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.

2022 MN State Fair Food Preview Part 1 (Initial Thoughts; All Quacked Up through Chick N Swiss Sausage)

 Well here we are, just a few short weeks from the 2022 Minnesota State Fair (37 days to be specific, by the time you’re reading this).

This was an agonizing wait for the new food list- the latest we’ve ever seen since we’ve been tracking it. Who can say what the delay was about- maybe the fact that there are a WHOPPING 38 NEW FOODS PLUS 8 NEW VENDORS! It’s a record-breaking year on lateness of reveal AND total quantity of items.

Last year was a spectacular return to the fair- feels like it’s going to be hard to beat, but I guess overwhelming us with choice is one way to do it.

Per usual we’ll be breaking these foods into five separate posts so you don’t get as overwhelmed reading them as we did writing them.

So without MORE delay, let’s get to it!

 

Sarah Overall Thoughts

FINALLY!!!!

New foods!

Jesus though, why are we so late in the season? What the actual hell? Normally we’d be writing these thoughts sometime in June and here we are, MID JULY and only now are we getting a glimpse of what we can expect in just a few short weeks.

Big, put-out sigh.

And of course they finally are announced on a day that I’m out of town so it’s not even easy to access or read. I’m getting reaaaal pissy about all of this.

Last year was a killer year. It’s gonna be hard to really compete with it because things were amazing. Was it because it had been a year and so everything was spectacular due just being alive and happy we were at the fair again? Maybe. But also, I objectively think that things were just really great last year.

Let’s hope this year is the same.

 

Initial Thoughts

Holy shit this is a lot. I mean, a lot of new foods and a lot of new vendors, too.

But I have to say, there’s a lot that I’m already pretty excited for at first glance and am super jazzed to get into the deets about. I mean, did you see that fucking ice cream sammich? JESUS I can’t wait until I get to that entry and figure out what’s going on with that.

Seems like a lot of hot dog stuff or hot dog shaped stuff? We’ll find out I guess. TIME TO GET TO THIS!

 

Least Excited For:

Get the shit out of here with that Chilaquiles Breakfast

Most Excited For:

It’s a Tie between Breakfast Gnocchi and Sundae Sammie. It’s hard to choose because one is savory and one is sweet. I think the breakfast Gnocchi pulls ahead slightly, though.

Theme:

Looks like my thoughts about it being a sausage or hot dog theme was right on, followed closely by Vegan.

 

Patrick Overall Thoughts

Here we are again, new year, new foods.  Took them long enough!  Almost two whole weeks longer than when this list usually comes out.  Talk about a damn nail biter.  Seems like it was even longer than that, mostly since I was checking the state fair website every day, every damn hour, hoping it had finally updated. 

Well, well, well, it appears maybe there was a good (or at least “reasonable”) reason for the wait.  This has to be a record number of new foods.  I haven’t seen this many new foods and new vendors since…well since we started keeping track of this crap.  38 new foods and 8 new vendors.  That is insane!  For a comparison, last year was 26 new foods.  Hell, in 2019 it was 31 new foods with 7 new vendors.  You know what that means.  I’m gonna be fucking broke when this is done, and horribly boated.  Can’t wait!

 

Initial Thoughts

If I had to pick a theme for this year, it would be inclusivity for the vegan community.  A TON of the new foods these year are either vegan up front or come in a vegan friendly option.  Honestly, I think that’s pretty cool. I don’t know how vegans manage it with everything either coming stuffed with meat or having been cooked in meat juices, or just somehow having slapped a few animals before being packaged and sent off to market.  It has got to be real hard to avoid all that and not go hungry.  That so many places are making an effort to offer options for these hungry fair goers is just nice to see.  And hell, some vegan foods are daaaaamn good.  The ones that really put an effort into not just replacing meat with something like a big ole mushroom or smashing black beans into a patty but make a dish that really slaps and just happens to be meat and animal bi-product free, is just damn impressive.  Again, I’m going to emphasize that I am fucking intimidated by the number of new foods this year, and I don’t want to be defeatist, but are we shooting ourselves in the foot thinking we can handle all of this in a single-fucking-day?!  Maybe, so we better put on our steel toed shoes and take out a second mortgage if we’re going to make this happen.

 

Most Excited For:  Hmm, a lot of potential options this year and I think we’re gonna have some real good food, but nothing really stood out to me quite like the Concha Bacon Burger from Aldos.  It just sounds fun and innovative and like the really thought about the flavors and presentation.  Crossing my fingers this is as great as I picture it in my head.

 

Least Excited For:  All Quacked Up!  No contest.  I mean sure, I’m still a little peeved about a plain old corn dog making the list just because it is vegan, but I don’t think there is anyway in hell they could fuck up a corn dog so bad that it would be as disappointing as this sad bitch sandwich.  I can’t tell whether I get a sick satisfaction in the Hideaway Speakeasy just playing themselves or pissed off that I have to pay to see it happen.  I feel like one of those assholes who decides to boycott a coffee maker or shoe company and burn the product I already paid for to show them.  I laugh at the Speakeasy and rag on them mercilessly, but at the end of the fucking day, I’m paying for and taking a bite of their shitty, overpriced offal.

 

Anne Overall Thoughts

FINALLY!  Jeebus. Is this the latest the new foods have come out? At least in the amount of time that we’ve been tracking- the previous latest was June 29^th, and here we are July 12^th. That’s only like 45 days out. AND MNSF was all like “check back in the next few weeks” when everyone was like “WHERE ARE THE NEW FOODS??!!1!”, but what they really meant was give us like 2 more days.

Ok, you know what? It’s fine. We have the new foods, and that’s all that matters. Let’s take a look.

 

Initial Thoughts

Ok, this is looking preeeeettttyyy interesting I gotta say. Looks like there’s lots of sweets- ice cream in particular is making a strong showing this year. That looks like it’s going to be this year’s theme, which I am of course ok with, but probably a smidge disappointing for Packie. Or wait- vegan. Looks like there’s 10 vegan options this year compared to 7 ice cream options- was there like a specific call out for vegan foods? Or are they just making sure to highlight all the foods that are or can be vegan now?

Just a quick scroll through has me excited to figure out what some of this stuff is. AND 8 new vendors??! Wow! I do love a new vendor, but I hope they have like a signature new item because we can’t buy the whole shop, can we? (no. we cannot).

No Sara’s Tipsy Pies, Giggles, or Green Mill this year. Sad.

JESUS- 38 NEW FOOD ITEMS??! Wow this is going to be a loong freaking day.

8 New Food Vendors (with 3 not on the new foods list, so really we’re looking at 41 new items to try).

 

Most Excited For:

Sundae Sammie or Tot Dog- I CAN’T WAIT TO MEET YOU

Least Excited For:

Gray Duck Sundae or Reuben Rolls

 

 All Quacked Up!- Hideaway Speakeasy

Fried, farm-fresh duck egg from Graise Farm in Faribault atop shaved smoked ham, aged cheddar cheese, tomato and spinach, served open-face on toasted sourdough bread with paprika aioli.

 

Sarah

Okay, so immediately I was excited, but specifically because I LOVE eggs and so the first thing I saw was the fried egg so I was all in. But then I calmed down and was like, wait, is this just a Sammy with an egg on it? Then I read the name and I was like, oh, it’s gonna be a duck egg. And I bet they think that’s what’s gonna make this Sammy special enough for the state fair. So THEN I read about it and was like, okay, it is a Sammy. I’m not against that in theory, or at least this seems like an okay Sammy or whatever, but also, I don’t go to the fair to eat something I can make on my lunch break (yes, even with the duck eggs cuz Anne has a friend with ducks and so we keep getting duck eggs.)

And then I saw this was from the Hideaway Speakeasy and I sighed for so long that I literally died and now I am a ghost typing this.

On the plus side, if I don’t come back to life before the fair, it means I won’t have to pay for this because even if it’s fine, it’ll still break the bank.

So. My guess: $17.

It’ll probably be a straight C. Like, no big deal. Mostly because I feel like this would be hard to screw up. But then again…We’ve been here before.

I dunno. I’m glad bout the aioli, I guess? Worried there won’t be enough of it. Torn on whether I want that egg to be over easy or over hard (generally, over easy. But will I have a fork and knife to eat this with? (knowing the speakeasy, no.) And if not, do I want to get egg yolk all over me on day 1 of the fair. No. I do not.) So, yeah.

 

Patrick

Ahahahahah!  Look at this shit.  I can’t express how funny I found it that I glanced at this picture, thought it looked basic as shit, and then saw that, of course, it was from The Hideaway Speakeasy.  I could literally fucking make this myself at home.  This is a glorified egg sandwich, and they didn’t even give you the top fucking piece of bread!  The ONLY redeeming thing about this ‘sandwich’ is that they use locally raised eggs and ham.  I’m pretty sure I can get MN raised eggs at the grocery store.  Oh, but it’s a duck egg???  Aah, that’s why we can call it “All Quacked Up!”  Hahah, hurr dee hurr hurr!  Look how clever we are?  We used a duck egg, so we didn’t have to call it a pretentious, basic bitch egg sandwich!  Seriously with this?  Oh, and let’s make it open-faced, so we can use half the bread and save money, but we’ll increase the price at the same time, because open-faced is fancier.  The lack of creativity here is astonishing.  How the hell did this make the new foods list.  How does Hideaway Speakeasy EVER make the new foods list?  Are people actually clambering for their food?  Well, I’m pretty sure this is going to be expensive as shit, probably because they think a duck egg is as bougie as a quail egg or some shit and taking inflation into account (as I’m sure that’s another excuse for them to shoot the price up), I’m going to guess a bold $18 for this item.  Nice to get the worst out of the way first, so hopefully it’s only going up from here.

 

Anne

Well, starting us off with a bang I see but coming out strong with the worst food vendor (ok- that’s not entirely fair… the foods are sorted alphabetically).

This appears to be an open-faced egg and ham sandwich. Which fine- I do be liking an egg sammich. This is a duck egg which tastes the same as a chicken egg but usually has a richer yolk and some people are allergic to them, so bold choice eliminating part of your audience right out the gate. We regularly get duck eggs from a coworker (thanks Brigid!) so this isn’t a fun novelty for us. I feel like this will probably be just fine but is not really what I’m looking to get from (or be excited for) at the fair.

Per usual we need to make a prediction on price at the Speakeasy. IIRC I feel like last year’s prices were a little softer here. But inflation and supply is nutso right now so I’m going to say this sammich will run us $10.

 

Arepa Bar’s Three Arepas- Pulled Pork, The Queen, and Vegan- Midtown Global Market’s Arepa Bar/ Taste of Midtown Global Market

Baked Venezuelan crispy corn pocket with choice of three fillings (all arepas are gluten-free): The Pulled Pork Arepa is pork shoulder slow-roasted in red wine and vegetables served with shredded cheddar cheese, cabbage, carrots, green onions and parsley; The Queen (Reina Pepiada) is pulled chicken and avocado puree salad topped with mozzarella cheese and fresh arugula; and the Vegan Arepa is house- prepared black beans, fried sweet plantains, cabbage, carrots, green onions and parsley. (New Vendor) (Available Aug. 31-Sept. 5 only)

 

Sarah
I dunno, man. I just don’t have a lot of feelings about this. I mean, crispy corn pocket sounds great in theory, but the picture isn’t doing it any favors. It’s like literally all the same color, sort of a beige green. The vegan one is right out for me because Sarah doesn’t do beans. But the pulled pork one sounds pretty good, though cheddar cheese would not be my cheese of choice to go with pulled pork. So does the Queen, but I know Packie won’t want that one because it has avocado in it, which he hates because we can’t have nice things.

Ah I see this is one of those pop-up ones, too, that are only available for half the fair. We’ve yet to ever be impressed by any of those and I don’t think this year will prove any differently.

Just went back and looked at the pic for the, presumably, pork one and that cheddar cheese does not look good and now I’m kinda mad.

 

Packie

Here we have one of Midtown Global Market’s new vendors.  For those not in the know, they split their booth between two restaurants for each half of the fair.  This one will be available for the second half, August 31^st through Labor Day.  While it is kind of cool that you could try two different vendors at different points during the fair at the same location, it’s kind of tedious if you only wanted to go one time.  I mean, I don’t know how you could really justify only going to the fair once, but I’m sure some people don’t have it in their budget to go more than once or are just not Minnesotan enough to go multiple times.  Also, for three siblings who want to try all the new foods on the first day of the fair, this pretty much shoots that strategy in the fucking face, so thanks for that MGM.  Ok, that’s enough shitting on the vendor, let’s talk about the food.  This vendor is Arepas with a choice of three different fillings; a pulled pork, the queen (pulled chicken), and a vegan made of black beans and other stuff.  I tried arepas for the first time last year and I gotta say I really liked them.  The Queen (pictured 2nd) looks a little funky to be honest, and I’m not a big fan of avocado, which is included in the mix.  The Pulled Pork looks better, but also looks a little too busy.  I think arepas kind of work best when they’re kept simple, but hey it’s the fair, go big or go home.  The vegan one sounds like it could be interesting with those list of flavors, but again, it all seems like a LOT.  Given that I usually am not a fan with whatever MGM puts out each year (which seems statistically impressive considering they keep switching up vendors), I’m predicting this won’t impress me either.

 

Anne

Ok- first, the front page pic (the pic on the top) on this looked great. But when I clicked through wtaf is that food pic?? It’s like a blurry close up cellphone pic, and it looks not great?? Front page looks like the Pulled Pork probably, and the inside pic must be The Queen. Jeeze Arepa Bar- who looked at this and thought- yep, lock it in:

Anyway an Arepa is from South America (these are Venezuelan which I am excited about) and are sort of like a squishy taco- similar to a Gordita. Looks like The Queen is a Pulled Chicken option and the Vegan is made with plantains and beans. I’m glad they have a vegan option, and it’s extra nice that they’re all GF. Honestly the Vegan and the Pulled Pork look the best to me, but since Sarah doesn’t like beans and Packie doesn’t like plantains the Vegan is probably right out (those effers).

This is the split shift (totally accidentally typed “shit” first- still works) booth so we can’t get these until the second half at which point no one gives a crap about the new foods anymore by then.

 

Baba’s Two Hummus Bowls- Beauty and the Buffalo and Coco-Nuts- Baba’s

The Beauty and the Buffalo bowl features ranch hummus, buffalo chicken, crumbled bleu cheese, scallions, buffalo sauce and buffalo dust, served with pita puffs. The Coco-Nuts bowl features hazelnut chocolate hummus, chocolate chips, hazelnuts, shredded coconut and bananas, served with powdered sugar pita puffs. (Coco-Nits is vegan and can be gluten-free without the pita puffs.)

 

Sarah

Was this the hummus place from last year? Because if so, I am excited. All their hummuses were fantastic. Though I will say, I do not want a buffalo hummus. I don’t want buffalo anything, of course, so I’m real glad there’s two options and maybe I can convince my chump siblings to just skip that one altogether. I mean, come on. Look at how many new foods there are! TOO MANY! NO BUFFALO HUMMUS! Packie might even say no because it has crumbled bleu cheese on it, which he hates, so this may be looking pretty good.

Now the Coco-nuts! I’ve never had a chocolate hummus but I am VERY excited to try it, especially because hazelnut, too. Oh man, shredded coconut?? Now we’re fucking talking! SHIIIIIIIT Bananas?! Packie is going to be piiiiissed but I am SO EXCITED for this. Ope, chocolate chips. They lose me a little bit there. I don’t need chocolate chips in things unless they’re melted.

Though I have to say, I’m not sure how I’m gonna feel about the powdered sugar pita puffs. Guess we’ll find out. But I’m willing to trust these peeps because they did good work last year.

 

Patrick

Hey, Baba’s is back with their, frankly, fantastic hummus.  I’ve always thought of hummus as kind of dull, something I’d eat if it was at hand, but not go out of my way to have or get.  After trying Baba’s their debut year, however, I would certainly make time and space for their creative and tasty hummus bowls.  Looks like they have two new varieties to offer this year, including a Beauty and the Buffalo and a Coco-Nuts bowl.  I’m a fan of buffalo sauce, though not so much blue cheese, but I can usually get around that if it’s not too much and this looks like the case here.  Plus, buffalo dust?  Sounds intriguing.  Then with the Coco-Nuts they have a hazelnut chocolate hummus, flavors I am very much into, though I’ve never had a dessert humus before and don’t really know what to expect.  Throwing in some hazelnuts, shredded coconut sound like a good addition, but you lose me at the sliced bananas.  Packie don’t do bananas!  Get that mush fruit out of there.  Two new hummuses, each with one ingredient I would prefer to exclude, so we’ll see how this plays out.

 

Anne

Yay! Baba’s is back! Baba’s basically won best new food vendor last year (not including Summer Lakes Beverages), so I’m glad that they’re still here AND they’ve entered the new food foray. Last year they basically didn’t make a bad hummus bowl, and as soon as I saw this pic I knew it was from them.

Looks like they have two options- a Buffalo Chicken option (Sarah is drooling in anticipation, I’m sure) (ha! Just saw it has Bleu Cheese- now Packie is excited too) and a Hazelnut Coconut option. So looks like we’ll be getting the latter which I am obviously 1000% fine with, because I am interested to see what they do with a dessert. I also just realized it has bananas in it so just hitting it out of the park this year for Packie

 

Birthday Cake Paleta- Hamline Church Dining Hall

A Mexican frozen dessert-on-a-stick made with chunks of birthday cake, sprinkles and a vanilla extract base, specially created by locally owned La Michoacana Rose to celebrate Hamline Church Dining Hall’s 125^th yeah at the fair. Additional paleta varieties are also available: Strawberry, Oreo, Pistachio, Bubble Gum, Passion Fruit, a special flavor of the day, and more.

Sarah

Well shit. Look at all those flavors. It’s not just birthday cake. They got to make it real difficult and throw in like 12 other flavors that all sound great and probably WILL be.

I’m just straight happy about this. I really doubt it can be screwed up and I’m looking forward to partaking of one or all to celebrate the Hamline Church Dining Hall.

Also, I love ice-creamy things so it’s a win-win for me.

 

Patrick

Here’s another vendor I don’t usually put much stock into.  I know for some it is a staple of the state fair, and for them I’m sure a lot of their food is just quaint and good home style cooking that they enjoy.  I get that.  Usually, I think their new foods are just…fine.  Northing that really jumps out as exciting or innovative.  Maybe that might change this year with the addition of these paleta popsicles.  I had to look up what exactly a paleta was, and it seems like they are a Mexican-style popsicle with a focus on fresh natural fruits and sometimes include milk or cream.  Hamline Church Dining hall is offering several flavor varieties, some looking more tempting than others.  Not sure what exactly makes these stand apart from other popsicles, but I’m excited to try it and find out.  Of the flavors listed, I think the birthday cake, pistachio, and maybe one of the fruit ones (to try it traditional) stand out the most.  Also, a special flavor of the day?  That’s kind of neat, but I don’t think I’m going to get a chance to try ‘em all.  We’ll start with a couple and see if they’re worth coming back for.

 

Anne

Ok ok, what do we have here? I am familiar with Paletas though haven’t had too many opportunities to imbibe, so I’m glad to see it here.

Oh- this is from Hamline Church?? That’s…unexpected. Like- Mexican fare is not their usual mo… Not sure how I’m feeling about this now.

Oh- apparently they partnered with La Michoacana Rose to celebrate their 125 years. I feel better about this now.

I’m not usually a big Birthday Cake fan, but I get why they’re going with that. Oh! They have other flavors too! Well now I am even more interested (Oreo? Pistachio?? FLAVOR OF THE DAY??)

I am excited to try this

 

Breakfast Gnocchi- The Blue Barn

A bed of potato gnocchi topped with scrambled eggs, bacon, pesto cream, shallots and balsamic glaze.

 

Sarah

What the what now??!! BREAKFAST GNOCCHI??? No no no. Blue Barn, you are too much. I already love this. I just know it will be good. I mean, LOOK AT IT! Do you think those gnocchi will be crispy AND soft? Oooh, I hope so. Eggs and bacon? Sure thing! Pesto cream? Why not! Shallots and balsamic? Please!

This will probably be the very first thing we eat on the very first morning of the fair and I bet it’s gonna be very good. Blue Barn has done well for us over the last 3-4 years and they’ve easily moved into my favorite spot, so I think they’re gonna stay there after this year too.

This might be my favorite new food. Shit, I can’t stop thinking about this.

 

Patrick

The Blue Barn has been on a role lately, putting out fun, creative, and delicious food.  I used to not like them very much, but now they have several items I really have to have each and every year.  Will this be another one to add to the list?  Who can say, but I do like the look of it.  Are those gnocchi fried?  They look so crispy!  Throw some scrambled eggs, bacon, pesto cream, shallots and balsamic glaze on top, and I think this could really work.  Say nothing else about The BB, they really know how to make an interesting and elevated looking dish.  As long as they bring the flavor, I think it could be a real hit.  Crossing my fingers that this is as good as it looks.

 

Anne

Heh heh heh. I see you Blue Barn- this looks hella fun. Are those gnocchi FRIED??!

Blue Barn has definitely raised in our esteem over the last 2 or 3 fairs, and in general they’re usually pretty good with their brekkie options, and this looks right up there. There isn’t anything on this that I don’t like/want to try, and the nice thing about Blue Barn brekkie is that it’s served all day so we don’t have to scramble to get it before a certain time (not really an issue for us since we enter at the West End Market now, but still)

 

Buzz’n…Hot Honey Chicken Sausage Kebob- Sausage Sister & Me

Hot honey drizzled over chicken sausage skewered with cornmeal chunks and served on a bed of coleslaw.

 

Sarah

Eh. I dunno. I’ve never eaten a chicken sausage that I like. I’m mildly interested in the biscuits in this sort of sausage shish kebab, but I worry they will be dry, or gummy or just not good. There’s just a lot of ways this could go wrong and Sausage Sisters can sometimes do okay things, but generally they’re just subpar. Hot honey isn’t surprising since it’s kinda the new hot (heh) food right now. I’ll be interested in seeing if other new foods also take advantage of this trend.

Also, I realize that I’m kinda over food items that are, like, a whole big meal. We have sausage. We have biscuits. We have coleslaw. Like, when am I going to have time to sit down and eat that coleslaw? You put this whole thing on a stick, which makes for easy walking, but then add a platter of coleslaw? Doesn’t check out. If the coleslaw HAS to be present in the dish, it might need to be reimagined. Otherwise, ditch it.

 

Patrick

Nice to see Sausage Sisters in the running again.  They had their ups and downs, but I’m always excited to try what new idea they’ve put out and hope for some good flavors and good food.  Sticking to what they do best, sausages, they’ve put a chicken sausage on a skewer alongside some tasty looking cornmeal biscuit chunks and drizzled the whole thing in hot honey.  Not sure I need the coleslaw, but the rest of it looks like it could be a fun and tasty item.  If the price is right and the biscuits and sausage hit, I’m sure this will be a blast.

 

Anne

Ok, well first- I dislike the spelling Kebob instead of Kebab. I know they’re both a valid spelling because Merica, but still.

Anyway, moving on. At first I thought this was sausage with like some sort of fried dough and I was like hell yes. Then I saw the name and thought it was chunks of chicken breast in between the sausage and was like booo. But NOW I realize it’s chicken sausage in between BISCUITS and I’m back to hell yes.

Sausage Sister is just an ok vendor for us- they’ve had some Bs but have never knocked it out of the park- they’ve had 1 D, and they mostly land in C-ville. So I expect this will probably be sort of disappointing and end up being ok not great. I hope it’s not too spicy- we’ve been burned (heh) by Sausage Sister in the past.

 

Celebration Cake on a Stick- Mancini’s al Fresco

White cake infused with almond flavoring and decorated with white frosting. This mini version of Mancini’s house cake can be personalized on-site with short text to celebrate a favorite fair fan or special occasion.

Sarah

Okay. I don’t know how I feel about this. This is a big fucking cake pop, (though it’s not even a cake pop) so I was like, I don’t need a whole birthday cake or whatever to eat while I’m at the fair.

BUT. But you better BELIEVE we are gonna get ours personalized and all that jazz. So, for a photo op? I’m pretty frickin jazzed about it. But outside of that, it best be the best cake I’ve ever tasted if you want me to take more than a single bit of this huge thing.

 

Patrick

Um…ok.  Looks like this could be fun and cute for the kids, maybe?  White cake infused with almond flavoring and white frosting just seems preeeeeeetty boring.  Supposedly this is a mini version of Mancini’s house cake, which I don’t know…maybe is a really good cake?  I’ve never had it, so I couldn’t say.  I don’t really need the “personalize” your own dessert gimmick, so this better be same damn good cake or I’m just wasting my damn time.

 

Anne

Hmmmmmmmm.

Yeah I don’t know how I feel about this? Like my initial reaction was eh. I’m picky about cake. This looks like it’s sort of trying to be a cake pop but is giant? So maybe it’s actually a mini layer cake inside? White cake with white frosting is the most boring of choices. Also I like that they say the cake is “infused” with almond flavoring.  Sooooo you added almond extract to the batter? Stop trying to be fancy.

I AM impressed/excited that they can decorate it right there for you- do you think they can fit Fair Fest Feasts on it??!

 

Chick N Swiss Sausage- Gass Station Grill

Grilled chicken sausage custom-made with chunks of Swiss cheese and asparagus, ground pineapple, bacon and jalapeno, served on a bun.

Sarah

Starting to think my hot dog or sausage theme might prove right. But look, more chicken sausage. I just…I’m gonna say it. Chicken sausage is not good. Not unless you’re also blending it with pork or something to get some fat in it. And if you are, then it’s not really a chicken sausage. I’m getting pretty irritated that I’m gonna have to chow on so much subpar chicken sausage. Also, this sausage has chunks in it. Like, okay, I’m fine with the chunks of cheese. If I’m gonna have chunks in my sausage, it best be cheese. But this has chunks of cheese, asparagus, jalapeno, pineapple…Like, when does it stop being a sausage and actually turn into a salad here?

I think the flavor combo sounds all right. If I’m gonna eat chicken sausage, it’s nice that it’s gonna have all those things to go with it to, you know, add something to a boring chicken sausage. But I expect I’ll be underwhelmed with this one.

 

Patrick

Hah, there is a LOT going on in this sausage.  I like a good sausage in a bun as the next person, but clearly what’s in the sausage here will make it or break it, will have it stand apart from the myriad of other sausages at the fair.  Swiss cheese, asparagus, pineapple, bacon, and jalapeno is quite the mix, and at a glance I think it could be good.  Hope it hits all those flavors and packs a punch.  Good luck!

 

Anne

Ok- this sounds like a fancy sausage. It’s gonna allll come down to how that sausage is – if it’s too dry you’re outta here. Asparagus is not my favorite veg (I really only like it 1 way- when Packie cooks it), and I hope the Jalapeno is not too spicy.

But even if this is a great sausage, this is still just…a…sausage? So it’s a little hard to get excited about it.

 

 

That’s it for day 1- see you tomorrow with 10 more New Foods.