Vote for your favorite Indiana State Fair food

There is only one way to make a s’more better: dip it and batter and deep-fry it.

Deep-fried s’mores, bison cheesesteak egg rolls, pulled pork cheese fries and mac and cheese nachos are among some 26 competitors in the fair’s annual signature food contest, billed Taste of the Fair.

Usually, celebrity judges like me get to sample and vote for the signature food, that one food which represents the Indiana State Fair better than any other. This year, you decide the winner.

Find out which fair food personality you have

To help celebrate Indiana's bicentennial, food vendors have been asked to create a new, original fair food “rich in Indiana history.” Fairgoers can feast on the competition and then cast their votes Aug. 5-16 on the new Indiana State Fair app. The Taste of the Fair grand champion will be announced Aug. 17. The fair runs Aug. 5-21.

Take it from me: Judging fair food is not as easy as it sounds. Last year’s contest featured a s’mores milkshake, deep-fried apple pie bites with ice cream, Muenster grilled cheese on cinnamon-raisin bread and cornmeal-batter and deep-fried sweet corn with queso fresco. How do you pick just one?

Kiss your midsection, six-pack dreams goodbye with this year’s list.

Cheesy garlic fries? Check.

Cheesy garlic fries with shredded jerk chicken? Check.

Cheesy garlic fries with pulled jerk pork? Check.

"Athens Fries" with Greek dressing, Greek spices, feta cheese, a Greek olive and a Greek pepperoncini? Opa!

Fries smothered in slow-smoked pulled pork, sweet barbecue sauce and beer cheese sauce made with Big Woods Brewing Company’s Six Foot Blonde beer? Color me gone to the gym.

What makes these foods “rich in Indiana history” other than feel-good, Permabond-ability to your mid-section, Midwest goodness? For some items, it’s a local ingredient like Big Woods beer brewed in Nashville. Bloomington-based Red Frazier Bison Ranch, which also operates a food truck, is bringing bison cheesesteak egg rolls filled with thinly sliced and marinated bison steak, chopped red and green bell peppers, chopped onions, chopped mushrooms and American cheese.

For others, it’s pure state fair tradition, like stuff on a stick. A boneless center cut pork chop coated in barbecue seasoning then put on a stick to deep-fry is called “pig stick.”

Signature food contestants have also entered no less than three funnel cakes: “very berry” funnel cake, chocolate funnel cake and birthday funnel cake coated in frosting and finished with sprinkles.

There’s also a deep-fried birthday cake pop and a birthday cake smoothie with strawberry, banana and crumbled pound cake.

Follow IndyStar food writer Liz Biro on Twitter: @lizbiro, Instagram: @lizbiro, Facebook and Pinterest. Call her at (317) 444-6264.