Aug 19, 2026 - Food and Drink

We tried the Iowa State Fair's bacon-brisket mac-and-cheese donut

Linh Ta

Close-up of a foil-wrapped sandwich piled with shredded barbecue meat and pickle slices, held in a hand with a busy outdoor market blurred in the background. — Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut ($7). Photo: Linh Ta/Axios

Linh here. The Rib Shack, a popular fair food vendor, is serving up the wildest doughnut you can imagine: The Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut ($7).

With Patton Oswalt's famous 2007 comedy bit about KFC Famous Bowls in mind, I set out to try it.

What it is: A mac and cheese cake donut, topped with bacon, brisket, jalapeños, and a sweet barbecue glaze.

🙈 My thought bubble: I didn't like it.

I really wanted to because it's been getting rave reviews on TikTok and Instagram. And there's plenty going for it — the meat and sauce were good, but I wasn't a fan of the actual donut.
The moist, squishy texture was unappealing to me, reminiscent of wet breading. But I did eat it all. And it's one of the cheaper new foods you can try.

🧈 Butter ranking: One stick = meh. Five = don't miss it.

Aesthetics: 🧈🧈
Creativity: 🧈🧈🧈🧈🧈
Overall taste: 🧈🧈

If you go: The Rib Shack outside the giant slide

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We tried the Iowa State Fair's bacon-brisket mac-and-cheese donut

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