The Best and Worst New Foods at the 2026 Florida State Fair

Axios Tampa Bay tried 14 of the 32 new food items highlighted in this year's visitor's guide.

Published on Feb. 13, 2026

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Axios Tampa Bay reporters Yacob Reyes and his wife Maya set out to try all of the strange, new food and drink choices at the 2026 Florida State Fair. They managed to sample 14 of the 32 items highlighted in this year's visitor's guide, providing their honest reviews of the good, the bad, and the just plain disappointing.

Why it matters

The Florida State Fair is a beloved annual tradition that draws thousands of visitors each year, many of whom come for the unique and often outrageous food offerings. These reviews provide a firsthand look at which new fair foods are worth trying and which ones fall flat, helping fairgoers plan their culinary adventures.

The details

Reyes and his wife tried a wide variety of new fair foods, including cookie butter frozen cheesecake, a PB&J funnel cake sandwich, a salty caramel Bavarian donut, a CinnaMozza Korean corn dog, the Dill Devil, Nashville hot chicken tots, a birria street taco pizza, dreamy orangeade, a birthday cake iced tea, Flamin' Hot elote fries, a red, white & berry smoothie, a Dubai chocolate funnel cake, and birria street corn. They provided detailed reviews of each item, rating them on a scale of 1 to 5 amusement park ride icons.

  • The 2026 Florida State Fair took place in February 2026.

The players

Yacob Reyes

An Axios Tampa Bay reporter who tried the new fair foods with his wife Maya.

Maya

Yacob Reyes' wife, who accompanied him in trying the new fair foods.

Kathryn

A colleague of Yacob and Maya who had to sit out the food tasting.

Peachey's Baking Co.

A vendor at the Florida State Fair known for its salty caramel Bavarian donuts.

The Pickle Jar

A vendor at the Florida State Fair that served the Dill Devil, a popular new food item.

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What they’re saying

“If I'm on death row, send Peachey's. This donut, with its Bavarian cream and its scratch-made caramel and its pinch of sea salt, topped last year's. Every other donut I eat for the rest of my life will be a disappointment.”

— Yacob Reyes (Axios)

The takeaway

The 2026 Florida State Fair featured a wide array of new and unique food offerings, with some clear standouts like the salty caramel Bavarian donut from Peachey's Baking Co. and the Dill Devil from The Pickle Jar. However, not all of the new items lived up to the hype, serving as a reminder that fair food can be a hit-or-miss experience for adventurous eaters.