Geddes, N.Y. — State Fair-goers each year relish in discovering new variations of traditional favorites: The annual 800-pound butter sculpture, the latest deep-fried mess of a dessert and a fresh over-the-top cocktail from Beak & Skiff Orchards. Since 2019, Toss & Fire Wood-Fired Pizza has joined those creating something unique for each year’s fair.
The popular food truck on Wednesday offered a sneak peek at this year’s three signature pizzas it’ll serve from Restaurant Row between the Coliseum and the Beer Garden.
“Each year’s fair is different,” said Toss & Fire owner Nick Sanford. “Our tastes change, but there are some foods that we will always enjoy. We try to come up with something new based on what we know we already like.”
This year’s Toss & Fire signature 10-inch pizzas are:
Chicken Riggie Pizza ($15): A spicy tomato cream sauce topped with rigatoni pasta, wood-fired roasted chicken, caramelized onions, hot cherry peppers, mozzarella and pecorino (an Italian cheese made from ewe’s milk).
If you like spicy food, you’ll love this pizza. Remember, the Beer Garden is right across the street to help sooth your tongue.
Cannoli Pizza ($15): A pizza stuffed with cannoli cream and topped with crushed cannoli shells, chocolate sauce and powdered sugar.
This is an creative variation on the tube-shaped Italian pastry. It looks nothing like your typical cannoli, but it sure tastes like one. Mixing crushed deep-fried cannoli shells give it that flavor you find on Syracuse’s North Side.
Piece of advice: Give this dessert pizza a few minutes to cool. The sweet and rich ricotta cheese filling will still be plenty warm, but it won’t burn the roof of your mouth and/or run down your once-clean shirt.
Birria Pizza ($16): Stewed beef sprinkled over the fresh dough topped with pecorino and mozzarella. It’s finished with cool cilantro, white onions, aged cotija cheese and lime. It’s served with a cup of rich consommé made from the stock for dipping.
Birria tacos have become popular in recent years, especially at street stands in Mexico and California. Birria is a Mexican stew made with chili pepper-coated meat, garlic, cumin and other spices. It’s cooked at a low temperature for several hours.
“I love birria tacos, and this is just like a birria taco. It’s just a pizza,” Nick said.
All told, more than six hours goes into making this pizza, but it only takes Nick about 20 seconds to assemble each one. He pulls the shredded beef from the stew and spreads it around the stretched dough and a sprinkles cheese over the meat. After about 90 seconds in the 1,000-degree oven heated with assorted hardwoods, he slides it out, adds a fistful of onions, more cheese and cilantro.
Toss & Fire also will serve its traditional menu and signature pizzas from last year’s State Fair. The 2021 offerings were
- The Summer Cuse ($15): Smashed salt potatoes, mozzarella, cheddar, pecorino, pulled pork Dinosaur BBQ sauce and sour cream.
- Bit of Pickle ($14): Garlic oil with mozzarella, cheddar, pecorino, dill pickle chips, applewood smoked bacon and ranch drizzle.
- Caramel Apple ($15): Cinnamon apples with crumb topping, caramel drizzle and white icing.
The Fair begins Wednesday, Aug. 24, and continues through Labor Day.
Charlie Miller finds the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact him at (315) 382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com. You can also find him under @HoosierCuse on Twitter and on Instagram. Sign up for his free weekly Where Syracuse Eats newsletter here.
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