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We asked for the best places to eat at the North Carolina State Fair, and your recommendations left us ready to dig in.
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The News & Observer invited readers to share their favorite food vendors, and we loved reading your memories of deep-fried delights, sugary sweets and more. To help round out the list of essential vendors, we also turned to fair workers and dining experts on our staff.
We ended up with 40 nominees. Below, you can vote for your favorite food vendor at the N.C. State Fair.
This poll is meant to be fun and not scientific. But please note that we use captcha to help determine that votes are coming from readers and to deter bot activity.
If you really love a vendor or can’t pick just one favorite, feel free to vote again and again. Here’s the timeline for future rounds of this contest:
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Vendors could only be eligible to participate in our contest if they planned to be at the 2026 fair, which is set for Oct. 15 to 25 in Raleigh. Here are all of those nominees, listed in alphabetical order:
Best of the Triangle: Coffee Shop | Chicken Wings | Doughnuts | Burgers | Ice Cream | Brewery | Pizza | Sushi | Tacos | Bar | Ramen | Brunch | Barbecue | Pie | Fried Chicken | Fries | Chocolate Chip Cookies | Steak | Sports Bar | Indian | Biscuits | Hot Dogs | Sandwiches | Italian | New Restaurant
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This story was originally published September 14, 2026 at 2:22 PM.