Welp, it's just about getting to that time where we'd be expecting to see the new 2022 New Fair Foods, so I guess we better get off our butts and post the recap of the 2021 foods.
2021 was a pretty good year- helped along by great weather (except the severe thunderstorm that rolled through on Day 1) and record low crowds due to the fair recommending and not requiring masks in indoor spaces (we were masked any time we weren't eating, but despite worries the MN State Fair was not a super spreader event). Some of our favorite vendors did not return, such as Rainbow Ice- hoping they were just protesting the lack of mask restriction and will be back in '22 and that they didn't go under due to the pandy...
Pandemic fears kept many away and it was the most relaxing fair experience we've ever had- seating was PLENTIFUL on Day 1- if you needed a seat you had your pic, food lines were non-existent. It was glorious! We'll probably never see its like again.
Anne won her first Blue Ribbon for Crickety Ginger Snaps, and then was invited to do a cooking demo at the demo kitchen in the creative activities building- bananas!
Sarah and Packie's Most Excited for food item was a no show (we'll never know how a Spufull Puff might've been- unless they try it again this year), and Anne was spot on for her Most/Least picks (Dual Berry Shortcake ftw, DIE La Floretta).
Also Anne won 20lbs of 2nd place State Fair Butter at Auction (and it was as delicious as we hoped and yes we used it all up over the following 8 months). She had a banner year all around.
We're going to start keeping track of food prices, and in 2021 with 27 new items, we spent $264.75, making the average price $9.81
There were some things we loved, and some things we loathed, so let's get to it!
YOU DID IT!- Grade A Foods
Dual Berry Shortcake- $7 from Lulu’s Public House
A. Soft, flavorful biscuit with sweet whipped cream and slightly tart berries. This was amazing! The biscuit was so flaky, soft and perfect, and add in the sweet whip and berries and you get so much flavor that you can’t stop eating it. Great price for a good amount of food.
Hummus Bi Lahme- $12 from Babas
A. This hummus bowl was zapped up with Shwarma, oil, almond slices and lemon sauce. Really flavorful, good hummus with awesome toppings and soft pitas to dip. Loved this!
Pizza Lucy- $7 from Green Mill
Straight up A.
Sorta a fancy pizza pocket. The mouthfeel is fantastic. There was discussion about buying more to bring home for later. Though the cup with the pizza sauce was too small for dipping. Also my hair is out of control because hair mediation plans were interrupted by the take shelter order.
Bama! Lemon Sweet Tea- $7 from Summer Lakes Beverages
A! This is what we want from a refreshing summer drink. Good lemon flavor with an interesting undercurrent of something else. Not a very strong tea taste (if that’s your jam or not). Had to take shelter due to severe weather, glad to have some great food and drink to weather the storm with.
Caramelized Banana Pudding- $8 at The Blue Moon Dine-In Theater
A!
Oh how we loved this. Good amount for the money, too. Just really great pudding. The only con was the Cocoa Krispies were stale but even that wasn’t enough to make us change our opinion. Great final food of the day
Hey, Pretty Good Champ!- Grade B Foods
The Naughty Biscuit- $10 from RC BBQ
B. Pork Belly with Pickled Onions, Candied Jalapenos, Sauce. The biscuit was so soft that it’s actually too soft to eat as a sammich- use a fork. Pork Belly was baller, and biscuit was excellent. We were surprised how much we liked it.
Jumbo Donut Sundae- $11 at Fluffy’s Handcut Donuts
B. We got the heath donut, vanilla ice cream, and nuts. It was just good, especially when you get a bit of heath. Donut was a bit tough, so real forks recommended. The more we ate it, the more we liked it.
The Island Hopper- $12 from The Hangar
B. Jerk Chicken and rice in a pineapple. Great flavored chicken with a nice char, the pineapple was sweet and the rice soaking up the flavors was wonderful. Good value for the price.
Blue Raspberry Blitzed- $7 from Sara’s Tipsy Pies
B- Sara makes a good pie- great crust, and the filling is tasty. Not much more to say about it.
Kerala Fried Chicken Kati Roll- $12 from Hot Indian
B. Good crispy chicken with a sweet and tangy slaw and great Indian flavors wrapped up in a chewy Naan.
Greek Stuffed Ravioli- $7 from Dino’s Gyros
B. Filled with tons of Greek stuff but mostly tasted like cream cheese. Crispy and soft. Nice.
Try Harder Next Time, Ok?- Grade C Foods
Buffalo Chicken Doughscuits- $12.75 from Blue Barn
C (at best). Biscuit donut that’s both sweet and savory. SUPER DENSE. You’d think it’d be lighter than a biscuit with the addition of donut but I guess not. Wavers between savory and sweet which some of us like and some don’t. Did not taste buffalo at all.
I-Scream Waffle Sandwich and Chicken & Macaroni from Nordic Waffles- $9 and $12 respectively
C. Not because of flavor but because of execution. Both really hard to eat. If the chicken leg (which was baller) had been a tender, would’ve probably been an A. Ice cream sammich was frozen solid and hurt our teeth. But all around flavors were good.
Sidecar Sandwich- $11 from the Hideaway Speakeasy
C. Grilled cheese sandwich with bacon and orange marmalade. The marmalade was divisive, some didn’t think it worked with the sandwich, others liked it. A decent grilled cheese sandwich with quality cheeses, but nothing special in execution or flavor. Probably the cheapest thing we have ever gotten from the Speakeasy.
Bison Bites- $8.75 at Giggles
C. We were pretty split on these. Some of us liked them and some of us didn’t so the grade rounded out. They’re like little pizza rolls but bison sausage filling instead. The sweet bourbon sauce is pretty good.
Mini Variety Cheesecurd Bucket- $18 from Solem Concessions
C. Wow are these the most expensive cheesecurds ever?? No bc they had a $25 option also. Variety pack includes Original, Ranch, Cajun, and Garlic. All curds are good but the price edges these out of the running, and there are superior options elsewhere.
Sashimi Tuna Taco- $15 at Scenic 61
C. Not bad but not great. Sashimi tuna, wonton taco, avocado, slaw. Perfectly fine, though pricey as expected. BUT. Service was great AND THEY HAVE A FOOD SLIDE.
S’mores Funnel Cake- $7 from Funnel Cakes
C. Funnel cake was overdone, and it was exactly like we thought it would be- stuff slapped on a Funnel Cake with no understanding of what makes a s’more GOOD. Still tasty bc it’s a Funnel Cake, but eh
Paneer Pakora- $8 from Hot Indian
C. Another one that was mixed. Some liked it more than others. Paneer is a drier cheese which makes it not quite great for deep frying. But the tomato butter dipping sauce was wonderfully flavorful (though it had a slow burn).
Fudge and Fruit!- $11 from Minnesota Wine Country
C. Nothing special, tasted perfectly fine if you like this sort of thing. Strawberries were juicy and sweet, but they left the tops on, which is dumb
Waffle Burger- $7.75 at Andy’s Grille
C. A solid burger with cheese and bacon with two waffles and syrup to dip. Very tasty and actually nice with the syrup, however the waffles were cold, like they were made in advance and not kept warm. Rather off-putting.
C'mon- What Are We Even Doing Here?- Grade D Foods
Cucumber Jalapeno Limeade- $6 from the Farmer’s Union
D (some would say F). Why are beverages burny??
Wow was this spicy. Like the cuke and limeade would’ve been so refreshing if our mouths weren’t on fire. Also So. Much. Pulp.
Bahn Minn Bun- $8 from Sausage Sister & Me
D. Had a real weird flavor to it, the slaw added nothing to the sandwich. People had troubles swallowing their bites.
Cracklin Prime Rib Tacos- $9 from Coasters
D. Maaaaaaaan if you’re going to make a nacho out of pork rinds, pick a better pork rind. Multiples of us had pieces that were so hard we almost cracked a tooth on it. Too many Jalapenos which we wouldn’t have requested if given the option. Toppings were ok, but really came down to the fact that a large portion of the cracklins were inedible. Also really lacking in the prime rib.
Esquites- $6 from Midtown Global Market (Los Ocampos)
D. Sarah and Packie don’t like elote and this didn’t change their mind. Anne likes elote but thought the corn needed to be sweeter, otherwise it was too sour. Why is it so hard to get good elote?
NO- Grade F Foods
Chori Pop- $8 from Andy’s Garage
F.
I knew before we even tasted it.
We all hated it. The only redeeming factor was the mole sauce. And the chips were fine. But the texture was grainy and it was a disappointing intro to the herbivorous butcher.
La Floretta- $7.50 from Mancini’s Al Fresco
F. Boy howdy did we fucking HATE THIS.
First- cauliflower = gross. Mom would say she didn’t mind it but she’d be wrong.
Second- they drizzled the sauce over the top but didn’t give you a fork, so it’s a sticky mess.
Third- the sauce was not good and too spicy.
I’m gagging in the photo because I knew I’d hate it, and then i had to masticate it without tasting it so i didn’t spit it out.
So that's it for MN State Fair 2021! It was a really, really great return to the State Fair after the 2020 gap year, and we all deserved it.
And now we bide our time waiting for the 2022 New Foods to be announced (anytime in the next 4 weeks most likely). And we'll see you all there.
