New Delhi, July 27 -- COLUMBUS - When the Ohio Expo Center opens its gates on July 29, the first decision visitors face will be harder than usual. Thirty-plus new food items from 15 first-time vendors have joined the concession lineup at this year's Ohio State Fair, the largest single-year food expansion the midway has seen in recent memory, leaving returning fairgoers to abandon old routines before the first corn dog is ordered.

The twelve-day fair, running through August 9 at 717 East 17th Avenue in Columbus, has long run on a combination of nostalgia and novelty. This edition tilts toward the latter. Among the additions drawing early attention is a Catfish on a Stick, the kind of straightforward execution that has defined fried fair f...