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Tell your taste buds: Food Court familiar

All the standard items will be offered.

BY JOE STUMPE

The Wichita Eagle

This year's Wichita River Festival Food Court will look and taste much like its predecessors, which is just how organizers expect many festivalgoers like it.

"All the norms," said Becky English, co-chairwoman of the festival food committee.

But it may sound better, thanks to upgraded entertainment on the Food Court stage.

The food lineup includes Pronto Pups, funnel cakes and all those other deep-fried and/or sugarcoated treats from vendors who return to the festival year after year, along with local restaurants such as NuWay whose food diners can enjoy out of doors for nine days.

One new vendor is Helmut's Strudel, which offers strudel in three flavors -- apple, cherry and cheesecake -- along with a beef Wellington roll and broccoli or cheese puffs.

A returning concessionaire, Hoopingarners, is expanding its menu to include chocolate-dipped cheesecake, apple dumplings and cotton candy, and Pizza Hut will feature more of its Wing Street line.

Despite rising food costs, English said vendors "really didn't go up on anything" other than a 50-cent bump in the price of soft drinks.

Here are the foods that will be offered at the festival beginning today. Most vendors also serve a variety of drinks:

Chan's Concessions: egg roll, chicken on a stick, shrimp fried rice.

D&J Pronto Pup: Pronto Pup, cheese on a stick, hot dog

Helmut's Strudel: strudel (apple/cherry/Bavarian cheesecake); beef Wellington rolls, spinach or broccoli cheese puff

Hoop's Fun Foods: chocolate-dipped cheesecake, chocolate nutty bar, apple dumpling, ice cream cone, cotton candy, caramel apple, strawberry Newburg, chocolate mudslide cake

Hoopingarner Funnel Cakes: funnel cake

Hoopingarner Philly Steaks: Philly steak sandwich, jumbo corn dog, fried pickles, fresh-cut fries

La Mesa Mexican Restaurant: super nachos, taco salad, taco, burrito, enchilada

Made 2 Grill: bratwurst, hamburger, chicken strips

Made 2 Grill Funnel Cakes: funnel cake

Mario's Cuisine: veggie pita, gyro, chicken oregano pita, Romano's beef pita, Tuscan pork pita

NuWay Cafe: combo meal, burgers, potato chips, root beer float, royal malt ice cream cone

Pizza Hut: Personal Pan Pizza, breadsticks, Wing Street wings

R&J Concession: tater twist meal with catfish, chicken or shrimp, fried peaches, frozen cheesecake, fried Cajun pickles, tater twist

Tad's Catering: Indian taco, burrito, black bean and spinach burrito, taco salad, churros

Tad's Catering & Concessions: chicken tender or Cajun shrimp on a stick, curly fry loaf, hot dog, foot-long chili cheese dog, red beans and rice

Texas Red's B-B-Q: turkey leg, beef brisket sandwich or turkey breast sandwich, Polish sausage

The Original Corn Roast: roasted corn, baked potato or baked sweet potato, tater twist, onion blossom, jalapeno poppers, cheese sticks, caramel apple slices.