high.

There is a bakery on site but they dont bake onsite. Some pretty decent pastries.

They have chicken and steak on a stick but in my humble opinion not really worth the money.

And you cant forget about the mushrooms!!!

How do I know? Im the assistant director of the Guilde of Saint Lawrence, the group of performers that are also the food co-op that feeds the 200+ cast, crew, and shop owners of Bristol.

If I can be on any more help, dont be afraid to ask.

See ya this weekend,
Mike
aka Master Charles Fletcher, Ostler of the Dirty Duck Inn, Bristol

Santander wrote:Go MN state fair! Pronto pups and mini donuts!

I like the artichokes at the Faire - sometimes they have both tempura-fried and simply boiled with lemon and butter, though the latter seems to be the most consistent in availability and quality. Somewhat food related: I also like beaning the jester with rotten tomatoes, though he can be really, really mean. Last year he got his comeuppance when some minor league pitchers from the Kane County Cougars showed up and nailed the hole he sticks his head out of about twenty times, right on. Unfairly, he ducked several times, though perhaps self-preservation makes this an allowance.

I agree on all counts! I look forward to my MN state fair Pronto Pup for months in advance (I'll be there this year on August 28th!), the artichokes are one of my favorite things the few times I've made it to the Ren Faire in Illinois, and I've delighted in beaning that Vegetable Justice guy since I was a kid. I don't have a very strong arm, but I have a very *accurate* throw, which always seemed to surprise them.

I have never been, but my brother goes every year primarily for the purpose of eating the sauteed mushrooms sold at the fair.

Best,
Michael

Nice to see you here, DirtyDuck! One of these years we'll have to set up an LTH day at the Faire. Can't believe I forgot about the mushrooms - I was eating those back when it was King Richard's. /geek

2008 Food List:

http://www.renfair.com/bristol/about/food.php

Annabelle wrote:

Santander wrote:Go MN state fair! Pronto pups and mini donuts!

I agree on all counts! I look forward to my MN state fair Pronto Pup for months in advance (I'll be there this year on August 28th!). . .

Or go to Springfield to get all that and a five course steak dinner too! Here are a few photos from yesterday at the Illinois State Fair.







Illinois State Fair
August 8-17, 2008
Springfield IL
http://www.agr.state.il.us/isf/

I had no idea Pronto Pups could be found in Illinois! I've looked at many fairs/festivals, but all I have ever seen here are corn dogs, which are just no where near as good. It isn't a food I need to eat often, but I do enjoy my annual trip to the fair for them. Perhaps if my Grandpa-in-law gets out of the hospital soon I can make it a two-pronto-pup year and make it to the IL State Fair.

I know this may not be a nice thing to say but I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume) and generally speaking, the food is pretty bad. I remember getting some decent rabbit jerky one year but I haven't seen it in recent years. I do like the mushrooms, which are okay, but that's about where it ends for me.

In fact, I'm going this weekend and I've been trying to figure out where -- on the way there and the way back -- would be a good place to chow. My advice would definitely be to eat beforehand, perhaps grab a light bite at the faire, for novelty purposes only -- and stop somewhere else on the way home for more food. It's a great event and it's a ton of fun but in all my years of attending, the food has been something to make fun of more than anything else. Ouch, I know. Sorry.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:I know this may not be a nice thing to say but I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume) and generally speaking, the food is pretty bad. I remember getting some decent rabbit jerky one year but I haven't seen it in recent years. I do like the mushrooms, which are okay, but that's about where it ends for me.

In fact, I'm going this weekend and I've been trying to figure out where -- on the way there and the way back -- would be a good place to chow. My advice would definitely be to eat beforehand, perhaps grab a light bite at the faire, for novelty purposes only -- and stop somewhere else on the way home for more food. It's a great event and it's a ton of fun but in all my years of attending, the food has been something to make fun of more than anything else. Ouch, I know. Sorry.

=R=

No offense taken. The biggest joke that us performers have is what they will put on a stick next.

I will agree that it might not be the best choices and sometimes not one of the healthiest of choices. I treat it like carnival food...a guilty pleasure that I enjoy only once in a while. Email me, ronnie, if you want some recommendations on restaurants in the area to go to.

DirtyDuckInn wrote:Email me, ronnie, if you want some recommendations on restaurants in the area to go to.

It would be great if you posted the recommendations here, so we could all benefit

eatchicago wrote:

DirtyDuckInn wrote:Email me, ronnie, if you want some recommendations on restaurants in the area to go to.

It would be great if you posted the recommendations here, so we could all benefit

Absolutely! That would be wonderful!

=R=

We have a lake house in Bristol and sadly the pickins in the area are, *ahem*, slim.

At the corner of 45 and Old Bristol Road on George Lake is a bar called Vaj's Garage. They make a decent, not great, burger and an equally ok pizza. They have a great jukebox.

The Bristol Diner is the new place in town, about a mile or two south of hwy 50 on 45 in the bustling center of downtown bristol. It is a 50s themed diner and the only outstanding thing i have tried is a hand dipped chocolate shake. The breakfast is servicable.

The Red Schoolhouse Cafe serves a good enough breakfast. My dad likes the biscuits and gravy. I have only had omelletes and they are not particularly remarkable. Located on 45 just north of the state line.

Grizzly's Tavern on the State Line and 45 is another bar food type place with a more extensive menu then Vajs. In the winter the often host a meat raffle.

I have seen advertisements for a bakery in downtown Bristol lately but i have not been able to find it, i didnt look very hard, if anyone has been let me know.

The best dessert in the area is Pie and Cider takeaway from the Brass Ball in Paddock Lake on Hwy 50. Thank you Stevez. I haven't had a bad one yet. Peach nectarine is really good.

People seem to like the Pointe Pancake House on 41 North of Gurnee for breakfast, we have been meaning to go but havent ever stopped. The lot is always crowded on the weekends. Skip the Squire in Antioch--many people have recommended it to me but it is really lousy.

Anyway, good luck. If you find anything good in the area let me know I'd be interested. Until then I will be at Woodman's and then at home working the grill.

Ronnie wrote:

I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume)

Pics or it didn't happen.

Santander wrote:Ronnie wrote:

I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume)

Pics or it didn't happen.

Curse you, Santander!!

(I'll see what I can find)

=R=

Santander wrote:Ronnie wrote:

I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume)

Pics or it didn't happen.

Yes, absolutely, pictures please!

One word mushrooms! Though I do like the sesame chicken on a stick and the giant pickles.

Pics of my ancient days of faire debauchery are forthcoming, I promise.

In the meantime, I did make it to the Faire today and because of the way our day was configured, I actually ate there. The common theme can be summed up like this: everything I ate ended up stuck between my teeth.

The eating started with a really bad ribeye steak sandwich that was as sinewy as a stray dog (I imagine). I knew it would be bad when I saw the pre-cut 'steaks' being removed from their individual cryovack packages. I'm not sure how they were cooked from there. I'm guessing microwave but I was too scared to look. They ended up on puffy, bland untoasted rolls and topped -- upon request -- with a few buttery-tasting sauteed onions, that were billed as grilled. With no floss in my backpack, I 'enjoyed' it for the next several hours.

Next up, I had a roasted ear of sweet corn that was absoultely delicious (truly). It was cooked perfectly, coated in the right amount of butter and not over-salted. Still, it could have been de-silked much better and those silks that remained on the ear ended up -- you guessed it -- between my teeth.

Last, I could not resist the pull of tradition, so the family and I decided to split a turkey leg. This leg was as good as any leg that was brined and smoked in a factory, shipped to a faire, re-heated and dipped in sauce could be. And, it was the leg that kept on giving, as its stringy flesh continued to nourish me -- via the bits stuck between my teeth -- long after it was discarded.

Still, we had a great time. The weather was perfect, the crowd was mostly bathed and my axe-throwing skills were, pardon the pun, as sharp as ever.

All hail the Faire!

=R=

iblock9 wrote:I have seen advertisements for a bakery in downtown Bristol lately but i have not been able to find it, i didnt look very hard, if anyone has been let me know

Yesterday afternoon while the kids were sleeping I found the Crumb On In Bakery in beautiful downtown Bristol Wisconsin. Anything new to eat in Bristol is a welcome addition to the area, so I was excited. The specialty, according to the owner, is fruit pie. Since I had an Apple Crumble and a Cherry Peach in my car already from the Brass Ball I opted for some of the other offerings. The proprietor recommended the homemade danish which almost looked like a homemade fruit pie. I bought several varieties along with a some of the homemade coffee cake, fudge brownies, blondies and chocolate chip cookies. The danish and the coffee cake were very nice, nothing else knocked my socks off. I was sad to see that cakes and, most importantly, cupcakes are special order items only. I would have been very happy to have a cupcake provider so close to the house. Too bad for me I suppose. BTW the pies from the Brass Ball were outstanding as usual. My family thanks LTH for this discovery

Crumb On In Bakery
8216 199th Ave
Bristol, WI 53104
(262) 857-2253‎

Thanks for the help everyone! We ended up having a lot of fun at the faire, and I second the comments about the lovely weather and the mostly bathed crowds. Per usual for us, it became about the food, and we took a lot of these recommendations to heart when selecting items. Here's what our group ended up eating:

Steamed Artichoke -- REALLY good. These were a big hit.
Cornish Dogs -- As good as we remembered. Tasty non-fried food.
Sauteed Mushrooms -- Thanks for the tip on these! Not something I would have gotten without prompting, but they were one of the best things we ate.
Turkey Leg -- Not recommended. At all. We didn't even eat half.
Cheese Fritters -- I wasn't quite as hot on these as some people in our party, who totally LOVED these, but it's still deep-fried cheese, and what's not to love about deep-fried cheese?
BBQ Ribs -- I didn't try these but I was told they were "not bad".
Corn on the Cob -- Totally delicious. Perfectly roasted, super sweet and HUGE. I could have eaten 100 of them.
Lemon Sorbet -- Very refreshing, I liked it. The presentation in a hollowed-out lemon was fun, too, and the leftover frozen lemon was used to cool down a warming beer, another bonus.
Chocolate Ice Cream in a Waffle Cone -- Tough to screw up chocolate ice cream in a waffle cone. Luckily, they didn't.
Brownie from the bakery -- Just fine, your standard frosted brownie.


We were really looking forward to some monkey tails, but apparently there was a supply issue and every place we tried to buy one was sold out.

So, all in all, I would say that we ate pretty well. Vegetables are highly recommended. Most things were pretty good, but after enough beer and sunshine, pretty much anything tastes good, I suppose. There weren't any items that I'll have dreams about, but plenty of things that I'll seek out next year.

Next weekend we're headed out to the Mother of All Fairs, the MN State Fair. I can't wait!

Santander wrote:Nice to see you here, DirtyDuck! One of these years we'll have to set up an LTH day at the Faire. Can't believe I forgot about the mushrooms - I was eating those back when it was King Richard's. /geek

2008 Food List:

http://www.renfair.com/bristol/about/food.php

Im all for it.

Unfortunately it will have to be next year. Working the Duck is just like running a restaurant, taking alot of my time. But I can schedule something for next year. Even get reduced tickets for those LTH'ers that want to go.

OdinKnows wrote:We were really looking forward to some monkey tails, but apparently there was a supply issue and every place we tried to buy one was sold out.

I'm glad I googled ' "monkey tails" & food ' to figure out what these were. I'd hate to think of poor, tail-less monkeys out there. (Unfortunately, the 3rd link on Google is a page that seems to be talking about actual fried monkey tails. Yuck!)

I believe (and I am certain someone will correct me if I am wrong)
monkey tails are what most of us know as frozen bananas dipped in chocolate on a stick, with or without nuts....
maybe I'll go this Sunday......

And then there's this:

Child Suffers Eye Injury at Renaissance Festival
Last Edited: Monday, 01 Sep 2008, 5:35 PM EDT

CROWNSVILLE, Md. (AP) -- An Anne Arundel County fire official says a 10-year-old boy seriously injured his eye at the Maryland Renaissance Festival when he accidentally stuck a skewer in his eye.

It happened around 5 p.m. Sunday at the festival in the 1800 block of Crownsville Road in Crownsville.

County fire spokesman Lt. Frank Fennell says the boy was eating "Steak on a Stake" when he pulled the wooden skewer out of his mouth and then somehow stuck the skewer in his eye.

Medics at the scene requested help and Fennell says the boy was flown to the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore with a serious eye injury.

Play it safe out there, kids. Ronnie, feel free to re-inject some mirth into this thread anytime, preferably with images.

Had the ribeye sandwich with grilled onions on a kaiser roll yesterday, and it was quite good, actually...
My only complaint about the fair was that because I was there with my hubby and boys instead of my daughter, I didn't get as much flirting action as I we (daughter and I) normally do.....

Had the ribeye sandwich

Hope you were wearing safety goggles.

I didn't get as much flirting action as I we (daughter and I) normally do.....

You're in the same Viking longship with Ronnie - time to scan and post your comely Renfaire poses. Try to incorporate food on a stick if possible for relevance.

Santander wrote:Ronnie wrote:

I have attended this faire at least once a year for as long as I can remember (even as far back as when it was known as King Richard's Faire, some years in full costume)

Pics or it didn't happen.

LOL, sorry for the long delay but I finally found this pic and have successfully figured out how to scan it.

Have at thee!


Rogue

=R=

S, I believe a gauntlet has been thrown...

it's - it's more wonderful than I ever imagined. This is the best Christmas ever!