It was a weekend of decking the halls and basting the bird, but this past weekend was also the closing weekend for the Texas Renaissance Festival. Located in Todd Mission, just outside of Magnolia, the Renaissance Festival closed with a Celtic-themed weekend.
My favorite thing about the Ren Fest is always the food, wine and beer — all reasonably priced — and the menu of offerings seems to grow every year, with approximately 30 different food vendors selling hundreds of different sweets, wines, beers, turkey legs and more. As with most carnivals and festivals, any food on a stick remains a crowd pleaser, with turkey tenders on a stick getting my vote for 2011. (In 2009, attendees were wooed with chicken-fried steak on a stick — which, this being Texas, was long overdue.) This past Sunday I simply walked the booths and sampled food that I am sure did not exist at Renaissance times, but is perfect for the crowds that showed up in kilts, strange Nordic headwear, velvet capes, puffy sleeves, chainmail and cat ears (which I still don’t understand).
While standing in many of the fast-moving but lengthy lines, Texans were getting quite jiggy to the Celtic drums and upbeat music performed by what looked like a group of Braveheart extras. If you didn’t have a cup of mead or a beer in your hand then you just weren’t in the right mindset. If you’ve never been to Ren Fest, it is too late to go this year — but you can wait with hungry anticipation for the next festival season to start in early October 2012. Those green tights and knight costumes are on sale now, as Halloween has just passed us. Buy yours now and be ready for next year’s festival.
Below are the foods that are worth the wait for next year:
Turkey tenders on a stick Large chunks of succulent fried turkey are simply stuck on skewers. Butter, salt and pepper are obvious seasonings — the simple but satisfying poultry was better than some of the unfortunate turkey I’ve had at Thanksgivings of the past. Warning: Trytophan kicked in while I was in traffic departing the festival. Be sure to grab a cappuccino or coffee at The Pavillion — not far from the exit — upon leaving.
Fish and chips One of my favorite things to order at The Red Lion here in Houston, I was somewhat impressed with the Ren Fest take on traditional fish and chips. It certainly wasn’t as bad as the fish and chips I had earlier this year in Tillamook, Oregon, a beautiful coastal town that didn’t serve local fish or believe in malt vinegar. Last weekend’s weather brought a chill and some serious wind, however, so my fish lost its heat pretty quickly while I power-walked past a family of fairies. Cold fried fish just isn’t my thing, so upon dropping the remains into a trash can, I made my way over to the pumpkin pie-eating contest.
Roasted nuts A must-have for the drive back home. The Almond Shoppe sells hot, roasted nuts that probably rarely make it all the way back to Houston. Cinnamon roasted and available in small, medium and large, your best bet is to purchase the large size. Honorable mention: New World kettle corn, also served up hot and made fresh daily.
Russian Tea I was really in the holiday mood after a few beers, but more so after I had a cup of Russian tea. If you like cinnamon and cloves then this citrusy, hot drink (somewhat like wassail) might be right up your alley. I was curious about what ingredients are in Russian tea, so I googled. In addition to the aforementioned spices are Tang and lemonade mix. Not too Soviet-sounding to me.