2017 MN State Fair New Foods Preview Part 4

Part Four! Part Four! Paaaaaart FOUR!!

Only one day left after today, monkey clowns, on our travels down the new foods exploration of the 2017 MN State Fair.

Of course, then we'll be one step closer to the real deal.

Here are parts One, Two, and Three

Onwards and Upwards!


Mobster's Caviar

Cream cheese dip with crab meat, green onions, fresh red pepper and water chestnuts, served with whole wheat flatbread crackers.

At The Hideaway Speakeasy in the Veranda, Grandstand upper level, northwest section


Sarah

Ugh. This doesn’t sound appetizing to me. I like cream cheese and I generally like cream cheese dips and spreads, but the ideas of them never strike me as something good. So I’m gonna side-eye the shit out of this the entire time until it either proves me right, or is delicious.

Also red pepper is gross.

Patrick

Awww, well now, doesn’t this look nice?  All that sounds nice and tasty, with the crackers and the dipping.  Yeah, alright.  I got this.  I’ve got high hopes that this will be enjoyable.  I could also see it just turning out like crap.  But I’m going to hope for the best on this.

Anne

At initial read this seems like something someone would bring to a potluck.  I’m betting (hoping?) that this actually turns out ok- I like all the things in it, and I like the idea of a fancy dip offering.  I will happily try this.  Maybe Hideaway Speakeasy won’t be so bad.


Pie'n the Sky Malt & Sundae

A sweet and tart mix of crunchy, spiced “airplane” cookies and lemon curd, topped with dark chocolate drizzle and served with vanilla ice cream as a sundae or malt.

At Dairy Goodness Bar in the Dairy Building, south wall


Sarah

So just a bunch of stuff thrown on ice cream to make a Sunday, or on top of a malt.
I mean, I’m not gonna say NO to this, but is it really gonna be better than the regular malts I can get at the dairy building? Me thinks not.

Also I don’t want tart things with my sweet things.


Patrick

I’ll put my apathy for ice cream aside for a moment to judge this.  Not sure what they mean by “airplane” cookies, but if they are those biscotti cookies you get on some airplanes, holy crap those are tasty.  Throw those in with some lemon curd and dark chocolate drizzle and alright, I’ll try that out.  Might be good.  I mean, I’ll be pretty god damn apathetic about what’s under all that (ice cream), but sure, why not.

Anne

Oh damn!  Wait- wtf is an “airplane” cookie?!  According to Google, and Airplane cookie is either a cookie in the shape of an airplane (which doesn’t seem to be the case here), or a Biscoff biscuit cookie.  Maybe that’s what it is? The photo seems to support that theory.

I’m not a fan of citrus in with ice cream (typically citrus + cream = curdle), so the lemon curd on this bums me out (even though I lurve me some lemon curd), but I’d probably give it a go as a sundae


Pizzarito

Flour tortilla filled with pepperoni, Italian sausage, risotto, mozzarella and marinara, coated with garlic butter, parmesan and Italian spices, baked and served with a side of marinara.

At Green Mill on the east side of Cooper St. between Randall & Wright avenues, at Family Fair at Baldwin Park


Sarah

Yeah this sounds good! Even though pizza things always end up kind of being the same, I still get excited about them. This looks good, and I’m excited to find out if it is. Especially the tortilla since that’s the real shakeup here.

Patrick

Green Mill almost always puts out something new and it’s usually pretty good, maybe even really good.  I know the twins don’t really like flour tortillas (or maybe it is mostly Sarah), but this looks and sounds pretty good.  I like all that stuff inside this pizza burrito, and if it is as good as their Italian taco last year, it could be a solid hit.  Come on Green Mill, just go full Italian-Mexican fusion at this point.  You’ll be beautiful.  On a funny note, Sarah hates red sauce and Mexican food, so is this like her arch-nemesis?  What would mine be?  ...got it; a spam blizzard.  Anne’s would be curried cod.  Anne’s is like, an actual dish that is readily available in an Indian or Thai restaurant.  Sarah’s is a mad science miracle.  Mine is impossible, never gonna happen.  I win.

Anne

Oh. Damn. At first I was like- why would you ruin pizza with rice and a tortilla?  But then I saw that it’s from Green Mill and they ALWAYS deliver.  Plus this actually sounds pretty dang good


Slow-Roasted Pork Mole Tamale

Fresh corn tamale with slow-roasted pork, mole coloradito sauce and black bean and pineapple relish.

At Tejas Express in the Garden, north wall


Sarah

NOPE. No way, Jose. None of this for me. Not only is it Mexican, but it’s tamales, which is absolutely the last kind of Mexican food Sarah is okay with.

I will try this, and then I will immediately regret it and it will reaffirm my dislike of Mexican food as a whole.

It’s pretty, though.


Patrick

Hey, more stuff Sarah hates.  Seriously though, I’ve come to really like a good tamale, and mole is an even more recently discovered delicious favorite.  A lot of this has what Sarah hates, but I know at least Anne will give it a try, though I don’t think she likes tamales very much.  When…when the hell did this turn into me critiquing what the other two would think?  Somehow, I know this is LuLu’s doing.  Anyways, this sounds great as far as Mexican fare goes, and I’m excited to give it a try.

Anne

Sarah hates Mexican so this will be great for her.

I could definitely do with some more mole in my life, and every single thing in this sounds delicious so I am really, really excited to try this.  Full disclosure- I don’t know what coloradito sauce is, but I am excited to find out.



Sonoran Sausage: ONE.BAD.DOG

Tex-Mex sausage stuffed with pepper jack cheese, wrapped in bacon, baked and served on a cornmeal-dusted bun with fresh corn salsa and a drizzle of avocado ranch sauce.

At Sausage Sister & Me in the Food Building, east wall


Sarah

What is even up with the title of this one? Just pick one and call it that. It doesn’t need two names. God.

Tex Mex can often be too close to Mex for Sarah, but this sounds all right. I’m not really down with bacon wrapped stuff, but the Sausage Sisters generally know what they’re doing and put out good stuff.

And everything on this sounds pretty good (ranch always increases my interest) so I’m excited to try this one.


Patrick

Wow, this is a crazy looking dog.  Might be a little too much going on here, but the hot dog is a very versatile food and apparently shoving an exorbitant amount of toppings and extras on it, can’t keep it down (I’m looking at you Chicago dog).  Nothing about this is super exciting or tempting for me, but maybe the dog itself will be good.  Sausage Sister & Me has put out some damn good food before, but also had some real misses.  Hopefully, this won’t be the later.

Anne

I was waiting to see what Sausage Sister was putting out this year, as they’re a vendor I general appreciate.  And in general they did not disappoint this year!  I like the ease of eating this since it’s in a bun.  They have ruined it by adding pepper jack unfortunately, but I like the sound of everything else.  I wonder what’s making the sausage “Tex Mex”…? It better not be crotch peppers…


Spicy Thai Noodles

Rice noodles and red curry with coconut milk served with kaffir lime, basil leaves, bell peppers, galangal, onions and tomatoes. (Gluten-free)

At Oodles of Noodles in the Food Building, east wall


Sarah

I love me some curry, especially coconut curry, so that’s excellent. I do not, however, handle spice. Like, at all. So this will really come down to how spicy we’re talking about.

Also, bell peppers = gross.

But, Oodles of Noodles put out one of our favorite new foods last year (macaroni and cheese curds), so I’m optimistic about this one, even if it is too spicy for me.


Patrick

The picture doesn’t look suuuuper appetizing, but the description sounds right up my alley.  I love curry, noodles are banging, and all that other stuff sounds like a good combo.  Maybe this will be great!  Optimistic Patrick is back, yo!

Anne

I appreciate all of the new foods that are Gluten Free so I can feel happy for my friends with Celiac’s.

But this is not an item I want to try.  I WILL try it (because I am committed), but I am not a big fan of curry, bell peppers, or tomatoes.  I’m interested to see what Pat and Sarah think as they love curry.

OK- there is definitely grilled chicken in the photo, but chicken is not in the above list.  Maybe you choose a protein…?




And that's it! One more day, friends. So we hope to see you back here tomorrow!