Harlequin Cat flew into the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo just in time to see a mess of hot Tornado Taters blow across the kitchen and slide down the cafe counter. For a second I thought they would meet the fate of Aunty Em’s farmhouse, but that’s what hot grease is for -- to keep everything glued together.
Shivering customers weren’t buying fries. They were buying delicately sliced Tornado Taters – hot crispy tubers that took the edge off a cold North Texas day. (Hold on; I'll get to the coconuts in a minute.)
Don’t ask me why, but food marketed as atmospheric phenomena always seems to taste better. Some menu items I’ve spotted on my astral flights:
Dairy Queen Blizzard
Pat O’Brien’s Hurricane
Stormy Day Bean Soup
Avalanche Bark
Outback’s Chocolate Thunder From Down Under
Volcanic Agave Nectar
Cucumber Mint Monsoon (my personal favorite)
Which reminds me of a trip I made a couple of years ago. I craved a funnel cake in the worst way and decided to fly up to Pennsylvania to find the perfect one. Lucky for me, a county fair was selling them with a scoop of coconut sorbet and candied coconut sprinkled on top.
The sign said “Funnel Cakes.”
I left a tip and a note in the jar suggesting a new name.
When I came back the next year, they had a new sign.
And a longer line.
The Coconut Funnel Clouds were selling like hotcakes.
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