"Our State Fair is a Great State Fair..."

Ahh...the Minnesota State Fair.....the largest state fair (in daily attendance) than any other fair in the United States.  It is a place where you can pet some sheep, watch a 4-H sewing fashion show, see the crowned dairy princess' face carved in butter, hope you don't die on the mighty midway rides, and get a deal on a backyard hammock swing all in one day.  But all Minnesotans know that the real reason you go to the fair is to indulge on all of the delicious fair fare.  It is the place where, once a year, you can put on your drawstring pants and let them out as you indulge on foods on a stick.  Where beloved food is....the TC Taste Buds are.  So we decided to take on the fair.

There are 316 vendors (each with a variety of food options) so deciding what to try was hard.  In fact, we decided to treat this outing as more of a review versus a competition.  We knew we could not try everything (or we would be in the hospital right now) and it would be crazy to limit ourselves to one variety of food because the wonder of the state fair vendors is that they are all pretty unique to each other.   So to narrow down our tasting, we took suggestions from friends, decided to try some "underdog" foods, put a fair favorite on the list, voted on our preferences, and mapped out our journey.

We took an immediate right out of Shalee's driveway and joined the crowds huffing to the fair.                       We arrived at the fair amidst the teenagers, strollers, automated wheelchairs, families, and date nighters.  We decided to start with a treat of our choice (immediately!)...the best corn dog in the world for Amanda, Betsy, Shalee and Vanessa and sweet corn for Amelia.  After our palates were cleansed, we were off to taste our first item:  The Grilled Banana, Marshmallow, Chocolate Sandwich at Moe and Joe's.

This gooey treat was basically a grilled cheese sandwich, sans the cheese, add the chocolate, marshmallow creme, and banana with sprinkled powdered sugar on top.  MMM...  In general this was enjoyed by all of the taste buds.  Amelia was hoping for something more like a stuffed french toast, Betsy wanted it a little hotter, the wait time could have been a little shorter (though we were informed the wait needed to be a bit longer so the sandwich could be delivered fresh)...but besides that...no other complaints.  For $4, this sandwich treat definitely met our state fair standards.

Next up...Soba Noodles from Island Noodles inside the International Bazaar!  This vendor gets an A+ in cuteness.  They were putting on their best performance when they heard that we were a tasting group :)  The noodles and FRESH veggies were made right in front of our eyes and the serving one gets for $7 is enormous.  It was piping hot when it was handed to us in the cute red take-out container.  The taste had mixed reviews.  Some of us really enjoyed the freshness and smokiness of the dish...others thought it was too salty.  One thing we all agreed on was that it was not very "state-fairy."  Though it fits right into the theme of the International Bazaar, the prep, the look, the container, seemed like it should have been from your favorite local asian restaurant versus the MN State Fair.  Discuss.





We continued on our adventure.  To the FOOD BUILDING!  The food building is home to about 30 food vendors.  It is the ONLY place to go to get cheese curds (in our expert opinion). Getting some of the highest scores of the night, the curds from the famous Mouth Trap were rockin' our buds.  Amelia is not a curd fan and thought that these were a tasty treat (other than thinking they were a little salty).  The rest of us enjoyed the salty tang on our tongues as we committed to our memory the perfect example of a cheese curd.  I dare you to find one better (including as creative of a name as "The Mouth Trap" and having a mouse as the mascot...one has to wonder if that was a brilliant mistake by someone with a lisp...).


The next item in the food building to try were the spiral chips from Sonny's Spiral Spuds.  React.

This pile of chips was HUGE!  The chips were freshly peeled and fried to order and the amount for $6 could "feed a family of giants" (Betsy).  Mixed reviews all around.  Some thought the amount was a perfect example of fair excess and some thought it was wasteful.  Some thought they were way to greasy and some thought that they were the perfect potato chip (though the greasiness could be due to some underdone taters).  They were addicting though and the dip that came along with it was tasty, but we had to pay $.50 extra for it.  We ended up eating 1/3rd of the chips and then passing them onto Christian  (Vanessa's brother) who was also at the fair that evening.  He was happy to accept free food...and a lot of it at that.

Throughout the evening we were on the lookout for a "drive by eye spy" (or something like that).  This was a bonus item we were going to taste when we either saw someone eating it and thought, "mmm..." or if we saw a booth that was irresistible.  It turned out to be the latter, and the delectable dessert we discovered was called Peaches and creme (found at the Midtown Global Exchange / Salty Tart stand).  

This stand was Key-uuute!  The sun was setting and they had chinese lanterns lit.  It seemed almost too upscale and romantic for the MN State Fair.  The huge peach chunks were cut fresh and layered between delicious vanilla soft serve and then topped with cinnamon cookie crumbles.  For some, it was the perfect summer treat.  It was in season and fresh (a nice reprieve from fried food).  Others thought that it was not quite right.  Maybe the peaches were too big or the cookie should have been all the way through.  Maybe it was almost too cold.  Is it worth it for $7?  You will never know until you try it.  I (Vanessa) personally loved it!  Try it next year and you be the judge.

All in all...no thanks.  Sorry Guys

The next, and final, fair tasting were the fried green tomatoes from the Corn Fritter booth near the main entrance.  This was the only treat of the night that left the buds unimpressed.  Though they came out piping hot and the booth exudes the state fair ideal, we gave the tomatoes average to below average scores.  Some complaints were that they were too salty, greasy, and not up to the name "fried green tomato."  They came with a ranch dipping sauce that made them taste sour.  If we wanted deep fried pickles, we would have gone to that booth (YUM!).

Along with our six reviewed items, we also got samples of the mashed potatoes on a stick (stick with the real thing), cinnamon roasted almonds in the International Bazaar (delicious), and Sweet Martha's Cookies (MMM HMM).  But our tummies were too full to have another bite, so we headed back down Midway Parkway where we wrapped up the night, full and lethargic from the night's fare.  

All in all, the fair was a success.  More record breaking attendance days mean that food vendors will not  be sparse next year.  Though we all agreed that the staples like cheese curds, corn dogs, cookies, and corn are a must...try something new.  You might just find your new favorite fare find at the fair.  

Signing Out..

Vanessa "I want another corn dog" Novak

P.S.  Next up... Apple Pie....mmm....ala mode....mmm.  Yes Please!