Your ultimate Indiana State Fair food guide

Driving the news: We had the chance to sample the full menu before opening day to give you the inside scoop on what vendors have been cooking up.

• Here is some of what we tried.

🥬 All Vegan Indianapolis Philly from the Black Leaf Vegan food truck

Slices of plant-based meat, sautéed peppers and onions are smothered in a creamy "cheez" sauce on a toasted gluten-free hoagie.

Arika's thought bubble: It's great to have vegan and gluten-free options at the fair. It's even better that they're delicious. While the texture of the plant-based meat is slightly different from your traditional philly cheesesteak, all the flavors worked well together. I would totally order this.

Justin's thought bubble: A little softer than an OG cheesesteak, but I didn't miss the meat at all. Flavorful and filling, I'd actually opt for this over the real thing if I was in the mood for something a little lighter. Big kudos on the "cheez" sauce.

🍹 Brunch Mimosa from Urick Concessions

This isn't your average mimosa. It's served with skewers of a mini sausage breakfast sandwich, fruit kebab, bacon, donut holes and a waffle stick — all inside your glass.

Arika: Once you get to the actual drink, it's a classic (and not too sweet!) mimosa made with bubbly from Indy's Easley Winery.

🍪 Cookie Butter Cold Brew Float from Hooks Drugstore Museum

Vanilla cold brew and ice cream get topped with whipped cream, cookie butter drizzle, cookie crumbles and a cherry.

Arika: 10/10. Why aren't we doing cold brew floats all the time?!

Justin: A top three flavor of the fair for me. Delicious and visually appealing to boot. Expect to see this all over Instagram this summer.

🦞 Lobster Mac and Cheese from Freund Family Foods

Chunks of lobster meat are tossed in garlic butter and folded into homemade cheese sauce.

Arika: I didn't have lobster on my state fair food bingo card but this was super solid.

🥒 Pickle Fried Oreos from the Pickle Barrel

There were fried pickles and there were deep-fried Oreos and now there are pickle fried Oreos. A golden Oreo with a pickle slice placed on top is dipped in batter and fried, topped with dill pickle seasoning and served with a side of ranch.

Arika: This is a crime.

Justin: This is a dream! Eat it all in one bite. The sweetness of the batter, which is similar to what you get on a corn dog, helps the Oreo and pickle pairing make sense. But getting too much of one flavor without all three is a recipe for disaster.

🍍 Pineapple Whip Shake Up from Hi & Mighty

A fair favorite in canned cocktail form, it's slightly effervescent and tastes of pineapple, coconut and summer.

Arika: Another winner from the folks at Hi & Mighty, who produce canned cocktails and spirits from their distillery at the Fairgrounds. This might be my favorite of the shakeup flavors — it's super refreshing and not too sweet, perfect for a hot day at the fair.

Justin: Light and refreshing with a lovely level of carbonation. It's also a nice palate cleanser after eating some of the more extreme flavors on offer at this year's fair.

🧀 The Smoked Gouda'cue from the American Dairy Association

Smoked gouda, sharp cheddar and tangy barbecue sauce get melted between two slices of buttery, golden Texas toast.

Arika: This is what fair food is all about for me. It's indulgent, it's comfort food and it's got a little twist with the barbecue sauce. The Texas toast adds a crunch and holds up well without being too dry. I'll be going back for this bad boy.

🇮🇹 Trio of Italy from Freund Family Foods

A flight of three mini Italian-inspired funnel cakes: tiramisu, Italian wedding cake and cannoli.

Arika: Please share this with friends. They call it a flight of "mini" funnel cakes but each was larger than my hand.

• The Italian wedding cake was my favorite, with cream cheese frosting, chopped pecans and shredded coconut. It didn't get soggy like the tiramisu and had some nice texture from the toppings.

Justin: The crispy funnel cake made the cannoli my favorite of the bunch. Close your eyes and it's almost like eating the real thing.

🍯 Hot Honey Beignets from The Bakerman

New Orleans-style beignets with a kick. Topped with the traditional powdered sugar and then drizzled with hot honey.

Arika: This was a miss for me. The beignets fell a little flat and the hot honey had trouble sticking over the powdered sugar, rolling off the sides instead.

🥣 Cinnamon Toast Cookie Butter Pretzel Bites from Wilson Concessions

Soft pretzel bites are covered in cinnamon and sugar then smothered with cookie butter, cream cheese icing and topped off with Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal.

Arika: I thought this would have too much going on but it was great — the salty pretzel bites played nicely with the sweet toppings and the crunch from the cereal added a welcome texture.

Justin: Cinnamon Toast Crunch is my favorite breakfast cereal, so me falling in love with this was no surprise. Get one ASAP. And if you don't like it, find me at the fair and I'll take your leftovers.

🍔 Yes Cer's Burger from Red Frazier Bison

A bison burger comes stacked with pimento cheese, crunchy potato sticks and tangy horseradish pickles between two thick slices of Texas toast.

Justin: If you're not a Pacers fan, this burger will turn you into one after one bite. The texture is top notch. The potato sticks pack some serious crunch that blends beautifully with the creamy pimento cheese and tender burger. Yes Cer, indeed.

🫐 Blueberry Breakfast Sausage Flapjack from Smokehouse Saloon (Red Frazier)

House-made blueberry breakfast sausage wrapped in a flapjack. Served with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and syrup.

Justin: Like the idea, but not the execution. It was suggested that we fold it up and eat it like a taco, but the flapjack lacked the fluffiness and flexibility to make it work. The sausage, however, was very tasty.

💃🏾 Dirty Dancing Egg Rolls from Taste of Home Catering & Food Truck

Chicken Philly egg rolls dipped in homemade hot honey, lemon pepper buffalo sauce and drizzled with ranch dressing.

Justin: If they turned up the heat on this, this could have been a game-changer. But if you like your buffalo sauce mild, you'll find a lot to like here.

🌶️ Jalapeño Popper Pizza from DG Concessions/Ginocchios Pizza

Pizza with a garlic butter and light marinara base, topped with a mozzarella cheese blend, pepperoni, jalapeño poppers, bacon and a drizzle of ranch dressing.

Justin: Two thumbs way up. The crust had some nice crunch, and the jalapeño poppers were plentiful.

🍋 Passion Fruit Boba Lemonade Shakeup from Indiana Ribeye

Boba pearls provide a remix on the classic lemonade shakeup formula.

Justin: In the running for one of my favorite State Fair drinks this year, and I'm not even a huge boba fan. It's a fun take on a summer staple.

🥒 Pickle Bacon Ranch Pizza from Swains Concessions

Pizza with pickle ranch sauce, mozzarella cheese, bacon and even more pickles.

Justin: I wish I could eat this year-round. A personal highlight, this pizza packs in the pickle without allowing it to overpower the rest of the pie. 10/10, will eat again.

🍫 S'mores Cookie from The Cavity Factory

A graham cracker base with milk chocolate and dark chocolate. Topped with a marshmallow that can be torched.

Justin: I was nearly at my limit before being talked into making room for this cookie, and I'm so glad I did. The soft cookie, melty chocolate and toasted marshmallow came together beautifully.