New foods to try, skip at the Minnesota State Fair

Yes, but: It's still worth trying — later in the day. A hamburger patty goes between two deep-fried PB&J Uncrustables and is topped with pickles, Thousand Island dressing, lettuce and cheese.

• This $14 creation was a nice blend of sweet and savory, though it quickly lost its integrity and turned into a mush of jelly, peanut butter and dressing.

The big picture: The Axios Twin Cities team tried 17 of the 33 new State Fair foods. Here's what we thought.

The favorites

🧀 Sweet Squeakers from The Blue Barn ($14.75). White cheddar cheese curds coated in funnel cake batter and deep fried, with berry sauce and lemon whip cream. A great shareable snack.

🍤 Shrimp and pork toast on a stick by Union Hmong Kitchen ($15). Ground pork and shrimp are spread on Texas toast. Easy to eat, savory meat and perfectly toasted.

🍦 Soft Serve Royal Raspberry Beer from West End Brews ($11). It's beer and ice cream, two things we love! We think this is going to be a keeper, though some of us tasted more seltzer than beer.

🍟 Somali Street Fries from Midtown Global Market's Oasis Grill & Hoyo Sambusa ($15) wowed us with crispy fries, well-spiced meat and zingy sauces. We may have it for lunch again today, because it's only around through Tuesday.

Of note: We did not make it to the new Beans & Beignets stand, but judging by the long lines and strong reviews, it looks like it's worth a stop.

Solid

🍓 Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Cup from new vendor Chocolate Strawberry Cup ($20). Ripe strawberries smothered in Belgian-style chocolate, pistachio butter, kataifi and pistachios. This would be a favorite if not for the staggering price.

🌮 Pizza Cheese Curd Tacos from Richie's ($18). We like all the new stuff this vendor puts out. These, with pepperoni, sausage and curds in a crispy flour shell and topped with marinara, were good, but the price was steep for just two.

🧆 Fawaffle from Baba's ($11). A chickpeas and herb fritter pressed in a waffle iron with hummus. A protein-packed antidote to all of the new sugary items. The tahini butter, mint and tomato toppings lighten the dish. Great value.

Skip it

🍟 Chicken-Fried Bacon Fries from Soul Bowl ($12). Was there any bacon in these things? Mostly just fried breading.

🎂 Birthday Cake Cookie Dough On-A-Stick from Kora & Mila's Cookie Dough ($11). None of us took more than one bite.

🥓 Timber Twists from Giggle's Campfire Grill ($13). Italian sausage, mozzarella and cream cheese inside of manicotti shells, then wrapped in bacon. Nick liked it as a break from all the deep-fried stuff, but the others were a hard pass.