2018 Final Thoughts

Well, Well, Well.

2018- you turned out to be preeetttty dang great.  After the disaster that was 2017 we weren't sure what to think. 2017 was so awful that it left a resounding despair going into the State Fair this year, so thank God 2018 delivered or our MNSF faith might've started to wane.

In fact, 8 foods made the A list, and we didn't have a single food receive an F.  That's a pretty banner year!


via GIPHY

Here are our day-of thoughts of the new foods (and some new to us foods).


BEST OF THE BEST- GRADE A FOODS

Earth Wings- $7 at French Meadow Bakery
A for food, F for service. Had to wait 45 minutes for these and their organization was a hot mess. Other than that, these were great! Crispy, tangy sauce, real satisfying. Just make sure the line isn't out to next week.

French Toast Bites- $5 from Blue Barn
Not new, but new to us. What a great breakfast! The mouthfeel is like bread pudding and fantastic. The berry sauce is sweet without being overpowering, and the pop rocks add an auditory element without ruining the food.

Messy Giuseppe- $7.75 at Mancini's al Fresco
So meaty. The bread was so soft. Even Sarah, who doesn't like red sauce, liked this. Afterwards, we learned to ask for it on their garlic bread and extra messy, so that's something to look forward to next year!

Pepperoni Chips with Roasted Red Pepper Queso- $7 at Lulu's Public House
Yeah, these were great. Just great. Crispy and delicious pepperoni and the queso was fantastic.

Rainbow Cloud Roll (chocolate flavor)- $8 at Rainbow Cloud
Bahahahahah! This thing is fucking ridiculous and yet so great. The chocolate helps offset the fruity pebbles (which leave a good taste in your mouth). The cotton candy, by some amazing feat, does not dissolve. It's just-just perfect.

Swedish Meatball Smorgas- $8.95 at The Blue Barn
The Blue Barn stepped it up this year! So flavorful and good. The bun was so soft. A bit pricey but not too bad. Loved this.

Sweet Greeks- $5 at Dino's Gyros
So sweet but the insides are smooth and not sweet so it balances nicely.

The Gizmo- $9 at Carl's Gizmo Sandwich
This isn't new, but we don't know if we've ever posted about it before. Fun Fact: this is one of MN Chef Andrew Zimmer's favorite things at the fair. It is awesome! Ground Beef and Italian Sausage, red sauce, on a toasted Italian roll with melted mozzarella on top. So meaty and good. Pure comfort food.

PRETTY DURN GOOD- GRADE B FOODS

Bacon Stuffed Tots- $8.95 at Blue Barn
This was an unofficial new food. Dang Blue Barn- you really showed up this year. This is really more of a croquette but super tasty and left a great taste in your mouth.

Honey Cream Soda Float- $9 at Minnesota Honey Producers
A little strange at first, but got better the more we ate and after we mixed it up. Good sweet flavors and soda fizz.

Shrimp Ceviche- $7 at Shrimp Shack
Just regular, good ceviche, though a little pricey. Refreshing on a hot day.

Slider Flight $10 at The Hangar
We got the pulled pork (because they didn't have brisket *angry face*). Really tasty. Good amount for the price. Our favorite was the one with the crispy onion straws.

Smoked Soft Serve (coffee flavor)- $7 at Blue Moon Dine In Theater
Didn't really taste the smoke, but hey- it was really smooth and tasty coffee ice cream.

S'mores Nordic Waffle- $8 at Nordic Waffles
Sweet and good flavor. Wish the waffle was crispier but excited to try the other flavors.
(spoiler- we tried breakfast the next day and it was EXCELLENT! bfast got an A).

Wood Fire Elote- $5 at Tejas Express
Anne, who likes elote, gave it a B even though it was quite spicy. Sarah and Packie (who hate elote on principal even though they've never tried it) hated it and gave it a D. So you decide i guess.

Za Waffle Sticks- $5 at Green Mill
Bizarre but good...? It was actually hard to grade this one because we weren't sure if we liked it, but also couldn't stop eating it. Tried the pepperoni maple syrup but wished we had marinara instead.

Zesty PB&J Sausage- $6 from the Gass Station
Sweet and a bit spicy. The casing was nice and snappy. Good bun. Good sausage.

OK, NOT GREAT- GRADE C FOODS

Ahi Tuna Poke Bowl- $9.50 from Cafe Caribe
Good sauce and flavors, wish the tuna was in smaller pieces, good wontons. Would definitely get poke after trying this.

Banana Foster French Toast- $9.25 at Hamline Church Dining Hall
It was fine, no bid deal. Bananas weren't ripened enough, caramel sauce was good.

BBQ Split-$12 from Mama D's
The BBQ was excellent but the mac was mediocre and the slaw tasted strongly of parsley. Would try their pulled pork sandwiches.

Firecracker Shrimp Stuffed Avocado- $14 at the Hideaway Speakeasy
Might have given this a B if not for the exorbitant price. Fresh, decent flavor, and good crackers.

General Tso's Chicken Taco- $12 from Tacocat
Chicken was nice and crispy but there was pretty much no sauce. Also super expensive.

Irish Tater Kegs- $8 from O'Gara's
Not bad. Texture was great and we finished it. We're just not that big Reuben fans (if you are, you'd probably like it more than we did).

Pizza Dough Balls- $7 at Tino's
This non-featured new food item was all right. Balls of fried pizza dough with red sauce and lots of mozzarella cheese. Sauce was ok but a bit too tangy, and the cheese wasn't melted.

Sweet Corn Corndog- $6 ($3 with coup) at some place that Sarah forgot to record
This was new to us but apparently it was the go-to thing to try this year. The batter was nicely sweet- could really taste the corn. But there was too much of it and the hot dog was tough and overcooked. Fix these problems and it would be great.

Sweetie Cakes- $7 at Sweetie Cakes
We got the peanut butter and chocolate one. A little over-sweet, and not much of a peanut butter flavor. Toffee bits were great.

Turducken Sausage Sandwich- $7 from Giggle's Campfire Grill
Sausage was fine, fennel bun was pretty darn good. Packie liked the relish a lot but others did not.

Up North Puff Pastry- $8 at Sausage Sisters & Me
Puff pastry was good, filling was not bad but wish there was more of it.

NO THANK YOU- GRADE D FOODS

Blueberry Rhubarb Cobbler- $8 from Farmer's Union
The cornmeal biscuit was really a small puck, and the tartness of the fruit overwhelms everything.

Mangonado Shave Ice- $6 at Minesnowii Shave Ice
Nope nope nope. The only reason it's not an F is because the inside mango was nummy. But the outside spice was so potent in a spicy sour way that there's no recovering. See authentic video reaction for proof.

Moroccan Sausage Bowl- $7 at Sausage by Cynthia
To be fair, Packie gave this a C. Not very flavorful- mostly tasted spicy.

Triple Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake- $6 from the Strawberry Patch
We just weren't fans. Strawberry sauce was really watery and it was just boring. Regretted getting it.

Wood Fire Elote- $5 at Tejas Express
Anne, who likes elote, gave it a B even though it was quite spicy. Sarah and Packie (who hate elote on principal even though they've never tried it) hated it and gave it a D. So you decide i guess.

THIS WAS A MISTAKE- GRADE F FOODS
No fails this year- how did that happen?

2017 Final Thoughts

Hi All!

Super late to the party here, as we realized we never consolidated our final thoughts for the 2017 new foods! And really, the whole intent of this blog is to help us remember what delicious foods we tried a year (or 2 or 10) ago so we can enjoy them again in the future, so we need to post these thoughts even if it's almost a year late.


So! Let's talk about 2017

Overall, 2017 was pretty much a disappointing shit show.

Just 3 foods made the A grade, one of which wasn't even on the official new foods list!


The vast majority of foods ended up in the C range, so just average, and in addition, we lost 2 of our Classics this year- Chicken Fried Bacon from Giggle's and Doughsant from French Meadow Bakery.

Ok, let's just get this over with. The following reviews are the in-the-moment thoughts about the food posted on social-media day-of. So not our normal verbose style, but you get the idea.

(also- don't judge the font formatting in this post. Blogger is being a giant fuck and I just couldn't fight it anymore)


THE BEST FOODS THIS YEAR- GRADE A


Pizzarito from Green Mill. $5

Like everything Green Mill makes, this is fantastic. Delicious and pizza-y, would get this at a restaurant. Plus, the price is great!


Thai Rolled Ice Cream at That Rolled ice Cream. $7.50

 Good ice Cream. Fun flavor choices (we went with strawberry midnight). So cold (like dipping dots). Entertaining to watch them make it. Worth going into the grandstand for.


Bacon Fluffernutter from the Sandwich Stop. $9

At first this was a solid B. Sweet, but not too sweet. Good bacon. And then we got a patch of peanut butter. And it was crunchy peanut butter. And OMG that just elevated this for all of us. The Sandwich Shop never disappoints.


THE PRETTY DURN GOOD FOODS- GRADE B


Pork Belly on a Stick (FKA Swine and Spuds) at Swine and Spuds. $8

Some of our group liked this more than others. We’d also like to try the other sauce flavors.


Cherry Bombs at Vegie Fries (don’t you dare spell that Veggie). $5

The batter on this was fantastic. Strong cherry flavor from the Australian licorice. Really rich. Still wish it was maraschino cherries. And now I have Cherry Bomb all over my chest from the dang powdered sugar.

Onion and Potato Vegie Fries (new to us) at Vegie Fries. $4

Nice flavor, good batter. The onion was better than the potato


Honey Puffs (Loukamades) from Dino’s Gyros. $6

Dang that honey! An explosion of sweet. Very Greek


Brown Ale and Onion-Gouda Tipsy Pie from Sara’s Tipsy Pies. $6

Even though she spells her name wrong, Sara makes a pretty good ale hand pie. Sweet and savory. The onion sugar is a nice touch.


Pie in the Sky Malt at the Dairy Barn. $6

Came off more as ice cream than a malt, and the lemon curd was a bit intense at first, but the awesome airplane cookies, chocolate, and ice cream quickly came through and made for a tasty, sweet treat.


Mini Sconuts at French Meadow Bakery. $6

Oh man, this was sweet bliss. Chocolate, marshmallow, and Nutella inside a soft scone-donut hybrid. Super rich, could only eat one ball. On a sad note, the doughsant is no longer available. A dark year gets darker.


Deviation Stout Steak Taco Naan at San Felipe Tacos. $10

A stupid name for a damn good taco. The steak was tender and flavorful and the naan was soft and fresh. Surprisingly satisfying


THIS YEAR'S AVERAGE FOODS- GRADE C


Breakfast Buddy Bowl from Lulu’s Public House. $8T

The first taste had the flavor of something burnt or maybe a smoke flavor. It was off-putting to most of us. Could use a bigger punch of flavor. It was pretty meh.


Bowl o’ Dough from Blue Moon Dine-in Theater. $8

This was just…we wish this was better. The best part was the potato chip followed by the sea salt ice milk (aka salted ice cream).


The Fall Guy Breakfast Panini from The Hideaway Speakeasy. $8

Ugh, wtf is up with a food vendor on the 2^nd floor of the Grandstand? And why do they get to feature 3 new foods? Anyway, the cheapest and the best of the 3, it still is just a regular old breakfast sammich that is nothing special, especially in the flavor department.


Italian Bomba Sandwich from Mancini's al Fresco. $8.25

We liked the meatiness and the mouth feel but wasn’t very flavorful. And some of the meat was cold. Also, don’t you dare call it the Boomba #goaheadandorderitthatway #seehowthatfuckinggoes

Bacon Up Pup at Granny’s Kitchen Fudge Puppies. $7

Ok so we really liked the fudge puppy part of this, but the bacon detracted from it. We wished we were eating the turtle one instead. It was so fresh the whipped cream was melting on the way back to the table.


Sonoran Sausage: ONE. BAD. DOG. By Sausage Sisters. $7

The sausage is great (like it always is from Sausage Sisters) but it’s nothing special. You don’t need the corn on it but without that it’s just a hotdog.


Sweet Corn Chocolates at the Honey Candy Stand. $7

Sarah would have rated it lower but we all had differing opinions on this one. What we all agreed on, though, was that $7 for 3 tiny bonbons was fucking ridiculous.


Sweet Corn Blueberry Éclair at The Farmer’s Union. $6.50

The blueberry glaze was much too intense, the cream didn’t have much flavor other than a slight corn aftertaste, and the kernza flour pastry was not great.


Cheesy Nacho Corn on the Cob from Texas Steakout (no price info because we're basic bitches)

It’s like someone said “You know what could be harder to eat? Nachos. Let’s throw it on corn on the cob.” Flavor was fine, but it loses points for being sloppy and slimy.



Pina Colada (new to us) at Manny’s Tortas. $8

This virgin Pina colada was made fresh from the cored out pineapple. Too much pulp, not enough coconut flavor, and it left us wishing it was alcoholic.


Memphis Totchos at the Snack House. $9

Let’s be clear, they were potato rounds, not tots. Our opinions were very mixed on this and it averaged out to a C. The sauce tasted more like peanut butter than like a Thai peanut sauce, and the bananas were overpowering, but the potatoes were salty and bacon was good.


Chocolate Popover with Peanut Butter Spread at Lulu’s Public House. $6

Peanut Butter Good. So good, you can’t really taste the pastry or the chocolate. If you love peanut butter you might enjoy this.


Wild Rice Meatballs with Lingonberry Sauce at Hamline Dining Hall. $11.95

Good, standard Swedish meatballs. About the same as you get at IKEA. A fair amount of food for the price (came with a roll, coleslaw, and mashed potatoes and gravy). Nice seating and AC in the dining hall.


Slow-Roasted Pork Mole Tamale at Tejas Express. $10

Not bad, but not great. The pork and mole were good, the tamale was meh. Not a lot of food for that much moolah.


Maple Cream Nitro Cold Press Coffee at The Farmer’s Union. $6.50

A very smooth and slightly sweet, cold coffee. I rather liked it, and even Sarah and Anne who don’t like coffee thought it was ok. Nice energy boost.


Duck Bacon Wontons at Giggles’ Campfire Grill. $8.50

They were ok, too much cream cheese, first time we got something that wasn’t amazing from Giggles’. As an added, devastating note, they got rid of the chicken fried bacon. A dark year.


THE "DO BETTER, YOU BASTARDS" FOODS- GRADE D


Deep Fried Avocado from O’Gara’s. $8

Great way to start the day! Soggy and not very flavorful. Expensive and Packie doesn’t even like avocado. At least O’Gara’s is consistent so we don’t get our hopes up. My phone wants to change O’Gara’s to Obamas and that would be preferable in every way.

Sweety’s Churros from Potato Man and Sweety. $5

Sarah wanted to give it an F but was outvoted. It was like biting into a stick. Not soft and light at all. Dense and stale and almost impossible to chew. Flavors weren’t horrible.

Spicy Thai Noodles from Oodles of Noodles. $10

Much too spicy, even for Packie. So spicy we couldn’t even taste the flavors. Which is too bad because it smelled really good and Oods of Noods is a good bet.

Double Dose of Pork Belly at RC BBQ. $7

This was disappointing. Not enough pork belly and the patty didn’t taste great (weird even). Small ass sandwich, even at seven bucks. Boo.


Swing Dancer Sandwich at the Hideaway Speakeasy. $12

Why the fuck did I spend $12 on this? I have had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches thicker than this. The sandwich was ok, if I’m being generous. Fresh taste and soft bread but not a big fan of smoked salmon. Also, never forget that they had to change the name of this sammich because the first name was offensive.


Mobster's Caviar at Hideaway Speakeasy. $11

Fuck this. Fuck the price. Fuck having to walk to the top of the Grandstand to drop a mint on 3 shitty items at this place. I’m literally building a rage lather about this. The bread was old and stale. The caviar was fishy tasting and gross. Never again.


THE WORST OF THE WORST, STRAIGHT UP FAILS- GRADE F


Wild Bill’s Breakfast Bake at Blue Barn. $8.75

To be fair, one of the group rated it a D. The first impression of this trash is the overwhelming smell of pickled red onion and it’s all downhill from there. Tried to be Mexican but “tastes weird” according to Dad. We had a nice shaded table that was ruined by the stench of the food from Blue Barn.


Triple Truffle Trotters at the Blue Barn. $7.50

There was something really off-putting about the smell, which didn’t help at all. Five of us tried it and no one liked it. Of the few that thought it was okay, they also thought it got worse the more they ate it. Unsurprising, since this is the Blue Barn.


And that's all she wrote!


Tune in next week for our pre-reviews of the new 2018 fair foods!