2023 MN State Fair New Foods Preview Part 4- Italian Duo Dunkers through MinneCookieDough Pie

 

Italian Duo Dunkers- by Sara’s Tipsy Pies

Two Italian-themed hand pies with seasoned parmesan crusts: one with sausage, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese in a 7 Vines Winery red wine-infused pizza sauce; and one with chicken, mushrooms and spinach in a creamy garlic alfredo sauce. Served with garlic butter dipping sauce.

Sarah

I saw this and had immediate mixed reactions and I’m not sure why. Maybe because I don’t like Italian Dunkers? (it’s the red sauce. I don’t want that.) And it’s Sara’s Tipsy Pies, which is usually pretty good but I still have a problem with them on principle (what principle? I’m honestly not even sure anymore.) Oh dang, these actually are savory hand pies. Okay. Oh! I’m glad we don’t have to pick which one we want! Because I want to try them both! You know what? I’m officially excited to try these. I really hope they’re good. They sound good. I’m sure Anne is a bit bummed by the alfredo and maybe the mushrooms a bit? But I just think it sounds like a jazzed-up spinach pie, and we’ve been trying for years and years to find a spinach pie that comes close to the one that you used to be able to get at the MN Renaissance Festival until the lady that made them passed away (RIP pie lady. We miss your pies.) If anything, I don’t need that chicken in there. So yeah. This should be good, I think!

 

Patrick

Well, well, well, isn’t this an interesting switch from Sara’s usually fair of boozy fruit hand pies?  I mean, it’s still a hand pie, right?  One stuffed with pizza faire like pepperoni and sausage, and the other with chicken, mushrooms, spinach, and an alfredo sauce.  If I had to pick between the two, I’d probably go for the pizza one, but both look worth trying.  They definitely had me at the garlic butter dipping sauce, though.  This has to be good, right?  Last time she did a savory tart it worked, so I’m hoping on a repeat this year.

 

Anne

Also was surprised to see this from Sara and not from like Mancini’s. Is the theme this year “going off-brand”?

Have we had savory pies from Sara before? Not really- unless you count the Brown Ale and Onion-Gouda Tipsy Pie, which I don’t bc it was sweet.

First- I am glad we get both pies and we don’t have to choose between 2 options like some OTHER vendors (*cough* MN Farmer’s Union and French Meadow Bakery (AND CAFÉ) *cough*).

These sound like tasty little pies. Sara’s usually a safe bet, never lower than a C (and that only bc of execution). I think they sound great.

 

Jam’nades in Two Varieties- Blueberry Mint and Strawberry Jalapeno by Jammy Sammies by BRIM

Organic lemonade infused with locally made jams in two varieties: Blueberry Mint Jam’nade with a spoonful of blueberry jam and topped with mint sprigs; Strawberry Jalapeno Jam’nade with a spoonful of strawberry jam and jalapeno slices. Served with a boba tea straw. (Vegan, GF)

Sarah

So we got some drinks. And it looks like they’re lemonades. Another possible contender for the theme this year if there wasn’t already a clear one. I like lemonade a lot and I like flavored lemonade. And it’s always nice when a new food is a drink, because A) we’re thirsty and 2) they’re generally cheaper and finally iii) drinks take up less stomach space. Oh, they’re made with jams! Cuz they’re from the Jammy Sammies/Brim! Clever! I wonder how that will work? Also, why do they need to be served with the boba tea straw? Are they chunky drinks? Will we be drinking jam? And if not, then why bother telling us about the straws at all? Okay, now I’m getting a bit sus. I don’t want to drink jam.

 

Patrick

Nice to see some drinks break out from the heaviness of all this food I have to squeeze into a single day.  Brim has been pretty good so far, so I feel optimistic about these two varieties of lemonade…oops, sorry, Jam’nades.  So wait, are these just “infused” with jam, or do they actually scoop a spoonful of jam into the drink?  Maybe it’s both?  I think the Blueberry Mint sounds more enticing, but I’d try both of them to be sure.  I kind of like the sound of putting a dollop of jam into my lemonade, although I have this image in my head of me slurping up a mouthful of jam with my drink and now I’m wondering if it is such a good idea.  We’ll see either way.

 

Anne

I like beverages on the new foods list, since then they force us to try them rather than just drinking water. But it is always slightly disappointing to have a beverage on the list. Or in this case 2 beverages (maybe that’s the theme- 2 items under 1 new food item).

Ok wait- what’s going on here?

BRIM is the beverage portion, and Jammy Sammies is the food portion. So why are these bevs from Jammy Sammies by BRIM and not just from BRIM?

Get your shit together.

Ok so there’s jam in these. And served with a boba straw- so you can…suck up the jam?

I… I don’t think I like the idea of drinking jam from a straw.

Guess we’ll see.

 

“Kind of a Big Dill” Pickle Lemonade by Nordic Waffles

Lemonade mixed with tangy dill pickling spices, craft brewed by Urban Growler and garnished with a crunchy slice of pickle. (Non-alcoholic)

Sarah

Another lemonade! That’s 3! But this is a pickle lemonade, so another notch in the pickle theme, too (which we all know is going to win.) But still. It’s clear lemonade is the theme runner up. So looks like we’ve got pickle lemonade. I’m honestly a little surprised that this hasn’t been done before. It seems so obvious now. Oh, it’s from Nordic Waffles? That’s… weird? Is that weird? Maybe they’ve had a fun drink before? I can’t quite remember but that seems right? Still, I definitely did not expect this lemonade to come from a waffle place. But yeah, it’s just pickle flavored lemonade. At best it’ll be refreshing and fun. At worst, the lemon and pickle flavors will compete to make something not great. But nothing will ever be as bad as barfinade.

 

Patrick

What?  Pfft, no.  Really?  Are you for real?  I don’t know about this man.  At a glance it sounds like a weird, zany, fun idea, but then I start to really think about it and…and I don’t know.  It is from Nordic Waffles too, which had the “brilliant” idea to put a bone-in chicken leg into a waffle sandwich, like you were just gonna chomp through the bone like some kind of neanderthal.  I think this, above any of the others, just screams of desperation to hop on the pickle hype.  Were they just like “we need more pickles, we already put one in our new waffle, but we gotta have more!  The people want pickles dammit!”  And they were just like, “You know what, f*** it, spill some of that pickle juice we’re not gonna use into the lemonade.  That’s something right?  Not JUST something, no.  It’s…kind of a big dill.”  Hur hur hur.

 

Anne

Are we all hopping on the pickle bandwagon after the breakout success of Rick’s Pickle Pizza last year? That’s 2 new pickle offerings so far.

Oh this is from Nordic Waffles? Another off-brand offering.

Sure- this makes sense. It’s not quite drinking pickle juice so seems more main-stream. I bet it’s refreshing.

 

Lemonade Sorbet by Quench’d: Lemonade/Bottled Water

Lemon sorbet made with fresh-squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest and mint garnish, served in a frozen half-lemon shell. (Vegan, GF)

Sarah

Hmm, so this looks like just plain lemon sorbet then. I mean, it’s served in half a lemon I guess, but otherwise is there anything special about it? Nope. Just lemon sorbet. I also have no idea what vendor this is and I assume it’s just a little one. Don’t get me wrong, I like a lemon sorbet. I’m sure it will be refreshing and nice (also if we’re going by lemon flavor instead of lemonade, then we’re up to 4 I think) but there’s nothing special about it. They sell fresh lemon sorbet at our local summer festival so idk. I’m just a little underwhelmed here. Though if our mom is with us, I’m sure she’ll be stoked because she loves lemon. And we love her!! LOVE YOU MOMMY!

 

Patrick

I thought this might be a new vendor, but now I’m just thinking it is one of those lemonade stands and they were getting damn tired of everyone else putting up new foods that they decided to do something with all of those juiced and empty lemon halves.  But hey, if life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  And if you make that lemonade and you’re left with juiced lemon rinds, well then make some sorbet while you’re at it.  Really stick it to life by squeezing every penny you can out of those damn lemons.  Nothing revolutionary here, but certainly cute.  Might be refreshing on a hot day, but I’m not expecting this to be life changing or anything.  In the immortal words of Cave Johnson, “Make life rue the day it thought it could give Cave Jonson lemons.”

 

Anne

Well look at this little cutie. Aren’t you just a happy looking summer treat. Hey- a new vendor, neat!

Sure this looks cute and tasty- no complaints. Looks like lemons is all they do so I expect this to be good

 

Loaded Lobster Fries by Café Caribe

Lobster in garlic and herb butter, served on a bed of French fries sprinkled with Old Bay Seasoning, topped with bacon, drizzled with homemade chipotle mayonnaise, and garnished with green onion and a lemon wedge

Sarah

Oh shit. I do love some loaded fries. And I do love me some lobster. This could be something great. It’s from Café Caribe. In the past they’ve been underwhelming. But a good thing about them is they have tables to sit at, so that’s good. And a stage where people play music (once we saw a kid on stage playing a recorder along with a Peruvian pipe band and still to this day, I wonder what was going on there.) Anyway… Okay, yeah. There’s absolutely nothing about this that I don’t like. I want it in my mouth. My only concern (and this is a common concern with loaded fries) is that the toppings could make the fries soggy. I think we’re probably safe here, unless the lobster is wet when they put it on the fries. But I’m feeling this one pretty hard. Damn. Is THIS my most excited for? Maybe. Maaaaybe.

 

Patrick

Not much has come out of Café Caribe in the new foods category that are worth mentioning or remembering.  Frankly, serving any kind of seafood at the State Fair just seems like risky prospect.  So, I don’t have high hopes for this.  I mean, if those fries are good and crispy, the lobster is fresh and sweet, and for god’s sake that chipotle mayonnaise doesn’t scorch poor, sweet, innocent Sarah’s tastebuds like the burning hate of Beelzebub, maybe, just maybe, we can all come together, and realize, that Patrick doesn’t quite have a solid grasp on how many commas are enough in a sentence, or whether they are at all warranted, and that maybe this is just a run on sentence and he thinks commas are just some magical punctuation that sounds right in your head, but in writing it is just gratuitous and is making your Sister, who is a published author and has a master’s in writing, weep at the sight of it like she does at the sight of a little buffalo sauce,

 

Anne

Well heeeeeey guuuuurl. How you doin?

Yeah this sounds great- what’s not to like? Other than the fact that it’s from Café Caribe which has never scored higher than a C so now I am disappoint. But hey- it’s a new year, maybe a year for an A.

 

Maui – Sota Sticky Ribs by RC’s BBQ

Slow-smoked St. Louis-style ribs, caramelized with RC’s Sticky Huli sauce and seasoned with furikake, green onion, and cilantro

Sarah

Hot damn I love me some ribs. This is obviously going to come from RC’s and looks like I’m right. Let’s see what makes these ribs special. Oh shit this sounds good. Damn I’m hungry. I wish I had ribs right now. This sounds great. Though boo on the cilantro. I mean, it’ll probably be fine. We’re not people who thinks it tastes like soap, we’re just not big fans. But we’re coming around on it a bit. Sometimes RC’s can be too spicy for us, which is too bad because generally they’re pretty good. Looks like these should be safe-ish, though? Can’t pick this as most excited, though, since it’s pretty much just ribs. But don’t get me wrong. I AM excited for them. I hope there are at least 3 rib bones. I don’t want to have to share with the two chuckles I’ll be traveling with. I want my own bone.

 

Patrick

This was also a contender for “most excited for”.  I’m sure RC can make a killer rib, so throwing on some sticky Huli Huil sauce, which I’m told is some kind of sweet Hawaiian teriyaki sauce, and seasoning it with the umami flavors of furikake?  This just sounds great.  I really hope it is as good as it looks and sounds.  They’ve gotten a lot of B-grades over the years, so I’m hoping they can land in the hall of honorable A’s for this entry.

 

Anne

I like ribs, and I like RC BBQ.

Really trying hard with the name here. I guess it’s Hawaiian with the Huli sauce? And I guess since we’re in MN you toss on the Sota part? Eh- seems like a stretch here RC.

Yeah these look perfectly tasty, and I hope it comes with 3 like the pic shows.

 

Miami Mango Pickles by Soul Bowl

Dill pickles infused with Miami mango punch.

Sarah

Okay, now I need to count pickles and lemon. Because I assumed we got a pickle year, but idk, lemon might show up. My first glance at this and I’m sus. I’m particular about pickles. But let me take a look. Okay, not much info to go on here. They’re dill pickles infused my Miami mango punch. I assume that’s just a fruit punch? Unless it’s a drink I’m unfamiliar with? This is from Soul Bowl. Last year we were very excited about them, but the food we got was terrible. Soggy. Had been sitting under a heat lamp. Just gross. But people who got there at different times got better quality food which they liked. So, that was a bummer. I guess this comes down to the idea of am I excited to, more or less, just eat a pickle? And the answer is meh, not really. So yeah. I’m interested to see what the flavor is but I’m not jonesing to run over there and get this. And I can’t imagine the others are, either.

 

Patrick

Alright, I know that there has been some kind of thing going around in the past year or so about infusing your pickle spears in punch or Kool-Aid, and that people swear by it that it is an amazing snack.  I don’t really get it, I don’t think I’ll like it, and it really doesn’t feel iconic enough to be on the new foods list.  This isn’t like Reese’s peanut butter cups.  “Oh you got chocolate in my peanut butter, holy crap we made the perfect combination of flavors since PB&J.”  You think you can just shove a pickle into fruit punch, and you’ve struck gold?  Not buying it.  Plus, it is from Soul Bowl and they shit the bed for us with their soulsickle last year.

 

Anne

Ope- another pickle offering.

So are these pickled mangos or what? OH! No- lol they’re pickles in a mango punch! Hahah neat! Unexpected. You got me Soul Bowl.

Now listen- you got a D last year bc of execution, but you also got an A for your fancy drink in a bag. It’s your 2^nd year, and this is going to inform our opinion of you going forward- are you a D or an A vendor?

I’m rooting for you- don’t let us down.

 

MinneCookieDough Pie by MinneApple Pie

Homemade chocolate chip cookie dough in a flaky pie crust dusted with powdered sugar. Served with choice of vanilla or cinnamon ice cream.

Sarah

All right all right. I like pie. I like it a lot. This is from Minneapple pie, which people love. We do not love the apple pie, but that blueberry pie last year was top notch, so I’m excited that we have another new pie to try out. Let’s get some deets. Oh nice! So it’s just a pie stuffed with cookie dough! This sounds great. Though we have to choose ice cream. Normally I’d say the cinnamon ice cream, cuz delish. But maybe the vanilla is a better palate cleanser with the chocolate chip cookie dough? Unsure. I’m pretty jonesed about this one. I expect it will be good. Also I bet Packie is losing his mind. He loves cookie dough. Other than the ice cream, this seems like a pretty big win for him.

 

Patrick

I hadn’t given them much thought prior to last year when they made the list with a Minneblueberry Pie on the new foods list, but it was actually damn good so I’m glad I was forced to give them a try.  Well, it looks like they want to it again this year.  I will say up front that I go nuts for cookie dough.  Actually, I go nuts for any kind of dough.  It’s kind of a problem.  Like literal pizza dough, or bread dough, some batters, just raw and straight into my mouth.  YES I KNOW THERE ARE RAW EGGS IN THERE, shut the hell up.  I could be eating worse things, ok?  Anyways!  Love the sweet siren song of the cookie dough, but this looks like…a lot.  Too much cookie dough is definitely a bit much, even for Packie, and I hope there is a good ratio of dough-to-pie crust-to ice cream or this will be too damn rich even for this fat, dough eating bitch.  If they get the ratios right, though, I’ll love this I’m certain.  I feel like Sarah and Anne aren’t as big into edible cookie doughs, but what the hell do they know?  I once saw Sarah drop lobster meat onto the street and pick it back up and eating it.  Oh, and it was a wet street.  Also…it may have been Anne?  Come on, they’re twins, and I have a shitty memory.  Let’s just say it was both of them.  Like they picked it up and both ate it as a team.  I’ve never eaten raw dough off the street, so I am empirically the better person.  Also, I don’t know the actual definition of empirically, and I’m too lazy to look it up, but it just FEELS right.  I’m sure Sarah will agree that’s how writing works.  If it feels right, thus it is right,  Period,

 

Anne

Hmm who’s this coming from? MinneApple Pie maybe? Oh it is! Really love that they’re branching out from Apple- their blueberry pie last year was *chef’s kiss*.

So this is a cookie stuffed inside of a pie?? Ok, I see you. This sounds like a lot of fun and I am preeeeetty excited to try you. Yeah the more I look at you the more excited I’m getting. See you in August.

One final day! Besides New Vendors, learn all about a goddamned sensory nightmare of a new food, and how quickly opinions can flip-flop when food is served in a delightful and surprising manner.