Minnesota State Fair foods?
Since the Minnesota state fair starts tomorrow, I thought I'd take a poll to find out:
1) What's the one thing you cannot leave the fair without eating?
2) Have you tried any of the "new" foods?
3) Do you have any tips for semi-healthy eating at the fair?
For me, the answers are:
1) Mini donuts, hot from the Tom Thumb stand and all the milk you can drink. Ooh, and cream puffs!
2) Not yet, but I'll report back after I've been there
3) Try the milk, corn on the cob in front of the grandstand, gyros from Dinos or the lamb shop, or grilled shrimp (at Old English Fish and Chips).
Raka
Aug 22, 2007 08:53PM
1) The footlong corn dog from the vendor cuddled up against the horse barn (side facing the cattle barn). Best. Corn Dog. Ever. The corn batter has a nice grit to it, and a perfect flavor. Smear it with ketchup and mustard and enjoy while checking out all the lovely dairy cattle.
2) Nope, I'm kinda cheap when it comes to my Fair dollars, plus I'm too full from the footlong corndog. I did get burned two years ago trying the Reuben corn dog (saltiest thing in the world, and nothing (nothing!) like a good Reuben), so I will probably steer clear of the latest and greatest. This may change however. Still, the tried and true are what bring us back
3) Yep on the milk and corn on the cob, also the tabouli filled pitas. Too, there's a place up on the more northern side of the fairgounds selling a concoction of smoked salmon, cream cheese and a (lingonberry?) tart fruit sauce on a rye-crisp wafer. Very virtuous feeling after all the other stands. Can't remember the name of the place, but I think it was a log structure (I was there in pouring rain last year and could only think of shielding my treat from the rain and not what my location was).
Enjoy the Fair folks! We live right next door in SAP and love to see all the happy Fair-goers!
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Cayjohan, re: #3--are you referring to Giggles? I think that place is usually a pretty good bet for "real" food.
EDIT: Also, here are some links to my favorite state fair threads from last year. I find these are helpful from a planning perspective:
State of Organic Food at the Fair:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/320689
(Karl Gerstenberger’s post about organic foods and some replies about “healthy” fair eating).
This year’s fair finds:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/320859
(diesel’s post asking for our new “finds” last year).
Best breakfast at the fair:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/320289
All foods at the fair (more or less
)http://www.chowhound.com/topics/320592
(This is AnneInMpls’ post wherein she lists all of the foods from the State Fair’s online “food finder” so we could print it out and take it along with us…).
State Fair must haves:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/123284
~TDQ
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1) What's the one thing you cannot leave the fair without eating?
Cay's aforementioned corn dogs - I'm pretty sure I am thinking of the same vendor
Martha's chocochip cookies
creampuff things that are heavenly!
2) Have you tried any of the "new" foods?
Hmmm- I don't think so.
3) Do you have any tips for semi-healthy eating at the fair?
Go early, eat a good breakfast, go with my kids so you can have a bite of what they order .....instead of a whole creampuff - I get 2 bites.
And I'm adding a 4th general question....
4) what food item have you been disappointed with at the fair in recent years?
I had the corn last year and it was horrible. Not even going to bother waiting for it this year.
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I'll answer number one: cheese curds. From that "original" stand that's inside and maybe has mouse it its name? My husband knows it and steers me to it. Claims it's the first cheese-curd place to have set up at the fair. (But what does he know).
Also, crab cakes from that outdoor food court-y area (with real beer this year).
Oh, and something at the freestanding House of LaChoy, just because it's so cute.
2) Will they have deep-fried Coke or Pepsi there? The newest thing this year. But I won't try it because.
4) I tried deep-fried Snickers two years ago and it was horrible. Essentially a batter-covered candy bar. And the batter strongly reminded me of that used at Long John Silvers for fish, where I worked back in the day. Good stuff, but not on a candy bar.
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while a deep fried snickers may have disappointed some (i had chino's a few weeks ago and it was pretty tasty, with a much finer batter than the one used at the fair) the real king of deep fried confections is definitely the oreos - they undergo a texture transformation in the oil, you could call it the unification of cookie and cream. just watch out for the powdered sugar - it gets everywhere - check out how much of it is all over the ground around the stand if you needed .and more warning.
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1) ONE thing? Oy. I'm way into the Gizmo sandwich: seasoned loose ground beef & pork in a hoagie bun, covered with red sauce and melted mozzarella cheese. The stand is on Cooper, between Murphy and Lee. Also have to have mini-donuts (shared), cheese curds (shared), honey ice cream (shared) and corn. (And then I fast for two weeks.)
2) I have too many old favorites to make room for anything new . . . the last new thing I tried was the Fudge Puppy, ages ago: a Belgian waffle wrapped around a stick, dipped in chocolate and slathered with whipped cream. Not bad, but it could never replace mini-donuts as my sugar rush of choice at the Fair.
3) Clearly, no.
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What ARE the new foods this year? Anyone know?
~TDQ
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From Rick Nelson's column today:
http://www.startribune.com/456/story/...
On the second page of this article, scroll down to the paragraph heading "New Foods."
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Thanks! So, it looks like the new items that caught Rick's attention (enough to include in his piece, anyway) are:
Apple fries -- julienned apples, crumb-coated and deep-fried -- at Coaster's (Liggett & Carnes.)
Sloppy Joes on a Stick (Axel's in the Food Building)
Spam Burgers (Spam Burgers, Carousel Park)
The Uffda Brat -- a Norwegian brat wrapped in lefse and speared with a toothpick at Sausage Sister and Me (Food Building)
The BeerGarita, a margarita made with beer (Tejas, the Garden)
Hmmm...I think the only one that's really calling to me is the "sloppy joe on a stick." That's just weird enough that I'll have to investigate it. If it's hot, I may have to try the BeerGarita.
EDIT: and I have to disagree with Rick Nelson re: the key lime pie on a stick (which he declares "fabulous"). I've high hopes in the past, but thought that somehow they didn't hit the right combo of sweet & sour with the lime. I can't remember now whether I thought it was too sweet or too limey, but I just remember I didn't quite think it worked. Also, it tasted chemically to me.
~TDQ
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I wanted those apple fries and couldn't find them!! Too late now
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The State Fair Food Finder is pretty cool: http://gopher.mnstatefair.org/foodfin...
You can do a search for new stuff - I did that, and copied and pasted the actual new items below:
Apple Lil's: Coca-Cola cheescake dipped in chocolate on-a-stick and Soda fountain funnel cakes
Axel's: Sloppy joes on-a-stick
Blue Moon Dine In Theater: Peanut butter hot dog
Bridgeman's: Old fashioned ice cream soda
Coasters: Deep fried crumb coated apple fries
Epiphany Diner: Two children's menu offerings
Famous Dave's: Pork knuckle sandwich and Kool Aid pickles
French Meadow Bakery: Rocky road scones on-a-stick (caramel, chocolate, marshmallow)
Fried Fruit: Batter dipped deep fried fruit on-a-stick in a variety of the following combinations: grapes, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, strawberry, pineapple, apple, pineapple, banana, kiwi, peaches, cherries, pears, watermelon fruit blended drinks made fresh on site to include fruit combinations, Dasani bottled water
Green Mill Pizza: Dixie wings on-a-stick
O'Garas: Corned beef and cabbage dipped in batter on-a-stick
Old English Fish & Chips: Calamari
Potato Skins: Buffalo chips and cheese (sliced potatoes with melted cheddar cheese with optional toppings)
Ragin Cajun: Breakfast bread bowls (blackened steak or shrimp, eggs, potatoes, cheese), jambalaya (eggs, potatoes, cheese)
Sausage Sister & Me: Uffda Brat (Norwegian sausage wrapped in a potato lefse)
Scotch Eggs: Butterscotch cake (cream filled dipped in butterscotch) on-a-stick
Spam Burgers: Spam burger (fried Spam served on a bun with cheese and/or pineapple), Spam curds (Spam and cheese battered and deep fried)
Tejas: BLP quesadilla (bacon, lettuce and picodegallo)
Ultimate Confections: S'mores on-a-stick (toasted marshmallows in chocolate topped with graham cracker crumbs)
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Thank you! I remembered (from last year) that there was a way to search on the new items, but couldn't figure out how to do it.
What are kool aid pickles?
And, I hate to say it, but spam curds could be good, too, depending on how they pull it off.
~TDQ
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Here's what you need to know about Kool Aid Pickles:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/09/din...
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Okay, that's on my must try list! Crunchy & sour & sweet, what's not to like?
~TDQ
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Alton Brown tried Koolickles on Feasting on Asphalt this week. He was extremely skeptical but seemed to like them. Maybe if one were sitting in front of me I'd eat it but I don't think I'll seek them out.
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1.) Many moons ago I worked as a Dairy Bartender at the Gopher Dairy Bar (attached to the Cattle Building). As such, I am slavishly loyal to their thick and delicious shakes. This booth is staffed by members of the U of M - St Paul's Gopher Dairy Club and serves as their annual fundraiser.
2.) I don't know what's new this year, but I have tried several new things over the past couple of years. Deep Fried Snickers: good, but too rich to eat the entire thing. Share with a friend. Pickle Dog on a Stick: pickle spear schmeared with cream cheese and wrapped in a slice of lunchmeat. Delicious. I think it might get bumped up to Category 1 "Thing you cannot leave the Fair with out eating." Deep Fried Tuna Casserole on a Stick: I admired their inventiveness and it didn't taste half bad. The dipping sauce is cream of mushroom soup.
3.) Coat your stomach with Grain Belt Premium first so the rest of the calories won't be absorbed. ...What? I dare you to find the flaw in that logic.
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StPauliGirl, are you referring to last year's new item " hot dish on a stick"? If so, I don't believe it was tuna casserole but some kind of ground meat (beef pork combo, if I recall correctly) hotdish on stick.
~TDQ
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That sounds right. What a terrible memory I have!
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SPG -
1) love those shakes
3) spot on logic!
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I can only handle the fair about once a decade. What's the verdict on the much-ballyhooed hotdish on a stick from last year?
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Once a decade? I go at least twice every year!
It was fun and creative, but not a solid homerun. It was basically tator tots and meatballs alternating on a stick, then breaded & deep fried and served with a "cream of mushroom soup" sort of a sauce on the side. There might have been some peas in there somewhere, too, although I can't now quite remember.
My main complaint is that the tator tots couldn't hold up to the extreme heat of the deep-fry and basically disintegrated into mush... So, every other bite was a bite of deep fried mush.
~TDQ
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The fair is just not my scene. The chief reason for me to go is to eat the food, which is never as tasty as I want it to be, and I always want stuff that I don't need to be eating anyway.
I was inspired by this thread to go to Town Talk and get their better-than-the-fair's cheese curds. That's enough fried stuff for me this year.
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I cannot leave the fair without having:
1) Austrian or Australian battered potatos (see, I don't even remember the name). They're med-to thicker cut slices of potato (the long way), deep fried and then drizzled with not so great cheese sauce and ranch sauce. Then you get a flag on a toothpick put on the plate. I know...I know..but it's greasy goodness.
2) A shake or cone from the dairy barn.
3) I discovered some sausage sampler (cant recall - ) right in front of the MPR building. It's REALLY GOOD STUFF. If you get the sampler, you get cajun, andouille and garlic sausage pieces? Hmm....
4) CORN DOG!
Haven't tried anything on the "new foods list" - with the prices there, I have to stick to the staples!
Healthy: Yep -I agree- milk stand, the roasted corn, an ice cream cone is reasonable - especially if you share it. Otherwise, it is much too big. Andre's cubed watermelon (though I'm sure it's pricey for fruit), a snocone, West Indies Soul Cafe - maybe it's not extremely healthy but a healthier option as it's chicken (choose your thigh, wing, breast) with a jerk seasoning....not sure how horrible (against everything else there) it could be.
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1. Roasted corn, and a chocolate malt from the stand outside the Fine Arts building.
2. Not yet. But this IS the fair, and so any hesitations I might hold about a spamburger are suspended for ten days. Will report back.
3. Band together with your friends. Really. Except for roasted corn, I've found that I usually just wanted a taste: a bite of cheese curd, a couple of fries, one of Martha's cookies, and so on. Shared servings are kinder to both the caloric and financial budgets.
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Gotta love the fair threads!
1) What's the one thing you cannot leave the fair without eating?
A cream puff (Dan Patch Ave. and Liggett St.), a corn dog, a pickle dog, mini donuts, a pork chop on a stick from Schumacher's (Carnes Ave. between Nelson and Underwood), and a shake from the dairy barn. Sharing very little.
2) Have you tried any of the "new" foods?
Not yet - we're going tomorrow, maybe we will try a "new" food, maybe we won't - I'll post again if we do.
3) Do you have any tips for semi-healthy eating at the fair?
What?
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Here is a link to the fair map... http://www.mnstatefair.org/pages/fair...
1) The cheese curds in the food building off Underwood & Carnes. None of the other Cheese curds can compare to them.
2) The shredded turkey sandwich right near the milk stand. Juicy and a bit salty, but good salty. Don't get the turkey leg, get the sandwich - Fantastic!
3) A big pile of fries from the store near the Southwest corner of Dan Patch and Underwood Street (East of the Bandstand).
4) Sweet Martha's cookies on the way out.
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1) Roasted corn, chocolate ice cream from the Dairy Bar inside Empire Commons, honey lemonade, and a corn dog. (Thanks for the tip, cayjohan, on the foot-long corn dogs near the horse barn - I must try one!)
2) Haven't been yet. But none of the new foods sound good to me, except maybe the Uffda brat.
3) I avoid fried food (except for the corn dog), share the really rich stuff, and drink lots of water. That's as healthy as I'm willing to be - for gosh sakes, it's the fair! But the tips above are really helpful.
Also - sorry, but I haven't had time yet to update the moster list of fair food. There are a bunch of changes this year (new foods, dropped foods, vendor name changes). Doncha hate it when work interferes with the important things in life?
Anne
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just got back from day one of the fair. ricardo and i go every year - sometimes twice. he's watching his weight, so we share everything.
1 - sunflower honey ice cream sundae with honey on top - always a treat. this is the only place you can get it....the fair. makes it all the more special. we then sit and eat it next door and breathe in the aroma of all the christmas trees...and complain that pretty as they are, they are too full and thick. (we like charlie brown trees:))
- also love corn dogs even better than pronto pups. got a coupon book this year and got a big dog which could be dangerous as it's very l o n g and on a pointy stick and we had to push it up so we didn't do throat surgery. wouldn't do that again. will try the corn dog booth by the horse barn next time as suggested in another post here.
- used our coupon book at bridgeman's and got a turtle sundae (sans muffin). ricardo said we were splitting it, so the disher kindly gave us two containers to keep the fighting down - it was delicious. nice toasty pecans and lotsa topping, just right. a true ice cream day.
- used to always get peter's hot dogs, but we remember when they were a dime, so we went without this year - i think they are at least two bucks. i used to sell scotch heather perfume for friends in the grandstand (back in the early 60's) and lived on those hot dogs which were also infused with the perfume essence, never to be duplicated again, i fear.
- kinda miss the old food building before they jazzed it up - especially the chocolate eclairs that are no longer there - ricardo thought about them all year and was disheartened to see them no longer around.
2 - only newish food was a sample of the nitro ice cream - very good, but we saved ourselves for the honey sunflower ice cream.
3 - healthy foods - some looked good but we in our dotage have come to this: we park inside the fairgrounds, even tho 9 bucks per car and put water, coke and fresh fruit in the cooler. when we are tired, we go back to the car, roll down the windows, do the crossword puzzle and drink and eat our grapes and blueberries. our plan is to go back to the fair, refreshed, but then we decide "let's go home", stop at cub and get either fresh fish or ground bison and have a semi healthy dinner of bison burgers and chopped salad after out little nap. yes, we are exhausted after the fair and we love going so we can come home and veg out.
--loved all the other suggestions from this post and last year's, so i'm ready to go back and sample the pork chop on a stick, the lamb in the food building and something from giggles....and maybe those kool aid pickles.
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1)Scotch Egg on a stick, something from Giggles (walleye cakes and smoked salmon are both very good), honey lemonade from the honey booth and cheese curds.
2)They don't sound very delectable this year...peanut butter hot dog and Spam curds? Maybe the corned beef and cabbage on a stick would be worth a try.
3)I don't even try.
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I just love that honey lemonade! It's the best bargain; a nice sized cup for a buck.
Don't forget the 1919 root beer too!
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1) A half-and-half container of fried green tomatoes and corn fritters with honey butter, a corn dog, a strawberry/choc crepe, and fresh cut french fries with lots of vinegar. Icy cold root beer (from the stand on Dan Patch) and honey lemonade. It would kill me to choose just one.
2) I stick to my old buddies. Although that uffda brat sounds interesting.
3) Did anyone mention watermelon at the watermelon stand (Andre's)? Other possibilities: giant pickles, the pork chop on a stick, lots of sandwiches (the roasted turkey one from the stand that sells the big gross turkey legs is good as are Schumacher's various sausages and brats) and gyros. Roasted corn of course. The crepe place has savory crepes. And a stand in one of those big food courts offers fresh fruit, raw vegetables w/dip and a cream cheese/veggie pie.
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I looked at those Uff Da brats and they looked really heavy. Didn't get one.
We tried a spoonful of Blue Sky's nitro ice cream- super rich and ultra vanilla flavored. One spoonful was enough.
The Minnesota wines at Schumachers were decent. The whites were a bit too sweet and cloying for our tastes. The reds were drinkable.
Always gotta have a sample bag of salt water taffy on the way out.
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I always try something from the Giggles Campfire Grill at the north end.
"Offering: Big game bratwurst (elk, buffalo, pork), elk burgers, salmon wrap, chicken tenders, salmon on-a-stick, walleye fries, walleye cakes, foot-long walleye sandwich, breaded and fried chicken on-a-stick, porcupine meatballs on-a-stick (wild rice and ground pork)."
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Oh my! Dinner (to share) at the Fair:
Cheese puff (fantastic, as always, with an explosion of whipped cream and powdered sugar in every bite)
Kool-aid pickle (crunchy and mildly sweet, surprisingly not at all sour)
Beergarita--(okay, once you stirred it up--could be pretty freshing on a sweltering hot day)
~TDQ
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You know, don't you, that they'll put that cream puff on a stick if you ask them nicely? At least they would last year. Note that I don't recommend this, though, except for people who are eating only food-on-a-stick at the fair. It's hard enough to eat a cream puff that isn't on a stick...
Anne
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HA! That is funny. I admit to having a soft spot for foods on a stick, but, you're right, I imagine it would make those cream puffs even more impossible to eat. Of course, that means you have to head over to the Star Tribune booth immediately for the free handiwipes.
Taking this opportunity to add the places link.
~TDQ
1265 Snelling Ave N, Falcon Heights, MN 55108, USA
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Trying to add more photos:
Twisted sister on a stick (good, although, it's yet another variety of dog on a stick, from Sausage Sister & Me in the food building)
Smelt fry (my first smelt ever--from somewhere in the food building. I thought the breading was unnecessary)
Strawberry malt (rich and creamy and decadent, passing itself off as wholesome,, this year with Minnesota-grown strawberries, from the dairy building)
Okay, not available for sale at the fair, alas, but check out the meat prize winners in the cases right in front Princess Kay and the Butterheads: St. Joseph Meat Market's prize-winning "funeral hotdish in a smoked brat"! Just when you think you've seen everything...
~TDQ
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And, of course, no state fair "meal" would be complete without an order of cheese curds, we got ours from the Mouth Trap as is our tradition.
~TDQ
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So, we'll hit the Fair one more time. I'm definitely going to have to try the corn fritter, the turkey sandwich, and the gizmo sandwich. Also, has anyone tried the sloppy joe on a stick yet? I see lots of people wanting to try it in this thread, but haven't seen a report yet from anyone who actually has tried it.
Speaking of sloppy joes, we did head up to St. Joseph Meat Market to try the funeral hotdish in a brat (we tried the fresh brat, rather than the smoked brat I saw in the Dairy Building at the Fair)--the funeral hotdish brat wasn't that amazing, really. It had noodles in it, which gave it an interesting texture, but overall, it just tasted like sausage to me, a very peppery sausage. However, when we were at St. Joseph's Meat Market, we did pick up some of their sloppy joe brats and thought they were surprisingly good and sloppy joe-tasting.
Here's a link to more on that, for post-fair dining. :)
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/435252
~TDQ
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We tried the sloppy joe on a stick and it is terrible. We thought we got the wrong thing at first, as it was just a pronto-pup with a dipping sauce.
The dog inside is spiced differently than a regular hot dog, however it does not taste like ground beef. The sauce does not taste tomato-y like manwhich sauce either. It truly fails to reproduce either the flavor or mouth-feel of a sloppy joe, which is disappointing as I think with a little more effort, it could have been done well.
Also, I think Axel's changed their mac & cheese on a stick as it did not taste as good as last year.
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Oh, that's crummy news, both on the sloppy joe on a stick and the mac and cheese on a stick. :( I had never gotten around to trying the mac and cheese on a stick (although, I have tried and do actually like the spaghetti on a stick--it's in the food building, can't remember the vendor), but now I guess I can skip both the sloppy joe and mac and cheese on sticks. Bummer. That just leaves room for the other things I want to try, too.
Thank you for reporting back to save us from regrettable choices!
~TDQ
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Oodles of Noodles. And that is one of our favorites as well. (As is the Nitro Ice Cream next door and lamb on a stick on the other side.)
Last year the mac&cheese was more like those at Grumpy's, which are our favorite. This year (at least last Sunday) more breading and less flavor.
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the lamb on a stick, grass-fed gyros, etc are sustainably farmed (the lamb shop) and probably fit the criteria of semi-healthy eating/state of organic food at the fair-- good that Foureyes rec's them, i didn't try--the food bldg was so crowded it made me woozy. will try next year.
never found the gizmo, didn't look hard enough i guess. the honey sunflower sundae was the best! dh declared it "most pleasing thing at the fair." also enjoyed the corn fritters & fgt. while we were licking the bowl of our sundae in front of the honey display, two perspiring deliverymen brought in more honey ice cream on hand carts-- it appears from the labels on the tubs that kemps is contracted to make the stuff. i don't know whether to be shocked or not, but the ice cream was very tasty!
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Along the lines of the honey sunflower sundae, we loved the honey lemonade. When I was a kid, my mom would make hot lemon and honey to sooth our sour thoats, so this was a funny memory inducing beverage.
My wife on the other hand had been given warm salt water to gargle when she had a sore thoat (man was I lucky) and had never tasted lemon and honey. She thought it was the best thing she'd ever drank and went back for seconds.
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1) Favorites: French fries (booth across from Empire Commons), 1919 root beer, cheese curds (near the root beer), deep fried Snickers, and Sweet Martha's cookies.
2) New foods? I usually stick with the classics
3) Healthy? Not really. Closest is the frozen apple cider in