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
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