2022 MN State Fair Food Preview Part 2 (Chicken Tandoori Rolls through Kulfi: Indian Style Ice Cream in Three Flavors)

 Chicken Tandoori Rolls- Holy Land

Chicken seasoned with tandoori spices, onions and peppers wrapped in paratha flatbread, then grilled and served with a side of avocado cilantro lime sauce.

 

Sarah

Well, okay. I’m not angry about this. Can’t say I’m very excited either, but it is what it is. Oh wait, this is from Holy Land? Hmm, okay. In general, Holy Land is our go-to place in the Bazaar. Which is good because also in general everything else we’ve ever eaten at the Bazaar has been pretty much straight garbage. So at least this now has a chance. The flatbread looks good. Not cray about the peppers, but what can you do? I’ve just come to live with the fact that sometimes peppers exist in things and that’s that. I wonder if this will be a mess or if the flatbread will keep it all contained? Could go either way, I think. Chances are by the time we get into the bazaar we’ll be exhausted, too, so if we’re lucky we’ll find somewhere to sit and eat this, which would probably help in the spilling possibilities corner we might find ourselves. So, I’m not excited about this, but I’m not worried, either.

 

Patrick

To be honest, I have never had good Indian food at the fair.  Maybe someone can point me to something great, but I’ve yet to find it.  I love Indian food though, and a flatbread roll stuffed with tandoori chicken does sound good at a glance.  The pic certainly does draw you in.  As I’ve said many times, not a big fan of avocados, but I think it might be fine as part of a dipping sauce and mixed with cilantro and lime sauce.  I’m skeptical this will change my mind about Indian food at the fair, but who knows?  Holy Land makes great Greek/middle eastern food, so maybe they can do better than Hot Indian.

 

Anne

Hey Holy Land- nice to see you around again.

This looks fun to try. I hope it’ not pepper forward because bell peppers (especially green pepper) are the woooorst.

Yeah I’m excited to give this a go- I hope it’s good, because it looks like a good food of substance.

Packie doesn’t like avocado so I wonder how he’s feeling about this dip. At least it’s on the side so he can opt out. Cilantro is not my fave herb either but I can tolerate it.

 

Chilaquiles Breakfast- Tejas Express

Fried corn tortilla strips sauteed with guajillo chile salsa and topped with scrambled eggs, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, avocado and crema.

Sarah

NOOOOOOOOOOO! No! NOOOOOOOOOOO!

Even just glancing at this picture has filled me with so much bad fee---NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I don’t want to eat this. I generally have a standard rule of life that is “I’ll try anything once except balut.” But now I want to change it to “I’ll try anything once except balut and the chilaquiles breakfast from Tejas Express.”

Am…am I crying right now? I might be. I’m so so sad I have to taste this. AND! AND! It’s a breakfast item, which means we’ll have to get it RIGHT AWAY so it’ll end up being one of the first things I have to taste on the very first day of the fair, which means…will my fair be ruined? God, maybe??

And I know that Packie, who might normally like this, is probably all bitching and moaning about the avocado, too. Also, it’s probably too spicy for Anne. I bet none of us will be happy after this.

If it was just avocado and crema? (and maybe the eggs?) I’d be a much happier person.

But right now, I am not.

 

Patrick

I know I’ve had chilaquiles as a new food at the fair a previous year, but I couldn’t find it on the blog.  I’m not crazy!  Anywho…I like a good chilaquiles breakfast and this looks tasty!  Miss me with that avocado and pico de gallo, but the rest sounds great.  I know Sarah is going to be as excited about this as the last chilaquiles that we DEFINITELY had.  Who knows, though, other than the salsa, not sure anything on this would be off-putting to Sarah, so maybe it’ll win her over.

 

Anne

Heh- so sorry Sarah- this looks awful for you. However, upon reading it it might be ok for her? Gonna come down to how that salsa is.

When looking at this I see a mess which is not super exciting to try, but I like the ingredient list. But did they fry corn tortillas to get them crispy and then plop wet ingredients on top to make them soggy again? Because it would be cool if we can eat these like a nacho, but I hate soggy nachos. And if they don’t give us a fork and then make the chips soggy, then how we supposed to eat it?

Anyway I’m giving this one some side eye. We’ll see…

 

Concha Bacon Burger- Aldo’s

All-beef patty with raspberry aioli, lettuce, pepper jack cheese, pickled jalapenos and bacon served on a concha, a traditional Mexican sweet bread roll.

 

Sarah

Okay, I did not know what a Concha was until it told me. So, when I saw this bun, I was both intrigued and a little confused/scared. Was it a mushroom? A pastry? But no, it’s a sweet bread roll and I’m okay with that.

But, here’s the thing. It’s a whole fucking burger. I don’t want to eat a whole burger unless it’s one of Mike’s Burgers, and those are tiny. I want this to be tiny, too. But, also, not so tiny that it’s not worth the money? I don’t know. I’m a fickle bitch. In general, aioli is my jam, but not sure how I’m gonna feel about this raspberry aioli on a burger. Pepper Jack cheese is maybe a weird choice (which Anne is definitely going to freak out about) especially when there’s also jalapenos. (NOOOOOO).

Where’s Aldo’s? Have we eaten there before? Is it a new place? It doesn’t sound familiar to me at all, and I keep thinking Aldi’s.

But all that said, I’m excited to try this bun.

 

Patrick

Wow!  This looks so fun and interesting.  I wouldn’t think there was much left to do to make a different burger, but Aldo’s may have cracked the code.  Raspberry aioli?  Mexican sweet bread roll?!  Some kind of spicy sweet burger sounds super fun and I hope the heat isn’t overpowering.  Not sure what the other two will think of this but I’m really hoping this is as great as it sounds.

 

Anne

What…what am I looking at here? Like clearly it’s a bacon burger but what’s up with that bun?

Ooooooooh! It’s a concha, that Mexican sweet roll. I did NOT put that together this morning lol.

Aldo’s is clearly not a new vendor, but they must be new to the new food list? We don’t have anything from them in the previous 8 years.

Things I like about this:

-          Raspberry aioli

-          Concha

Things I am suss about:

-          Pickled jalapenos

Things I don’t like:

-          Pepper jack

So I guess we’ll see how this turns out

 

Cotton Candy Float- German Rootbeer and Popcorn

Cotton candy soda poured over Kemps vanilla ice cream and topped with cotton candy.

 

Sarah

Now we’re getting into some fun things!!

Okay, I didn’t know Cotton Candy Soda existed? I’m pretty excited to try this. I like floats, and I like cotton candy so let’s see what happens when we do them together!

Also, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten anything from the German Root Beer and Popcorn stand (unless it’s new? I have no idea, actually) but hey, if their whole point is doing root beer, then I suspect they’ve probably got their float game on point.

I’m not sure there’s anything more to say about this?

 

Patrick

I think this is a new vendor for me, not sure I’ve ever stopped for some root beer or popcorn.  But…HOT DAMN!  This is what I’m fucking talking about!  This, this right here is pure MN State Fair magic.  I haven’t seen anything this fun since the Rainbow Roll.  Will it be too sweet, too much, too crazy?  Who knows, but I’m damn well gonna find out!  I hope it’s as delicious as it is colorful and beautiful.  Sure to be fun either way.

 

Anne

Hur hur hur.  Look at this thing.

Holy crap- I just thought it was a float with cotton candy, but you guys! IT’S COTTON CANDY SODA. What do you think that’s going to be like?? Is this going to be too sweet? I think this miiiight be too sweet but I guess we’ll see. The colors scream “Crazy State Fair New Food” so aesthetically I find that v pleasing.

 

Deep Fried Ice Cream- Snack House

Handmade ice cream bar covered with a crispy corn flake coating, deep-fried, drizzled with raspberry and blueberry sauces, and topped with sprinkles. (Vegetarian)

 

Sarah

Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes!!!!

YESSSSSSSSS!

Okay, first off, this is the very first picture I saw when the new foods popped up and it’s exactly the kind of new food I want to see. It’s fried. It’s on a stick. I need nothing more.

BUT LOOK AT THIS GLORIOUS THING!!!!

Before I even knew it was fried ice cream, I wanted it in my mouth.

But then it turned out it was fried ice cream and ohhhhhhhhh I love that dessert. Love it so much. And I hardly ever get to eat it because, well, it’s typically a Mexican dessert and since I don’t eat Mexican food, there goes my chance to have it.

I’m a bit sad we’re going with raspberry and blueberry sauces here instead of a more traditional cinnamon flavoring, but I guess we’ll see. Also, does an ice cream bar mean like a dove bar or something, already coated in a chocolate shell before it’s been coated in the cornflakes and fried?

If so, that feels A) lazy and B) like maybe it’s not quite an actual deep fried ice cream.

But even if that’s the case, I am very, very excited for this.

Ah shit. We have to go into the coliseum for this. Dammit.

 

Patrick

Fried ice cream on stick, alright!  I love a good fried ice cream, but in my experience, it is very hit or miss.  If not made fresh, the corn flake crust gets stale and isn’t as crispy, and I have a hard time believing they’ll be making these fresh.  Who knows, and honestly you don’t ever really know if it hits or misses until you try it, so I’ll reserve judgement until then.  A drizzle of raspberry and blueberry sauces could be a fun addition as well, but sprinkles are to add color and little substance.  I really want this to be good.

 

Anne

I can see why this was the banner pic of the new food announcement on facebook because look at that thing- aren’t you so fucking happy seeing it?!

Snack House has only been on our radar once before (in 2017- they got a C), but I gotta tell ya- I am HELLA excited about this. Like I LOOOOOVE Fried Ice Cream.

But the kicker is

It has to be done well

Otherwise I haaaaate fried ice cream for breaking my heart.

So those corn flakes better be SO FUCKING CRISPY. If they are soggy then gtfo.

Don’t let me down Snack House. Don’t you fucking do it.

 

Dej Qab Zib (Sweet Refreshment)- Union Hmong Kitchen

A coconut lychee colada made with a blend of coconut milk, lychee syrup, lime and mint, served over ice. (Vegan) (New Vendor)

 

Sarah

Listen. You call anything a sweet refreshment and that’s pretty much all you have to say to me. I’m in.

OOOOOH! It’s coconut flavored! (and lychee, but I’m not here to talk about that right now) I LOVE coconut things, especially if those things are dranks. I like me some lime, too. Oh, this is a new vendor, too, because it’s labelled that way. Now I know.

NO WAY! It’s Union HMONG KITCHEN! Yes! I fucking luuuuuurve Hmong food and therefore predict this will be everything I want it to be, which is sweet, delicious, and thirst quenching.

Shit. I wish I had it right now.

OH ho ho! They’re in the international bazaar now, too! Welly welly well. Looks like we might finally have something else to be excited for in there besides fun shopping and Holy Land Gyro on a stick.

 

Patrick

Here we have another one of the new vendor’s this year.  I’m excited to see what else they have, because I love Hmong food, but it’s always exciting to see drinks in the new food list (if for no other reason, it gives me a break from filling up on hardier fare).  That said, I really have no idea what this is going to be like.  All of those flavors work for me, but I can’t wrap my head around what combining them is going to taste like.  I hope it’s refreshing and sweet and something I’ll really enjoy, but I just really don’t know how to judge this without tasting it.  I’m going to remain optimistic and hope for the best.

 

Anne

Ahhhhh! Hmong Food! (or bev in this case)- awesome!

Wait- has Union Hmong Kitchen been at the MNSF before? How is this not a new food vendor? I don’t ever recall seeing them there…

Anyway

Like it’s a little hard to get excited about just a regular beverage. But wow does this thing sound baller

Coconut? Yes

Lychee? Yes

Colada? Yes

Lime and Mint? Why not

This DOES sound sweet and refreshing and I am READY FOR IT

 

French Meadow Vegan Entrees- Earth Sliders ™ and “Meat” Balls & Marinara- French Meadow Bakery

Earth Sliders™ are a marinated, battered and crispy fried “chicken” patty topped with house-made, slightly spicy secret sauce, shredded lettuce and house-made cucumber pickles that have been marinated in turmeric, garlic and sweet onion, served on a grilled bun. “Meat” Balls & Marinara are Italian herb-seasoned “meat” balls browned and sauteed in house-made garlic and oregano red marinara sauce, topped with plant-based Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley, served with a slice of grilled sourdough bread. (Both entrees are vegan)

 

Sarah

Some more vegan entries. That might also be the theme this year? But I don’t know…

Lotta “quotation marks” in this one, because they reaaaally want us to know that we’re eating fake meat, I guess. The earth sliders sound pretty good. I’m always excited to try meat alternatives because when else am I gonna, tbh? I hope they’re actually really good, and not just for my vegan friends. They look very good in the picture anyway.

And then, of course, we have a second item. Like, come on. We have a lot of food to eat. Can’t you just have one new item this year? Jesus. I am not excited about this one. Sarah doesn’t like red sauce, so I’m irritated I’m gonna have to taste that in order to taste the “meat” balls. And then I’ll be like, “it’s fine,” because all I’ll be able to taste is the red sauce.

Sighs.

And French Meadow Bakery…I gotta say, I still haven’t forgiven you for that year we had to wait like an hour for our food to get done, so you’re still on probation for me. Especially since you took away the doughsant (RIP.)

 

Patrick

You know, in a year where we have a record number of new foods, I really don’t need all these vendors sneaking in multiples with a single entry.  We’re definitely topping even the 38 entries on the list because of this.  Looks like French Meadow is back with more vegan fare.  I’ve had some very tasty vegan dishes, but they really need to impress if I’m going to enjoy it.  Looks like for these two we have a “chicken” sandwich and a “meat” balls and marinara.  Vegan aside, this is kind of basic choices, I mean chicken sandwich and Italian-style meatballs isn’t exactly innovative.  Even if they nail the vegan side of things, just not sure the actual dishes are exciting enough to get me interested.  Bring back the damn dough-sant!

 

Anne

Is it a weird flex to include your vendor name in the name of your food items? Idk

More vegan food- maybe that’s the sub-theme this year?

So these are just chicken sliders (LOLOLOL on the ™) and marinara meat balls. Ok. They sound good. I’m always down to try meat substitutes. Those pickles on the sliders sound up my alley. I wonder how plant-based Parm is.

I am about as excited for these as I can get for sliders and marinara meatballs

 

Gray Duck Sundae- Bridgeman’s Ice Cream

Bridgeman’s Black Licorice Ice Cream topped with marshmallow cream, crunchy mini marshmallows, whipped cream and a cherry.

Sarah

Well, I do love ice cream. And Bridgeman’s has always delighted me with their offerings. Oh wait. Shit, this is black licorice ice cream?? Fuuuuuu. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’m not a huge black licorice fan (though I think I like it more than Anne and Packie). Though look at all that marshmallow cream! Packie will love that! And I assume crunchy marshmallows are marbits? Either way, good!

I think I would be more worried about this if it wasn’t Bridgeman’s but it is and so, well, I’m tentatively excited to try it. Listen. I love ice cream. I’m not gonna NOT be excited about it.

DIBS ON THE CHERRY!

Do you hear that, Anne and Packie? I called it! I get it!

 

Patrick

Bridgeman’s makes some damn good ice cream.  A few years ago they had a peaches n’ cream nachos that landed them in the A category, but this year.  Not gonna lie, I don’t like black licorice.  It is such a strong, potent, and overpowering flavor, that I don’t think it really matters what you add to it that is going to make me like this dish.  Which really upsets me, because I LOVE marshmallow cream.  Let’s see who wins the fight to eat that cherry on top, because I think that’s all we’ll be crossing spoons over.

 

Anne

*giant delightful smile*

Well well well. Look who knows how to get us right from the start- include MN pride in the name of your food item.

Bridgeman’s has only been on the new food list once before but boy did they knock it out of the park- those Peaches n’ Cream nachos are STILL talked about every year by this group.

Ok but now we have a problem

BLACK LICORICE ICE CREAM

Why you do that?? Why you cut me so deep?

*cries in ice cream*

Goddamn do I hate black licorice. I don’t care how much mallow fluff, mallows, whipped cream, and cherries you put on this. Trash it.

I am angry and sad.

 

The Herbivorous Butcher’s Two Vegan Entrees- Poultrygeist and Steak-xorcist- The Herbivorous Butcher

Poutrygeist is fried chicken topped with sausage gravy and French fried onions on buttery Texas toast; and Steak-xorcist is chicken fried steak topped with sausage gravy and French fried onions on buttery Texas Toast. (Both entrees are vegan.) (New Vendor)

 

Sarah

When did we try the herbivorous butcher before? Was it at the fair? Somewhere else? I remember being excited for it and then disappointed…

Well, either way, I think I’m back to being excited again. I mean, that picture looks pretty frickin good. Oh shit, so it’s pretty much chicken fried chicken (which I love) or chicken fried steak (which I also love)

Shiiiiiiit. Which one are we going to eat? It seems dumb to get both of them since they’re literally the same food item, just a different protein (do we still call plant-based meats protein? I have no idea.)

Well, that’s a problem for the future. I am very excited about this, though. I reaaaaaally want this to be good.

Oh, I just realized they’re their own whole vendor, now! Good for them! Now I really want this to be amazing, both so vegans always have something great and also so I’m excited to try them every year going forward!

 

Patrick

YAAAAAS!  This is news to me, but apparently a new vender this year is Herbivorous Butcher, which if you haven’t eaten their food before, it is A-MAZ-ING!  I think I could make vegan work if I had The Herbivorous Butcher to keep me afloat the entire time, I shit you not.  The French Meadow could take some notes on how to put out a vegan dish that is actually interesting and different with what we’ve got here.  Looks like you have a choice between fried chicken or chicken fried steak, both on a fat piece of Texas toast, smothered with sausage gravy and topped with awesome French fried onions.  All of it vegan, but that doesn’t matter because they make it taste like the real deal and there is nothing about this I don’t LOVE!  I am soooo excited for this!

Edit – Holy crap, I looked at the new vendor page for this stand, and it turns out you can order MONSTER MASH, which throws both the two options here into a single boat.  Wow!

 

Anne

Ok so here’s another new food vendor. I wonder what vendor they took the place of in the Food Building…

Herbivorous Butcher showed up last year in the Chori Pop from Andy’s Garage. I was really excited to try meat substitutes from HB, but we ended up giving the item an F so that was a ROUGH introduction.

Now I see HB has their own stand, so maybe they’ll know how to cook their own food better?

LOTS of vegan options this year. And they titled this the same way as they did the vegan food from French Meadow so really trying to make a point of the vegan options (I retract my naming criticism from French Meadow- it’s clearly a MNSF naming thing they’re doing).

Both of these options sound hella good- I can’t tell if I’m looking at the fried chicken or the chicken-fried steak but I want it in my mouth. We’ll probably go with the steak.

Hope this turns into a beautiful redemption arc for HB

 

Kulfi: Indian-Style Ice Cream in Three Flavors- Hot Indian

Made with condensed milk, nuts and infused spices. Available in three creamy flavors: Almond/Cashew/Pistachio Kulfi; Mango Kulfi; and Saffron/Almond/Pistacho Kulfi. (All Kulfi are gluten-free and vegetarian.)

 

Sarah

Welly welly welly. What do we have here? More ice cream! I’m liking how ice cream forward this year is so far. Packie is probably pretty irritated. TOUGH SHIT, Packie! I’ve got to try that Nooooooooo brekkie so you gots to eat all the ice creams.

Oh shit. This sounds so good. I’ve never had Kulfi before but I love nuts and spices in my ice cream so sign me up! I’m least excited for the mango one but the other two look AHMAZING! I hope they’re so good that I want to try all of them before the end of the fair.

Wait…where am I getting these?

Fuck. It’s Hot Indian, isn’t it?

Shiiiiiit it is.

Dammit. We’ve never had anything there that was good. And I don’t just mean that we liked, but also was good on a quality level.

But…well, maybe because this is a frozen concoction (as Packie would say) it will be better than their usual offerings? Guess we’ll find out.

But my excitement has been mildly tempered, now.

 

Patrick

Never been very impressed with Hot Indian, but if they were going to somehow reel me back in, maybe they can pull it of with Kulfi.  Never had Indian-style ice cream, but this looks fun and different.  Definitely like the nut-forward options, and I think I’d have to get one of those two over the mango one (don’t need all those damn sprinkles anyways).  I mean, how can you mess up ice cream, amiright?  If I’m gonna have to eat all this ice cream, at least they coming with some different and new options, so I’m happy about that.

 

Anne

Ok so I saw this and was reaaallll excited.

However.

Hot Indian always under delivers for us. They get us excited but as a vendor they have not been impressive overall.

I like that there’s 3 options- I like the sound of that nut-forward one, but the nut one with saffron sounds interesting too.

I like trying new food from different cultures I’m not familiar with, and I’ve never had Indian Ice Cream, so I hope these are good.

C’mon Hot Indian.

Do us a solid.

 

 

17 foods down, 21 to go. You can do it.