What to eat — and skip — at the Minnesota State Fair
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The pickle pie wasn't for us, but we loved the Hmong corn dog and the savory cones. Photos: Audrey Kennedy/Axios
Don't say we didn't warn you: The Minnesota State Fair's Pickle Pie may leave you wanting to puke.
Driving our discomfort: We spent five hours braving the crowds, lines and calories to taste-test this year's buzziest and most intriguing new foods.
Why it matters: We did it for you! Our goal was to help readers weigh which "official" new foods are worth the cash (and wait) and which you can — and probably should — skip without feeling an ounce of FOMO.
State of play: We built our taste-test list based on what readers told us they wanted us to try, pulling the top 10 picks from our recent survey — plus a few from Audrey, our resident fair food expert.
How we did it: We're not food critics, but we did try to judge each dish on the same criteria: taste, novelty, price and portion size.
- Disagree with our take? We welcome your responses!
🥇 Blue-ribbon bites
🌭 Hmong Corn Dog from Union Hmong Kitchen ($16): This was the top pick in our reader survey, and your instincts were right. The ginger-and-lemongrass sausage (sourced from Kramarczuk's!) was super flavorful.
- Be warned: The citrus Kua Txob sauce is delicious, but it's actually hot. No "Minnesota spice" here!
🐔 Savory Cones from Roon's Savories ($9.50): We found lots to love about the classic chicken salad cone from this new vendor. It was well-seasoned with a nice crunch from the waffle cone. Plus: It's gluten-free!
- We weren't as wild about the pork mac and cheese — it felt a little busy and heavy on the pork — but the price ($9.50) and portion (felt equivalent to a full sandwich) sealed its spot.
💜 Ube Cheesecake Wontons from Saturday Dumpling Co. ($10): By far our favorite sweet bite of the day. The wontons were crisp and the filling flavorful (and bright purple). Four in an order made it easy to share.
🌽 The Cracklin Corn Ribs from Blue Barn ($15): The flavors here were great — and the presentation of eating corn like a rib was fun.
- But the price was hard to justify for the portion (two "ribs" that amounted to about half an ear).
🌽 Elote Tots from Tot Boss ($9+). The tots stayed crispy, even under layers of rich sauce and corn. We dug the under-$10 price point — the smallest size was still plenty of food. If you like elote, you'll like this.
🤷♀️ If you have room
🍓 Tanghulu from Iemochi Japanese Confections ($14): This candy-covered kabob is great for the 'gram. And it's tasty, too — the fruit was sweet even without the shell — though the price felt a bit steep for a few berries and grapes.
- Probably the most photogenic thing we ate all day!
🥭 Mango Sticky Rice Refresher from Chan's Eatery ($13): Audrey, our in-house Boba expert, was a fan of this mango milk.
🍟 Jamaican Jerk Chicken Loaded Fries from Midtown Global Market's Irie Jamaican Express ($15): We wanted to like it — the portion was huge, the flavors appealing and the fries crispy! — but the combination of nacho cheese and sweet jerk sauce gave peanut butter vibes.
- Yes, but: Geoff ended up eating them all!
- If you go: This vendor is only serving until Sept. 1.
🍑 Sweet Peach Lemonade Sparkler from Quench'd ($8; cash only): Pretty sweet, with a touch of tartness from the lemonade. We liked the fruity flavor (even though our peach slices were still frozen), but weren't sold on the cold foam topper.
- We struggled to finish two between the four of us.
🧀 Chorizo Manchego Croquettes from Paella Depot ($12): Points for cheesiness and the smoky chorizo flavor. We also liked that it was easy to split.
- But it didn't wow us, and the crust didn't hold up as well as we thought a croquette should.
🇵🇭 Longanisa Cheese Curd Lumpia from Lumpia City ($14): Solid and shareable — but in the end, it's meat and cheese in a lumpia wrapper. The result was a little too greasy, even for a deep-fried fair food.
- As Kyle put it: "Sausage and cheese — what's to hate? But also, what's in here to love?"
🍫Dubai Whoopie Pie from Dino's Gyros ($13): We appreciated the portion size and nutty flavor in the filling, and we like that it didn't taste overly sweet. The crumbles gave it a nice texture.
- Yes, but: If you're only going for one sweet treat, we liked the cheesecake wontons more.
🙅 Skip it
🥒 Pickle Pie from Lulu's Public House ($12): Look, we're big Lulu's fans (See: 2024's deep-fried ranch review!), but this just didn't do it for us. Think a sweet pie crust filled with pickle cream cheese dip and ranch whip. Audrey went as far as to call it "horrifying."
- "Glad I tried it, but wouldn't buy it," was Geoff's more charitable take.
🦞 Surf 'N' Turf Burger from Cafe Caribe ($16): The chipotle mayo sauce wasn't bad, but the bland burger patty topped with mushy lobster salad — and nothing green or crunchy in the toppings — just didn't do it for us.
🌮 "Korean BBQ" Bao Buns from Rooted & Wild by Snack House ($9): The vegan filling was delicious and flavorful, but the bun texture was off. We appreciated the price, though!
🍪 Dill With It, Cookie! from Urban Glow Mocktails: Better than the pickle pie, but that's a low bar. The first bite is fine, but the strong pickle aftertaste was rough. We're sticking with the savory pickle fair foods from here on out.
- "Mama, why is this cookie mad at me?" Kyle plaintively asked no one in particular.
🥃 Brandy Old Fashioned Cookie Dough from Kora & Mila's Cookie Dough ($13): Dry and mealy. The cherry flavor was overpowering. If you're craving cookie dough on a stick, stick to the classics.
Go deeper: Read even more takes — and reviews of foods we didn't have time or room to try — via the Star Tribune and Sahan Journal.