Beyond the Corn Dog

Not a coaster fan? Silver Dollar City is also just a beautiful place to be, built on lush tree-covered hills. By mandate of the owner, for every tree that gets cut down, two have to be planted in its place. Most of the rides, including roller coasters, look like they grew out of the middle of the forest.

Plus, it has ridiculously hearty and delicious food for a theme park — often served with live music on the side. The big draw is “skillets” cooked on enormous cast iron pans crafted by the park’s own blacksmiths, who also do outdoor demonstrations. I ate a succotash skillet of corn, okra, squash, chicken, peppers and onions that comes from a 25-year-old recipe.

Food offerings change every few weeks, as various festivals rotate through the grounds. Thanks to the BBQ and Bluegrass festival, we snacked on a barbecue-nachos concoction, with shredded brisket, coleslaw, baked beans and barbecue sauce, all atop corn chips. Why I’ve never had this at a Super Bowl party is a shame and a mystery to me.

Dessert options included Oreo-flavored funnel cakes; peanut brittle hand-pulled in demos at Brown’s Candy factory; and fresh cinnamon bread baked from grain that was crushed by one of the park’s water wheels.

The most popular snack seemed to be the tater twists, which are essentially a spiral-cut potato fried into one long chip on a stick. Some genius also figured out how to put a foot-long Nathan’s hot dog on that stick and then fry the tater twist around out. We couldn’t finish it.

‘You’ve Got to See a Show!’

Think of Branson as a wholesome Las Vegas with a Nashville twang. The “Strip,” or Country 76 Boulevard, is replete with neon-lit live entertainment venues; a light-up Ferris wheel; and kitschy architecture galore.

“It’s just a great place,” said Brian McKee, a retiree from South Bend, Ind., who was on his 11th trip to the city. “The people are so nice. It’s a Christian-oriented, family-oriented place. I don’t think there’s any show you couldn’t take your kids to.”