Waiting until the day the Minnesota State Fair announces their new foods for the year can feel like waiting for Christmas morning to arrive; or maybe that’s just us. That ‘Christmas Morning’ feeling became even better when we were invited to try some of the new foods for the 2016 Minnesota State Fair before the fair opened. There are a whopping 32 new foods at the fair this year and we were lucky to try 6 of them!
Cheesy French Onion Monkey Bread | Blue Moon Dine-In Theater
Savory, salty and soft describes this pull-apart artisan bread filled with caramelized onions, cheese and beef broth. The French onion soup covering the top soaks into the bread making it even more soft when you’re gobbling it up.
Deep Fried Grilled Cheese Bites | O’Gara’s at the Fair
A childhood favorite [and still a favorite] just got THAT much better with a beer batter and white cheddar cheese blend that fries to grilled cheese flavor perfection. Don’t forget to dunk it in the bloody mary mix marinara! Basically it’s grilled cheese and tomato soup to the max.
Maple Bacon Shave Ice | Minnesnowii Shave Ice
The rule is, if there’s bacon in it then we’re going to try it and probably love it. That’s what happened here! Minnesnowii’s newest flavor brings the bacon in their shave ice with bacon bits and a maple syrup drizzle on top. What makes their shave ice so unique is the 100% sweetened condensed milk that they drizzle on top to make the shave ice creamy and sweet.
Minnesota Corn Dog | Gass Station Grill
This is not your average corn dog! What makes this corn dog Minnesotan [made in Albertville, MN] is the custom group sausage that is made with blueberries, apples, wild rice, maple syrup and cayenne. It’s a sweet surprise that is dipped in everyone’s favorite corn dog batter [at 1940’s recipe] and deep-fried. Good for the early morning fair goers looking for breakfast but really it’s good anytime of the day if you ask us.
Rustic Beef Pastry | French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
It looks fancy and it tastes fancy but nothing is too fancy for the Minnesota State Fair at the French Meadow Bakery & Cafe. Flaky butter crust is topped with Moroccan-spiced, grass-fed beef and baby spinach with creamy goat cheese crumbled on top for some tang. From breakfast to dinner this pastry will wake up your taste buds with unexpected flavor.
Tot Boss | New Vendor
New to the fair this year, Tot Boss, a local food truck favor, makes its way into the Minnesota State Fair — 100% happy! Tater tots are a big comfort food in Minnesota and their bringing them to the next level with bacon-wrapped tots, chili tots, tots ‘n’ tenders, tots ‘n’ dogs, poutine tots, tater tot nachos, tots with a variety of dipping sauces… the list goes on. We got to try the loaded tots and we are happy to report that we’re in love. The loaded tots reminded us of a loaded baked potato to the extreme and filled us up pretty quickly. We would recommend sharing if you’re a big foodie at the fair. One last thing… they’re gluten free!
What other new food vendors will we be trying at the fair? Candied Bacon Donut Sliders, Macaroni & Cheese Curds, Burnt Butt Ends… the list goes on!
Need a hotel for multiple fair trips? Roseville is located 3 miles from the fairgrounds. So close you can smell the cheese curds! We put together hotel packages in Roseville specifically for fair goers.
2016 Minnesota State Fair begins August 25th and ends September 5th. We hope you enjoy the fair!