2024 Minnesota State Fair (Take 2) – Falcon Heights, MN

I very rarely go back the the Minnesota State Fair for a second round of damage to my body, but I have a wonderful houseguest TheArchangel who has never been to any state fair, so I figured I might as well ruin him for all other state fairs by taking him to the best one. I still had a few items that I didn’t get to the first pass, so what better time than the present (or past, as you’re reading this after I’ve already gone)?!

We started in the International Bazaar area, where I was really looking forward to the Indigenous Food Lab’s rice bowl with bison meatballs. However, after running into some of the most amazing friends randomly, I realized that the Indigenous Food Lab doesn’t open in the Bazaar until the following day. Not sure I’ll make it back to the fair for a third day, but it’s good to know there’s still going to be something I need to cross off my list. I should have done better research. Embarassing.

We headed back to the food building, since TheArchangel wanted the best cheese curds at the fair – which meant we had to go to Mouth Trap. It’s truly the best, and as much as I say I’m not going to get the same thing twice at the fair, I make an exception for this item. Especially when someone else is getting it and I’m just skimming off the top. That’s my excuse… Amazing, as usual. Not sure why it’s head and shoulders above all other cheese curds, but it is.

I popped by the Soul Bowl to get the Crab Boil Wings – they’re chicken wings marinated in hot sauce, grilled, and THEN fried with corn, chicken apple sausage, and fries. THEN tossed in crab boil butter. I’ve heard people complain that this was too much food, which was exactly the right thing to say to get my attention. It’s massive. People walking past kept asking me what it was and I’d send them right back to Soul Bowl. When they ask if you want hot sauce, you DO, since it’s Minnesota-hot, which means flavorful without heat. This thing was great – fries were great, wings were great, sausage was great, corn was great. I’m really glad I got to try this one. I’m giving this one a B+, potentially A-.

We headed to the Scenic 61 by New Scenic Café for some savory eclairs. I really love the New Scenic Café up north of Duluth, so I know this was going to be great. They have two versions of these eclairs and I was feeling the Banh Mi version today (I’m sure the lobster roll one is equally good, as well). It’s a choux pastry éclair shell filled with pork confit, chicken liver pate, pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber-sriracha mayo and topped with micro cilantro. It’s a tiny little “sandwich”, but it’s packing a delicious salty punch. Not disappointed in this éclair at all. B for me.

I also saw someone from work who had also taken PTO time for the state fair. We mentioned work, which makes it a work meetings. Does that mean we don't need to put in for PTO today?..

Since we were close, TheArchangel and I needed some dill pickle tots from Tot Boss. These tots delivered exactly what they promised – dill flavor with a hint of vinegar and some delicious seasoning on top. Simple, but tasty. We weren’t wearing cargo pants, so we had to finish all of these before continuing on. C+ was my grade - just fine.

We headed to the animal area so I could show TheArchangel that they do, in fact, perform live surgeries on animals. Sadly, we missed the last surgery for the day, but he still loved that MN does this at the fair for everyone to watch. And since we were so close to the Hangar, and they happen to have beer there…

I got the Cinnamon Lemoncello Cake’d Up beer from Mankato Brewery. One of the better beers I got at the fair this year. Solid B+  and I’d get this one again.

I also grabbed the Lingonberry Blast, which is also from Mankato Brewery. This one I didn’t like as much since it didn’t deliver fully on the flavor. Totally fine beer, but I wanted more flavor. C+

We did some walking through the Fine Art building, and the Food Art buildings, and the Seed Art, and the giant pumpkins, and the animal barns, and the West End Market, just to make sure TheArchangel had a good feel for all that the fair has to offer. The annual llama costume contest wasn’t today, or you can be sure we’d be there cheering along. We did keep accidentally passing by places I needed to try beer from, though…

I got the Cakewalk Berry Bliss from Third Street Brewhouse over at Coasters. Really not much berry flavor and wasn’t sure if there was supposed to be cake or not, but I couldn’t taste it. Giving this a C.

Since we were also next to the Frontier Bar, I had to get the Triple Berry Cream Ale from Fulton Brewing. Again, not enough berry flavor (if you’re going to promise berry flavor, then put it in there. This one gets a C-.

I figured I’d give something berry-flavored one final shot and got the Blueberry Pancake Lager from Third Street Brewhouse. This one did actual have the flavors promised, including caramel, brown sugar, and blueberry. Very enjoyable B.

You always have to show new Minnesota State Fair visitors the heads carved into blocks of butter. It’s a fascinating tradition. And if you’re sneaky enough, you CAN get a shirtless photo with a butter-head when you have a human shield between you and the security guard on duty. hehe

And, since we were already right there in the Dairy Building, we thought we might as well get some of the creamiest ice cream at the fair – I went with a strawberry malt. If you’re from a place that has malts and milkshakes, you know they are very different things. But up north, there’s only one – a malt (which is actually a milkshake, since they don’t use malt powder that makes it a malt). And honestly, this “malt” was just a vanilla milkshake with a scoop of some strawberries and juice poured on the top. Thankfully, the ice cream is delicious and helps pull it through, but I wouldn’t get it again, now that I know what it is. Sorry for the C- on this one.

One last thing, since it was on the way out – Chicken & Chorizo Paella from Paella Depot. It’s a rice dish with peppers, zucchini, and snap peas. You can add seafood or a fried egg, but I just needed the standard issue deliverable today. Again, they offer to put hot sauce on, and you DO want it. Again, not hot, but adds a great amount of smoky seasoning to the dish. I’m really glad I tried this one. Be careful if you get this one early in your trip since it’s a heavy rice dish and will fill up valuable stomach real estate. It’s great though! A- on this one.

I now realize that I rated the rice dishes higher than others this year. Gold star for rice dishes this year!

When the Archangel and I got home from the Minnesota State Fair, D.Rough had just happened to make us some Fruity Pebbles treats, since she knew I had a hankerin’ for Rice Kristie’s when we went to the fair a few days ago. As usual, everything D.Rough makes is way better than you expect it to be and always makes everything better. A+  for her state fair finisher!

6 food items (+1 if you count Fruity Pebbles)

5 beverages

I won’t do a full top 5 list, since it’s hard to integrate, but I would add the Crab Boil Wings and the Paella to the previous list. Really tasty.

Click here to read the post from opening day

2024 Minnesota State Fair - Falcon Heights, MN

The 2024 Minnesota State Fair was what I will call a “pretty good year” – and by that, I mean my own performance was not stellar or amazing, but a solid showing. I was going strong and then the rain hit, which kind of ruined everything, since I wasn’t expecting any rain at all and didn’t bring an umbrella. When I eat this much, I have to keep eating to outpace my hypothalamus – the thing that tells me when I’m full. The rain slowed me down and I had to tap out early. I was on pace to really exceed, but fell short. Thankfully, there’s a distinct possibility I’ll be showing my wonderful friend and houseguest the Minnesota State Fair, so I might be able to knock out a few more items.  

Again, these are my opinions based on this specific day and in whatever weird mood I was in, so I’m not trying to upset anyone or yuk anyone’s yum. Happy to have a healthy debate if you want. That being said, the scores were slightly lower this year (FOR ME).

 

I’ll also give you some context, in case you’re thinking about going. I live 8 miles from the fairground, so on a regular Tuesday night at midnight, it takes me about 18 or 19 minutes to get there. On Fair Opening Day, I left my house at 7am, and with waiting in line to get into the parking lot, the walk to the gate, and waiting in line to get through security, I walked in at 7:58. Almost an hour door to entrance. But, despite all the waiting in lines for parking and admission, it’s a massive complex, so even that number of people make it seem abandoned at that hour. That will all change…

Anyway, I like to knock out some breakfast items before a lot of the lunch food places open up, so I hit up Blue Barn first, since they’re usually a solid performer. Had to get the PB Bacon Cakes – it’s bacon that’s been cooked in pancake batter and covered with peanut butter whipped cream and grape jelly. It was just OK. The pancake batter was the weak link in this one, because the peanut butter whipped cream and grape jelly were awesome. People asked me for some sort of grading scale, so I’d put it at a B-.

Still breakfast, so I went to Fluffy’s Hand Cut Donuts – these fine folks have real (ie yeast) donuts and not those stupid cake circles that should never have been called doughnut – don’t get me started. I had to get the Strawberry Lemonade Donut. It’s frosted with lemon buttercream, has some strawberry lemonade crunch and some freeze-dried fruit, and then they serve it with a little squeezy-bottle of strawberry lemonade to squeeze into the donut. The donut was pretty dry unless you hit a pocket of where you had squeezed the lemonade into, which was a bit of a bummer. And the buttercream was extremely heavy for the donut, which I’m surprising myself by even writing that. It just was. C- for me, sadly.

 

I saw some horses.

I went over to the Waffle Chix place to get the Strawberry and Cream Waffle Stick, but while I was in line, I heard three different groups of people saying how disappointed they were in it, so I skipped it since it was on my “maybe” list anyway. Save that stomach space for something else. Again, not my opinion on that one, but I had to make a judgement call.

 

Checked out Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos for their new Buffalo Cheese Curd Tacos. This place is always much better than I expect it to be. First off, it’s two flour shell tacos that have been deep fried – which is the best way to eat flour tortillas. Then, lots of deep fried curds and despite some plain coleslaw, it all really worked with the buffalo sauce. I’m going to go B+ on this.

 

Sausage is a breakfast food, so I ran over to Sausage Sister & Me for 3 Piggy Pals On A Stick. Smoked sausage wrapped in bacon with a cream cheese mix, bbq sauce, and a slice of jalapeno. Simple, but hit the spot. I went B on this one, only because the bacon was somehow floppy AND dry at the same time. Weird, but I’d totally eat it again. Hahaha

I got adventurous on this next one – Ham and Pickle Roll Up on a Potato Skin from Route 66 Roadhouse Chicken. This one didn’t look like a solid contender, but it actually tasted better than it appeared. Sour cream and cream cheese with chopped pickles and ham, then topped with potato chips. When you get that bite with everything, it totally made sense. B for this one.

It’s beer o’clock, so I went to O’Gara’s for a Strawberry Guava Miracullum from Pryes. I’ve not had a great deal of luck with this brewery tripping my trigger and this one wasn’t even close. No strawberry or Guava flavor for this IPA, just bitterness. Giving this one a D. Sidewalk beer for me.

Since I was at O’Gara’s, I had to try the Walking Shepherd’s Pie. Pastry dough filled with ground beef, mashed potatoes, and onions carrots and peas. Really an impressive dish, though I wish it had some sauce or gravy – it does say there’s some in there, but I didn’t taste/see/feel it. Even without that, the dough was super flaky and the flavors were really good together. B+ or possibly even an A- for this one.

I love the International Bazaar area for all the wonderful restaurants they have there. Holy Land had some Deep-Fried Halloumi Cheese this year. Think of this as a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern Cheese Curd. I wanted to taste more cheese in this, but it wasn’t even the salty goodness that I love in Halloumi. The chili sauce was the only thing that had flavor in this one. C+ for me.

Went down the aisle to Union Hmong and got the Grilled Purple Sticky Rice. Purple rice grilled then topped with shredded beef jerky then some herbs and crunchy chili aioli. The first bite I had was plain, but then once you get that sauce and the herbs, it’s really good. Then they have this green chimichurri sauce that I remember from last year – I’d put that on everything. That pushed it up to the A- category.

I tried the boozy Baja Breeze Slushie that Lift Bridge made – they had a TON of Lift Bridge slushie options this year. It was NOT good and tasted very chemically. Bummer. I gave this one a D.

Starting to be more people here around 10:30-ish.

Now you’re doing the math on how much I ate before 10:30, aren’t you? Hahaha

 

Stopped by Giggle’s Campfire Grill for a couple of beers. Sweet Clementine from Third Street was a nice little clementine lager but really light on the clementine flavor. Adding the peach ring didn’t help it enough, so I still give it a B.

Tried the Pina Ciderlada from Sociable Ciderwerks. About the same – not enough pineapple flavor, even with the pineapple and cheery garnish on top. Also a B.

Met up with D.Rough, ChickenLittle, and WNMFCL (Will Never Make Food Coach Likes) who wanted a much smaller dose of the State Fair than I was willing to provide. We hit up RC’s BBQ for the Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch. Double-smoked slab bacon with BBQ sauce, hot honey, and chili crunch served on a bed of white rice. This dish was way better than I expected it to be. I just kept thinking about it the rest of the day after eating this one. A-

Chelsey’s Southern Sipper from Lift Bridge intrigued me, so I gave it a shot. Supposed to taste like bourbon, peaches, and sweet tea. It didn’t and, in fact, none of us liked it at all. Another D for Lift Bridge.

And since someone in our group needed to try the deep fried pickles, I didn’t put up too much of a fuss… The Perfect Pickle only does one thing and they nail it. Always a treat.

Headed to LuLu’s for some delicious Schell’s beers. I got the Imperial Lager and it was pretty good. I’d drink it again. Tasted like a beer and that’s what it was supposed to taste like. B+

Since I was there, I had to try the Tangerine Sunset Mojito from Schell’s. Great color, great description, but was really not drinkable. Almost like it had some aquavit or brennivin in it. Here’s the quote from our group, “Looked orange. Tasted green.” Maybe the only F of the day.

Thankfully, I was able to sip on someone Schell’s Sangria Slushie to get the taste out of my mouth, since those slushies they make are pure gold. No photo of this one.

 

I wanted to try the new Egyptian place called Kosharina, since they had a rice dish called Koshari. Ground beef, rice, lentils, noodles, chickpeas, and some fried onions on top. I also gave it some of the hot sauce they suggested and some of the garlic dakkah sauce, as well. This dish was really good. My wife called it deconstructed goulash, and it is, but if they could tell Minnesotans this, then they would get them past their fear of new foods, and they would sell out immediately. It really was awesome and I encourage you to go heavy with the sauce add-ons. A for me, since it checked a lot of boxes for me. 

I popped over to Dino’s Gyros since they have a great tap list. I got a Blackberry Limeade Lager from Indeed. This one was really weak on the blackberry, but had a hint of limeade, so it was just OK. Maybe a B- for this one.

I also got the Purple Reign IPA from Bent Brewstillery (which comes with purple sunglasses as a bonus). Wasn’t a fan of this one. Wasn’t sure what the flavor even was or what made it purple? I read afterwards that it was supposed to be pineapple and nectarine notes, and that wasn’t in there at all. C- for this.

 

NOW the fair is picking up!

Got to share a 1919 Root Beer Float with my boy ChickenLittle. I don’t go to many repeat vendors, but 1919 is one of my exceptions. And of course I got the mini – my room was running out in my belly.

My wife is a sucker for Mouth Trap Cheese Curds, and I’m not one to resist the siren call of the curds there. I had to eat a bunch of these damn things. 

I wanted to finish off the day with a bang, so I got the new Rockstar-Berry Malt from the Dairy Building. It’s a malt with Fruity-Pebble-covered-strawberries and some strawberry goo and was pretty spectacular. The Dairy Barn is always good, but this year, it was like a dream that I had that they turned into a malt. A- for this, only because I wanted more Fruity Pebbles.

13 food items

11 beverages

The Top 5 food picks from the 2024 Minnesota State Fair (the things that I tried)

1) Beef Koshari Rice from Kosharina

2) Rockstar-Berry Malt from the Dairy Building

3) Sweet Heat Bacon Crunch from RC’s BBQ

4) Buffalo Cheese Curd Tacos from Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos

5) Walking Shepherd’s Pie from O’Gara’s

 

Normally, I’d rank the beers I had, but there wasn’t one that I’m going to rave about. Maybe the Imperial Lager from Schell’s, but it didn’t have a lot to compete with. 

 

Finally, because some people geek out over this stuff, I turned on my Strava app, so I could at least get credit for the thousands of steps I walked!

Distance: 8.7 miles

Steps: 18,800

Calories burned (allegedly): 1,723

Hours at the fair this year: 8:33

(I also found out you can watch a movie of your path in the new version of Strava, so I’ve been watching my path around the fair and laughing at how many stops I made, including the restrooms hahaha)

Click here to go to my follow-up review a few days later.