Sloppy Joe on a Doughnut Bun: Summer's Fair Food Creations

Chicken Charlie's | Facebook

Oh, dear. What has Dunkin' Donuts' new doughnut-breakfast sandwich wrought?

As fair season kicks into high gear, concession owners have doughnuts in mind as they fire up their fryers.

Deep-fried Snickers and Coke are passé. This year, doughnut burgers and sandwiches are everywhere. Perhaps the most outrageous creation is the Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joe, which made its debut at the San Diego County Fair, accompanied by a fried, bacon-wrapped pickle.

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Hamburgers that swap out glazed donuts (Krispy Kreme seems to be a favorite brand) for the bun have traveled the fair circuit for a few years, along with a few variations: cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger and so on. Last year, the New York State Fair added a doughnut-wrapped hot dog to its doughnut-burger repertoire.

With the doughnut burger already getting a little long in the tooth, some fairs are upping the ante: At the Adams County Fair in Colorado, Nana's Famous BBQ and Grill is rolling out doughnut cheeseburgers with cream-filled doughnuts—lemon, Boston cream or cream cheese, according to owner Sandra Baker—"filling in" for the top bun.

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Chicken Charlie's, the fair food outlet that gets credit—or blame, depending on your point of view—for the Krispy Kreme Sloppy Joe, also has a host of other only-at-the-fair, deep-fried oddities: Kool-Aid, cereal and PB&J. Fortunately, the Sloppy Joe is staying out of the fryer (for now, at least).

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By Martha C. White, NBC News contributor