2022 MN State Fair Food Preview Part 3 (Lemon Cookie Tortilla Chips through Pork Schnitzel Sandwich)

 Lemon Cookie Tortilla Chips- Blue Moon Dine-In Theater

Lemon sandwich cookies deconstructed into four large tortilla chips made from a blend of cookies and corn, served with creamy-center-of-the-cookie cream dip topped with lemon curd.

 

Sarah

Huh. Huuuuuuuuh.

Gotta say, it’s nice when there’s, like, a new food invention at the fair, instead of just giving us ethnic food to wow us or, like, spins on existing foods. If you can even call a duck egg on an open faced sammich a spin on a new food, hideaway speakeasy.

Oh, I see! It’s like a deconstructed lemon sammich cookie! What’s the dip stuff? Center of the cookie cream? Hmm. I’m intrigued. Not gonna lie, kinda wish it was ice cream…

Oh shit, Lemon Curd? Anne (and our Mom) are going to lose their minds over that.

Those cookie (yes, I spelled this as coorkie originally) tortillas look pretty damn good. Gotta say, this seems like a fun entry that could be great. Let’s hope it is.

OH! It’s at Blue Moon! That makes sense! And therefore, there’s a high likelihood that this will be great, too! Their rare misses are just that: rare. And even Packie liked their banana pudding last year.

 

Patrick

Hmm…I’m on the fence with this one.  Blue Moon usually brings it with the deserts, sometimes even knocking it out of the park like last year’s Caramelized Banana Pudding.  This looks a little basic to me, though, but maybe they really brought the lemon flavor and made this thing pop.  I think those cookie-chips and cream dip are gonna really have some heavy lifting to do, but if anyone can pull it out, it’s Blue Moon.

 

Anne

Blue Moon always has our heart, even if they mis-step sometimes. They have enough As on the list to always have a warm place with us.

And hey- these sound fun! Deconstructed lemon sandwich cookie? Ok! There isn’t a single thing in this that I don’t like the sound of, and I think this will be real good.

Cookie and Corn tortilla chips? You scamp. Let’s do this

 

Minne Hot Hot- RC’s BBQ

Smoked Rib Tips tossed in Nashville Hot Sauce, served with Comeback Sauce.

 

Sarah

I’m just gonna come out and say that I don’t know what this is, yet, but I love the name.

Oh, it’s rib tips!! Nice!

Shit, wait, they’re tossed in Nashville hot sauce? Son of a bitch. I know that’s gonna be too hot for me. Why you do this to me, RC’s?

I wish the sauce was on the side, so I could taste it once, but then enjoy the rest of the rib tips without it. And no way that comeback sauce is gonna do anything to calm my mouth down.

Dammit. I really want to be excited for these.

Eh, the hell with it. I AM excited for these. I know I’ll just be sad once I taste them and ruin my palate for the rest of the day.

 

Patrick

Seems pretty straightforward.  Not anything particularly groundbreaking, but I do like some rib tips and add in some Nashville hot sauce, maybe this’ll be really good.  I’ve heard of comeback sauce, however I’m not a hundred percent sure if I’ve tried it before or not.  Pretty basic as far as BBQ goes, so this will really have to be done well to impress me.

 

Anne

Hmmmmm

This is gonna be too spicy, isn’t it?

They look really good, and I like rib tips

But it has hot in the name twice.

That has to be a warning, right?

 

We’ve been warned.

 

Minnebluberry Pie- Minneapple Pie

Handmade blueberry pie made with a crisp, flaky crust, filled with blueberries, and served with vanilla ice cream. (Vegan if served without ice cream)

 

Sarah

Pies everywhere. From Sara and from Minneapple.

Listen. Anne entered a blueberry pie like, two fairs ago (how many years was that? Can’t say. The pandy has really screwed my sense of time) and it was the best blueberry pie I’ve ever had, so I really don’t think this can compete with that. I’m just saying.

Also, I know people go bonkers over the minneapple pie, but when we tried it, it was no big deal. So I suspect this will be the same.

Not that it will be bad or anything. I’m sure it will be perfectly serviceable.

I am very happy, of course, that it comes a la mode.

 

Patrick

Not sure if I’ve actually tried something from Minneapple Pie before now, but I’ve always thought about giving it a try.  That said, there is nothing exciting or interesting about this item, it’s just pie.  Plus, Anne makes a real bitchin’ blueberry pie and it is gonna be hard to beat a ribbon winning pie.  Did she get a ribbon for entering it in fair?  Not sure, now that I think about it, but she definitely should have.  That’s some good pie, so they’re really gonna have to bring it.

 

Anne

Oh! I just assumed this was gonna be from Sara’s Tipsy Pies, and I was like didn’t we get blueberry last year?

So color me surprised that it’s from Minneapple Pie.

People love the apple pies from this vendor. We tried them. Thought they were just ok, nbd.

But boy howdy do we love blueberry pie in this house.

This looks perfectly fine and tasty and I’ll be happy to try it. I don’t think it’ll knock our socks off.

How is pie crust vegan though- vegan butter I assume…?

 

Molotes- Midtown Global Market’s Andy’s Garage

Deep-fried corn masa empanadas with choice of fillings: Chipotle Style is filled with shredded chipotle chicken and topped with chipotle sour cream, cotija cheese and fresh cilantro; and Elote Style is topped with mayo, cotija cheese and Tajin seasoning (can be prepared vegan). (Gluten-free) (Available Aug. 25-30 only)

 

Sarah

Huh. I don’t know what these are. Let’s find out!

Oh, they’re an empanada. Okay. That doesn’t immediately rule it out. It’s all gonna depend on their full deal (what’s in them, what they taste like.)

Oh fuck.

Oh shit.

No no no.

Chipotle style or Elote style?

Why? WHY?? Packie…what did we do to deserve this??

Shit. I guess if I have to try one of these, I’m leaning toward the elote one, which I’m sure will piss Packie off. Either way, I’m very sure I won’t like them. Through no fault of their own. It’s gonna come down to the opinions of Anne and Packie on whether they’re good or not. I can’t be objective here.

Also, I know Andy’s Garage isn’t new, but I can’t remember what they offered before…

(I’d still rather eat each one of these on their own by myself than eat that breakfast food from before.)

 

Patrick

Here is the other vendor for Midtown Global Market, available during the first half of the fair.  This is the same place that gave us one of those rare gems of an F ranked food last year.  Doesn’t instill much hope this year will be different.  Here we have a Molete, which is a deep-fried corn masa that is usually stuffed with stuff.  It comes in a shredded chipotle chicken variety and an elote style.  Sarah and I are not fans of elote, so hopefully we can agree to try the chicken one, but even then, this just doesn’t sound terribly interesting to me.  Not sure how much of that is the venue, probably a fair amount, but not sure I’d be excited for this even if it was coming from somewhere else.  I suppose I’ll just hope it’s not entirely a waste of money like last year and that I don’t regret trying it.

 

Anne

Well look who’s back after receiving an F last year- Andy’s Garage. Let’s see wtf they’re up to this year.

Molotes are just like a corn-pastry-pocket thing. I, of course, like the sound of the elotes one, but we know how Sarah and Packie are going to feel about that.

I’ve never had Molotes- is the outer pocket supposed to be that thick?

Knowing how Andy’s Garage did last year I’m preeeeeetty suss that these will be not great.

 

Mov + Nqaji (Rice + Meat)- Union Hmong Kitchen

Purple sticky rice with choice of sauce, including Krunchy Chili Oil (dried Thai chilis, garlic, shallots), Lemongrass Scallion Dressing (lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots), and Tiger Bite (Thai chilis, garlic, shallots, cilantro, fish sauce, oyster sauce, lime juice); plus, choice of skewered and grilled meat, including Hmong Sausage (house-made coarse-ground pork sausage link with Kruncy Chili Oil), Hilltribe Chicken Thigh (ginger, lemongrass), or Lemongrass Turmeric Tofu (marinated in a lemongrass and turmeric blend). (All items gluten-free; vegan options available) (New Vendor)

 

Sarah

Rice? Good. Meat? Good. Hmong Food? Goooooooood.

Okay, I AM a bit bummed that this is just, like, a Hmong lunch or dinner. Which, I mean, will be great for people who have never tried Hmong food before to discover what they’re missing (only good things, btws) but it’s a lot for a day at the fair.

But shit I love that sticky purple rice. And I love Hmong sausage. And their chicken. And I love that we get a choice of dipping sauces, too!

Also, this is furthering the vegan and sausage/hot dog theme all at once.

Oh wait! Tofu is an option! Maybe we’ll try that one instead.

Hands down, I know this will be great. But because I eat this pretty regularly in our day-to-day life, I can’t say I’m, like, fair excited for it.

Though I am excited for people who haven’t had Hmong food to try it.

 

Patrick

Here we have another entry from the new vendor Union Hmong Kitchen.  Mov + Nqaij, which based on the title I assume translates to Rice + Meat, which is a good combo.  The food item comes with the classic Hmong purple sticky rice which is a must have when eating delicious Hmong cuisine, and a choice between three “meats” and three sauces.  I say “meat” because one is tofu, but I think that is like the vegan’s meat.  They still have to hunt it down and slaughter it, but the tofu feels no pain and isn’t sentient, so it is more humane.  The other options are a seasoned chicken thigh or a Hmong Sausage.  Personally, I’d go for the sausage, it is a delicious and interesting variety if you’ve never tried Hmong sausage.  Not sure how we’ll decide on a sauce, and I’m going to hope I can get away with just asking to try all 3, which is a real chore for my usually non-intrusive Minnesotan self.  Nothing particularly groundbreaking about this one, but I’m interested to give a try, and some of these sauces sound like they could really kick things up a notch.  Krunchy Chili Oil is just damn good and could go on almost anything, lemongrass scallion dressing is also a fantastic sauce, and Tiger Bite sounds spicy but has some intrigue components.  Crossing my fingers this will be a good one.

 

Anne

YUSSSSSS ALL THE HMONG FOOD

Ok this looks great bc I already like Hmong Food.

But because I already like Hmong food this doesn’t seem super surprising or exciting as a result?

But I like that you can choose your choice of meat OR tofu! Gonna be hard to decide between the sausage, chicken thigh, or tofu- all three sound great.

Maybe it’ll be so good that we have to go back for 2^nd and 3rds and try all three

 

New Mexico Chile Dog Sliders Two Ways- Blue Moon Dine-In Theater

Green chile and red chile – made with roasted-on-site New Mexico Hatch chiles and a hint of chorizo pork, topped with queso-style cheese and red onion, served over all-beef hot dogs on slider buns. Comes with a prickly pear cactus slushie shooter on the side.

 

Sarah

Dammit.

I don’t want Chile dogs.

I want hot dogs, but not with Chiles on them. And not with two kinds of chiles, either, so I have to try them twice.

Add another to the sausage/hot dog theme.

Shit, there’s a hint of chorizo pork, too? Chorizo is my least favorite sausage. It’s dry, folks. And not very good.

It’s fun that it comes with the prickly pear slushy shooter, though. I’m excited about that. And not mad about the nacho cheese. I’m sure Anne’s practically dancing at the thought of those red onions, too.

But mostly I wish this admittedly cool idea of hotdog sliders wasn’t ruined with chiles.

Oh fuck, it’s Blue Moon?

Dammit. I love Blue Moon. Well, at least that means the slushie will probably be great.

 

Patrick

Hey, looks like we have a second entry for Blue Moon this year.  Well, better them than someone who doesn’t deserve to even be on the list (*Cough* Hideaway Speakeasy *Cough*).  Here we have some New Mexico Chile Dog Sliders two ways and HOT DAMN, this is what I’m talking about.  I’m…not exactly sure is these also qualify as “Chili” dogs?  In addition to roasted hatch chiles there is a hint of chorizo pork in the chile portion, so does that make it Chili?  I don’t know, maybe I’m over thinking it.  Point is, I am so on board for this, they look amazing and I love chiles (as long as they don’t start a flash fire going down and coming out) and I love chili dogs, so this HAS to be great.  I-It just has to!  Oh my god, and it comes with an effing prickly pear cactus slushie?  Just casually throw that in there?  Delightful.  If nothing else, they don’t’ shortchange you on quantity and variety with this order.

 

Anne

Ok so at a glance I thought this was going to be a dessert, and then saw it’s actually chili dogs?! Well what’s that pink stuff with the straw??

Oh Shit- just realized they’re CHILE dogs, not CHILI dogs.

Hmmm

Ok so the pink thing is a prickly pear shooter on the side.

Alright, sign me up for that.

Also I like the idea of slider hotdogs- look at how cute those effers look.

But I do not want chiles, and I don’t like chorizo (even if it’s just a hint of it).

I hate how cute this is.

Goddamnit

 

Nordic Waffles- Belly Full Nordic Waffle and Vanilla Dream Nordic Waffle- Nordic Waffles

Two new fresh-made waffle sandwiches: Belly Full is a spring onion-infused Nordic Waffle filled with sous vide seasoned pork belly with coleslaw and locally made jalapeno jam; Vanilla Dream is a Nordic Waffle coated with cinnamon and sugar and filled with Norwegian vanilla custard cream.

Sarah

All right! Time to see what Nordic Waffles is offering us this year! (BRING BACK THE PEBLLES AND BAM BAM!!)

Oh shit. I want that Belly Full one right now. RIGHT FRICKIN NOW.

Everything about that sounds great! Omg why am I not eating it yet?

And, I mean, the ice cream one sounds fine, though not very special, but it’s rare that I say “get outta my way, ice cream!”

I need the meats.

 

Patrick

God, enough with the two new food items listed in one entry!  I mean, sure it wouldn’t be any different if you listed them separately, I just…there is so much new damn food this year.  38 items, but it feels like half of those have two, three, or more varieties when you dig into them.  I am gonna be deadass broke after day one.  Really might need to look into this Patreon idea to get people to pay to watch me eat food.  Anyways, Nordic Waffles is a great stand and has some really fun and tasty waffle sandwich varieties.  This year they’ve added a Belly Full sandwich which is a spring-onion infused Nordic Waffle filled with sous vide seasoned pork with coleslaw and jalapeno jam, and a Vanilla Dream sandwich with the waffled coated with cinnamon and surgar and filled with Norwegian custard cream.  The Belly full sounds fine, and it’s neat that they’ve started incorporating new things into the waffle itself in addition to changing the fillings.  Sounds like this will be a mix between sweet, spicy, and savory, so it could be a nice addition.  However, I am all there for that Vanilla Dream sandwich!  Daaaaamn that sounds amazing.  I love a good custard-filled whatever, and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, this just looks like a wonderful, sweet treat.  Can’t wait for this one.

 

Anne

Ok Nordic Waffles, knock our socks off.

Ho heck

These sound great.

Onion forward Pork Belly? Om nom yes please. I hope the jalapeno jam is not too spicy or overwhelming

Cinnamon Sugar Wafflle filled with Norwegian Custard Cream. Hells yes. I wonder what Norwegian Custard Cream is like- what sets it apart from other custards. I don’t know but I’m looking forward to finding out.

Nordic Waffles is a good bet, especially when they have items that are actually eat-able (and not like an entire bone-in fried chicken leg in a waffle).

 

Pickle Pizza- Rick’s Pizza

Hand-tossed homemade pizza dough topped with homemade specialty dill ranch sauce, fresh mozzarella and crunchy dill pickles, and finished with dill weed seasoning. (New Vendor)

 

Sarah

I’M PICKLE RIIIIICK!

Anyway, pickle pizza.

I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before. It seems so obvious, and yet, here we are.

I don’t know that the ranch needs to be Dill ranch when we have literal dill pickles on the pizza itself.

But, hell, this definitely falls into my “I’ll try anything once,” category.

Will it be good? No clue. I hope it is.

You know what? I’m saying it. I’m actually pretty excited about this one. It’s something different and exciting.

Oh, Rick’s Pizza is a new vendor, too. Well, all right. I hope you delight and surprise me, Rick.

 

Patrick

I’m Pickle Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!  Come on, really missed an opportunity on the name here.  Another new vendor this year is Rick’s Pizza and they’re coming out bold with a pickle pizza.  I mean holy hell, could they have crammed any more dill pickle flavors into a single pizza?  I think I’ve tried burger pizzas before that had pickles as a topping and it really didn’t do much for me.  Is the solution to go full pickle and commit to that sour pickle palate?  Not sure I agree.  They’ve got all the pickle seasonings, a dill flavored ranch sauce, and more pickles on top than pepperoni on a pepperoni lovers pizza (which is never enough pepperoni).  I’m predicting I won’t enjoy this, and I’m a guy who really likes pickles.

 

Anne

Is this another new vendor? Are we doing something different with the new vendors where they’re not at the bottom of the list anymore?

Well hey

A pizza offering not from Green Mill (wait- I hope Green Mill is still on this list somewhere).

I sort of like the idea of just getting a slice of pizza?

And I also like how they went ALL IN on the pickle aspect of this-

Dill Ranch? Check

Dill Pickles? Check

Dill Weed Seasoning? Check

Though I feel like pickles won’t be crunchy after baking so that seems like a stretch.

I don’t know if I will like this pizza, but I am intrigued and ready to try it

 

Pink Guava Slushie- Holy Land

Frozen slushie drink made with juice squeezed from fresh pink guavas.

 

Sarah

Ope, Holy Land is giving us a drink. They already have a drink there that I like (what is it, you ask? Hell if I know. I’m drawing a complete blank at this moment. It might be some sort of lemonade? Anne would know for sure.)

Nothing that special here, being as that it’s just a fruit slushie, but I’m okay with that. I’ve never had a guava slushie before and I’m ready to try it.

It’s nice when some of the new foods are drinks, too.

Holy Land is a favorite, so I’m sure this will be just fine.

 

Patrick

Got a second new item from Holy Land too.  Just a drink here, so I’ll give them a pass on taking up two spots on the new food list.  Seems pretty simple, a frozen slushie drink made with pink guava juice.  I love a good slushie and the flavor sounds fun, so hopefully this will make a refreshing break while I enjoy one of Holy Land’s gyro meat on a stick.  One might say I…guava have it.  See what I did there? I got to have it because I got to try all the new foods and I have no choice.  I’m not joking, this is serious.

 

Anne

Ooh, another fun beverage. And nice that it’s at Holy Land so we can get it when we pick up the Chicken Tandoori Rolls.

Not much to say about this- slushie made from guavas. Looks good. Nuff said.

 

Omghowisthisliststillgoing?? What are there like 40 offerings this year??!

 

Pork Schnitzel Sandwich- Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop

Breaded and deep-fried Minnesota pork loin topped with pickled cabbage and served with mustard mayo on a toasted bun.

 

Sarah

Hmm.

I have serious doubts about anything that comes from the Farmer’s Union. So, on the surface, this seems like it should be fine. But, I dunno that it can be…

It looks hella good, though. And I do like schnitzel…

Okay, I’m gonna be generous. Farmer’s Union? I am excited for this. Please don’t let me down like you did with the Kernza thing a few years back, or whatever drink it was last year that required us to chew.

Shit, I think I need to take a lunch break. I’m getting hella hungry up in here.

One good thing about the new foods releasing SO FRICKIN LATE this year is that at least I have fewer weeks before I get to try all of this.

 

Patrick

Oh god, not these guys again.  Farmer’s Union has a running tally of fighting over whether they a C-ranked or D-ranked establishment.  Frankly, not sure how last year’s nightmare elixir that was cucumber jalapeno limeade didn’t rank them an F spot, where they decided all people want in a drink is to chew more pulp.  This year they went food item again since they were tired of blowing it so hard on abysmal drinks and went for a pork schnitzel sandwich.  At a glance, it looks like a serviceable sandwich, but often their stuff photographs well and then calls it quits there.  You got some pickled cabbage, and a mustard mayo sauce, and yeah, just a basic bitch pork sandwich.  Not sure it even looks entirely breaded, like maybe lightly breaded, which is more of a pork cutlet than actual schnitzel.  Bet it’s like tiny too.  I predict a C for this, or maybe Farmer’s Union will go for the turkey and get three D’s in a row this year.  Either way, we all strikeout.

 

Anne

Well- a savory food item from MFUCS- is that a first? (just checked- yes)

This vendor has never gotten higher than a C with us, so maybe this pivot will be good for them?

I like schnitzel

I like the idea of schnitzel on a sammich

Mustard mayo and toasted bun? Ok!

If this was at any other vendor I would be excited, but I feel like I’m just waiting for the MFUCS to mess this up somehow

 

HALF WAY DOOOOOOONE!