A few days ago the Minnesota State Fair released their new foods for 2010 list on the Fair Food Finder. As I did last year, I’m posting all the new foods which will be available for everyone to try and I’m going to ask what you think you’ll end up going after from the list knowing that it’ll likely catch a super premium price.
1. Axel’s is offering “deep-fried cheeseburger sliders (cheeseburger batter-dipped and deep fried)” [U-26]
2. Blue Moon Dine-in Theater is capitalizing on the local explosion of street food and has “Korean Moon BBQ Tacos (Korean “street vendor” style tacos including a beef short rib, spicy/sweet pork or chicken).” [M-26]
3. Famous Dave’s is playing off last year’s Pig Cheeks and is going with “thinly sliced pig’s ears dusted in seasoned flour and fried until crispy. Served with a lime chipotle glaze.” [K-24]
4. Fried Fruit went with “fresh fruit salsa and chips (salsa made on-site from fresh fruit and served with tortilla chips.)” [N-25]
5. Fudge Puppies has two new items for 2010 which are, “Caramel Apple Puppies (Fudge Puppies with apple baked in and covered with caramel), Turtle Puppies (Fudge Puppies with nuts and caramel).” [S-26]
6. Giggle’s Campfire Grill is stealing from Burger Jones and adds “Chicken Fried Bacon (thick-cut bacon battered and breaded, fried and served in a boat covered with gravy).” [0-0]
7. Granny’s Cheesecake & More is going right for my wife’s heart (and my arteries) with “Deep-fried shortcake (shortcake batter deep-fried and covered with strawberries and ice cream).” [R-24]
8. Green Mill pulls out a boring variation and does up “Chicken Chipotle pizza on-a-stick.” [V-17]
9. Manny’s Tortas has me wanting to go there right now with their tasty sounding “Gourmet Mexican Sandwiches or Tortas, served on a crusty roll as a Cuban, Chicken, Vegetarian or Hawaiian style with with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, avocado, jalapenos, refried beans, chipotle pepper mayo, fresh-blended Pina Coladas (non-alcohol) served in a pineapple, fresh pineapple pieces in a bowl.” [U-24]
10. Moe and Joes Coffee is putting out “Grilled marshmallow, chocolate and banana sandwiches.” [N-30]
11. Netterfield Food Court would have my grandfather waiting in line for hours with their “Deep fried bologna served on-a-stick or on a bun,” but for me I’ll pass. [0-0]
12. O’Gara’s has me watering at the mouth with “Sweet potato tots (tater tots made out of sweep potatoes) Danny Boy Burger (burger made with corned beef and covered with kraut, Swiss cheese and Thousand Island Dressing). Irish Soda bread served with cinnamon butter to enjoy here or a loaf to take home,” but only for the sweet potato tots–the rest I can live without. [W-24]
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My must dos are the O’Gara’s sweet potato tots, Manny’s Tortas, and the Korean Moon BBQ tacos. Kinda sad that the list is so short but I suppose that leaves me more room for all my favorites such as fried green tomatoes, roasted corn, beer, stir fry with tons of Sriracha, olives on a stick, etc.
So out of the list here which items do you really want to try? What items here may bump long standing favorites? What are your long standing favorites? Whatever you have to say about the new and old Minnesota State Fair foods go ahead and comment on as I’d love to hear what you plan to eat!
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August 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 am
O’Gara’s has done an absolute ton of work on their new building, it’s very impressive. And right inside the Snelling gate, I think they have a hit on their hands.
Dino’s is expanding as well.
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:20 am
Deep fried pickles from O’Gara’s and the pulled turkey sandwich (I forget the name of place-but I can surely find it) are both must eat!
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:20 pm
Manny’s Tortas are great… highly recommended, i didnt know they had a stand at the Fair, but been to their Mpls store.. others sound interesting . I missed the Fair last year, may have to put it back on the schedule this year.
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Found Big Fat Bacon last year & that is the first stop at the Fair. Will also probably be the last stop on the way out…
August 3rd, 2010 at 12:53 pm
I’m with Mike on the deep-fried turkey sandwich. I also like the chocolate-dipped bacon at Famous Daves, Summit flight on a stick, and a chocolate-covered Pearson’s nut roll. Sheesh, I’m getting fat just thinking about all the grazing I’ll be doing…
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:08 pm
Random side note interesting only to me probably: I started going to the Fair when I moved to MN and this will be my 20th straight year.
The problem with Fair food, for me, is that a lot of it has become more expensive versions of things I can get elsewhere on an everyday basis. I like Manny’s Tortas, but I won’t be paying $10 (guesstimate) for one at the Fair when I can get the same thing for a little over half the price on any given day.
Or, it’s just some jumbled nonsense deep fried or shoved on a stick. Putting things on sticks seems like a great way to sucker Minnesotans into paying $8 for 1/10 portion of something (e.g. reuben sandwich on a stick or a strip of walleye on a stick).
Actually, on the list above, not one item really appeals. (Bill, I just had sweet potato tater tots at the former Oasis market on Lone Oak Road in Eagan. About $1 for a giant heap…they are good, but I’ll bet O’Garas will be charging $4 for them)
Depending on my mood, I may get corn or cheese curds which, although available outside, are much easier to get and top-notch for a fairly uninflated price at the Fair. It beats driving across town to Town Talk Diner or Blue Door Pub to get decent curds. Turkey legs are a staple of Fairs and festivals for me as well — too much of a pain to do right at home. Then I’ll just mooch off my wife’s Sweet Martha cookies, fries and whatever else.
Unfortunately the food at the Fair has become 99% buzz and 1% interesting to me any more.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:10 pm
Wow…I’m a Debbie Downer.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:13 pm
You misspelled “S N O B” ;-)
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:25 pm
MSPD, I can be a downer too. I HATE the fair, I can’t remember the last time I went. Gross gross gross.
August 3rd, 2010 at 1:33 pm
I haven’t been to the fair in years and years. I spend my fair time up at Rollag, where we have fry bread, rommegrot, plenty of home cooking with mashed taters to die for, turkey legs the size of small children, the taco in a bag, ice cream, malts, caramel apples and a whole lot less crazy people.
My last visit was maybe 2002, cutting into my Rollag time, and I bet I spent close to 80$ that night by the time I was done.. – Much rather spend that on a weeks worth of beer…
It would be interested to see how many calories (tallied in millions) are consumed at the fair each day, and overall…
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:05 pm
Rumor is that a Large bag of Cotton Candy is going to cost $7.00. If that’s true, I can’t even imagine what actual food people have to cook is going to cost this year. If you are planning to go (I may try to do a weekday visit this year) you might want to consider pre-ordering the discount book for the fair. At $4.00, you only need to use a couple of the coupons inside to break even.
http://www.mnstatefair.org/tickets_discounts/blue_ribbon_bb.html
August 3rd, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Mikeh,
We rarely used any of the coupons on things we actually wanted and then had to go out of our way to eat the items to make the book worth it. As such, this year we are forgoing the use of the coupon book and sticking to what we want.
Thankfully we don’t have to pay for my admission to the fair this year as my company is having its summer picnic there and my wife, being a stay at home mom, is free to join me during the week (and during the day) at the fair. Should be a good time.
August 3rd, 2010 at 3:46 pm
I love the State Fair. I spend all my time at the Deli Express stand.
August 3rd, 2010 at 3:51 pm
Wow MSPD, pretty down on the fair food. Ouch.
They have some really awesome Cheese Curds at the Tin Shed (I think thats the name of it) on Hwy 13. Surprising, but true. They are very good.
August 3rd, 2010 at 7:07 pm
The only ones that get my attention are the Korean Tacos and the pigs ears. My fear is that the Korean Tacos will be all Minnesotan in boringness. And if it is at the Dine In Theater, doesn’t that mean I have to sit down to eat? What’s the point.
Pigs Ears I’ll try because I like pig a lot.
But I’ll also go with my favorites: spamburger, roasted corn, milk, half order cheese curds, and the frozen cider. And beer. I’ll probably go three times, less than in previous years, in order to enjoy all these things plus probably others.
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:14 pm
I only go to the Fair every few years or so, though I may go a second year in a row this time around to go to a concert. I could see myself potentially trying any of those new foods depending on what sounds good to me that day. That’s how I tend to eat at the Fair; I generally don’t have must-eat foods.
August 4th, 2010 at 5:55 am
My family and I love the State Fair. We have gone multiple times a year for the last 18 years that we’ve lived here in Minnesota.
Nevertheless, I am saddened by the influx of restaurant chains overtaking the mom-&-pop or church-sponsored food stands. We don’t go to the Fair to eat Axel’s or Famous Dave’s food. We go there to experience the traditional fair foods — cheese curds, foot-long hot dogs, and mini doughnuts. So this year, as O’Gara’s replaces the old, traditional St. Bernard’s Dining Hall, you’ll find us enjoying the food from other vendors – the ones that we will only be able to enjoy during the fair, and not the ones we can get to ten minutes after we step out of the gate!
August 4th, 2010 at 10:23 am
Don’t know how I missed it but apparently “Ghost Wings” are on the menu at Wings and Things. Unfortunately as reported by MinnPost and CityPages, these wings are made with habanero peppers and not ghost peppers.
The people at Wings and Things will receive a visit from me and if I don’t taste the tell tale ghost pepper they’re going to hear about it. Like a certain unnamed booth at the Mpls Farmers Market who tried to pass off a very weak habanero sauce as a $22 bottle of ghost sauce, this is bullshit and needs to be fixed.
Call them Habanero Wings and be done with it and stop trying to lure in the chiliheads while appeasing the people who can’t take the heat. Just because this is Minnesota doesn’t mean we can’t do the hot stuff.
http://blogs.citypages.com/food/2010/08/worst_new_minne.php
http://www.minnpost.com/artsarena/2010/08/03/20221/new_foods_at_the_state_fair_deep-fried_spiral_potato_on_a_stick_dipped_in_chocolate_anyone
August 4th, 2010 at 11:48 am
we’ve been here since ’68 and have gone to the fair once. the mrs is making noise about going this year, so i’ll have to put my foot down, and go:) i’ll have a foot long and call it at that. the rest of that crap they call food was/is not worth the money. if i want to kill myself on junque food, i’ll do it on chocolate.
bb
August 4th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
bb, there are many assortments of deep fried chocolate candy bars for you to kill yourself at the fair with.
August 8th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
We’ve only been once in 5 years….but will be going this year to see Carrie Underpants (first time at the Grandstand). Last time Hubby and I split everything so we could try more, deep fried candy bar was awesome, french fries because it’s so hard to get good, real fries in Minnesota (Five Guys has awesome fries). Agree on the chains, I don’t go to the fair to go to Famous Daves (I don’t go to Famous Dave’s anyways!).
August 12th, 2010 at 8:56 pm
i love da state fair i go every year i love…. i have been goin sents i have been 3 years old lol
August 12th, 2010 at 8:59 pm
shane, from your spelling and grammar skills we’ll have to assume you’re now, what, 7 or 8–maybe 9?
August 13th, 2010 at 7:11 am
or my age:)
bb
August 13th, 2010 at 3:21 pm
My arteries are crackling just from reading about the new foods. Blech! Pigzears are dog food. Feh!
August 14th, 2010 at 11:15 pm
I had the best french fries ever in my life at Nick & Eddie a few weeks ago.
August 16th, 2010 at 8:11 am
I go every year, multiple times. I really like that idea of not eating at any of the chain stands. Last year we had the Axel’s bull bites and F.D. pig cheeks, neither were memorable. The torta and Korean taco offerings intrigue me. Think I will try those in addition to my usual hot dog varieties (corn dog, foot long, Chicago and chili dog). We share everything and just do bites. I like the walleye fingers, cheese curds, scotch eggs and onion straws. I am sure that I am missing something. Oh yes, lots of beer.
August 19th, 2010 at 1:36 pm
I am going to have corn fritters w/honey butter – twice!! And then some roasted corn.
August 19th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I love the fried fruit and roasted corn. I will try a few of the new things.
August 20th, 2010 at 8:59 am
Looking like I might try to get to the fair this year. So did some quick research. MVTA will be running hourly bus service to the State Fair on a wonky schedule. (hourly during the week, half-hourly during the weekend)
Weekday is only available at the Burnsville Transit Center and the Burnsville High School.
Weekend + Labor Day is only available from the Burnsville Transit Center and the Eagan Transit Center
$5 per person (age 5 and over)
If you order bus tickets online before the 26th, you can save $1 per person or $5 on a group of 4:
http://www.metrotransit.org/bus-bargain-tickets.aspx
More info is here:
http://www.mvta.com/State_Fair.html
August 20th, 2010 at 9:05 am
You’re seriously better off driving to Snelling and 94 and just taking a free Metro Transit bus–especially if you’re going in a group. They depart every 5 to 10 minutes or so.
http://www.metrotransit.org/shuttle-service.aspx
August 20th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Last year we waited at the Burnsville Transit Center for a bus. There was a huge line of people, and this was on a weekday. After about 15 minutes of standing around, one bus came and of course, everyone waiting could not get on. We waited another 20 minutes and then gave up and drove to the fair ourselves. We payed $10 to park on someone’s lawn and only had to walk 4 blocks. I had an extra corndog and beer just to make up for the extra walking.
August 20th, 2010 at 10:13 am
WTH would you park at Snelling and 94? Rainbow parking lot? Hmm, seems to be a big empty lot with a pile of sand in it. Might give that a shot.
August 20th, 2010 at 10:21 am
Yeah the bus graveyard: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=st+paul,+mn&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.231745,79.013672&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=St+Paul,+Ramsey,+Minnesota&ll=44.952814,-93.164996&spn=0.001978,0.004823&t=h&z=18
I remember there being some puddles with boards across them last year but aside from that the parking was fine. It sure beat spending money for four of us to get to the fair.
August 24th, 2010 at 11:42 am
It’s like Déjà vu all over again!
August 24th, 2010 at 11:45 am
KS95′s Melissa Moore has lifted my content, word for word from the post above and put it on her own blog w/o attribution.
Calling KS95 and speaking to her manager, Leighton Peck, was amazingly obnoxious. He refused to give me his telephone number, was quite hesitant to give me his name. Told me I was being rude because I told him to take the content down. Wow. Simply wow.
You can see a screenshot of the offense here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bill_roehl/4923424527/sizes/o/in/photostream/
August 24th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
KS95 has removed the infringing content. Still no apology.
August 24th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
“Netterfield Food Court would have my grandfather waiting in line for hours with their “Deep fried bologna served on-a-stick or on a bun,” but for me I’ll pass.”
So, apparently, your grandfather and Melissa Moore’s grandfather would have kept each other company in line?
Its apparent that she copied it and then did not even read it to revise the personal notes you made about the food. Why not (gasp!) just attribute the source in the first place? If she would have paged down, she would have seen the little magical copyright information. Methinks if the shoe was on the other foot, their corporate office would be writing you a cease and desist letter.
Whatever. Keep ‘em honest Bill.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
Bill, I just saw the KS95 stuff. That is amazing. She actually posted your exact comment as though she was the one who wrote it.
Amazing and rude.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:16 pm
Apparently Melissa Moore decided to come out of the closet with her blog post as she also wrote that Granny’s Cheesecake & More is going right for her wife’s heart.
That’s like the kid who just crosses off the other person’s name from their paper writes theirs above it and turns it in. I mean at least show a little bit of effort in trying to pass it off as yours.
August 24th, 2010 at 3:20 pm
KS95? That station still exists?
August 24th, 2010 at 3:46 pm
They should at least hook you up with some concert tickets or something.
Hopefully she was bragging at work about the great writing and research she had done for her most recent blog post.
August 24th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
People should send her “WTF??” messages through Facebook (“Melissa Mornings”).
Pretty lame of her/them.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
[...] great post over at Lazy Lightning was written on these [...]
August 24th, 2010 at 7:33 pm
Wow, that’s crazy. Lifting an image is one thing (it’s not okay, mind) but copying a blog post wholesale? Especially one that’s quite obviously not written from her perspective?
What.
August 25th, 2010 at 12:13 am
yeah no. Sweet potato tots sounds tasty, but some of those are combinations of foods I wouldn’t even put on the same plate.
For me the value of fair food isn’t the novelty of something being on a stick, or that a vendor managed to break last year’s record for layers of fat, or even that certain foods aren’t available elsewhere. It’s more that there are hundreds of foods I know I love all in one area, and I can pick and choose at will all day long. That’s not to say I won’t try something new, but it’s got to sound at least roughly palatable.
I used to try to relive the fairs from out east by getting the closest thing to the Italian Sausage and Fried Dough I’m familiar with, but I think I’m over that now. It’s mostly potatoes, beef, and corn now. When in Rome…
I’ll come clean – I did get a “beer on a stick” when Summit started that a couple years ago. But it wasn’t all that expensive, it wasn’t dipped in cheese, and well….it was beer.
Sweet Martha, here I come!
August 25th, 2010 at 8:02 am
I didn’t hear this but see here: http://twitter.com/garciasn/status/22086123269
This is a load of crap. Leighton Peck, Melissa’s supervisor and the Hubbard Broadcasting social media person knew my URL and my Twitter account both of which provide you a very easy way to find out my real name.
If you’re going to make an “apology” do it the right way jerks.
September 1st, 2011 at 9:08 am
[...] we’re less than two weeks away from the 2011 Minnesota State Fair. While I usually cover the new food at the Minnesota State Fair, this year the options were so limited and dismal I didn’t even bother. However, you can find [...]