The strawberry is my absolute favorite fruit. Yet for all of my time in Dayton I’ve never managed to make my way up here. With all the hype, all of the strawberry recipes in the paper and much ado about the festival moving to downtown Troy this year, I finally got a chance to drop in.
What in the world have I been missing? What a great place to visit!
If you’ve heard of this festival, odds are you’ve heard of the strawberry donuts. They’re baked with strawberry into the dough and then glazed with chunks of fresh fruit; it’s no wonder everyone talks about them. The line was fifty-deep at all times, and at eight bucks a dozen, this is definitely a flavor you savor that one special time of the year and know that summer is upon you. There were some local people selling donut holes with strawberry dipping sauce, which of course aren’t the same. It’s clear the strawberry donut stands in a league of its own.
Strawberries go well in just about anything, as it turns out. I always knew they made good jam, but strawberry salsa? That was quite good. A fresh smoothie made of ground strawberry was different, definitely fresher and that much better with ice on a summer’s day. Fortunately both days of this year’s festival seemed at least reasonably cool, and rain on opening day was narrowly avoided.
The strawberry cannolis were great, tempered with a very subtle berry taste in the cream filling which was just perfect. I wish I’d have had an opportunity to try the fried strawberries, but the stand seemed to be having problems; the line didn’t move after 15 minutes, so I suppose there’s not much you can do. Even better, the local businesses seemed to be in on the craze, with La Piazza offering strawberry desserts and drinks from the bar, and Winian’s candies selling very pretty-looking chocolate strawberries. To top it off, over 75 booths from area local businesses were on hand to sell crafts and custom food — just the kinds of places I love to try.
I’ve only been to Troy a few times, and with only a sampling for its delicious food, but as I walked through the thousands of like-minded Strawberry fans, in between sampling strawberry delicacies, it really strikes me that I should make a point to visit more food festivals like this one. You find foods at a place like this that you just can’t match anywhere else.
Another Food Critic 
Check out the website Ohiofestivals.net for more food festivals all over the state.