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Like many ‘Tobans with kids, in late August we packed up the car and headed south to Minnesota for some back-to-school shopping and a bit of late-summer relaxing. That our trek coincided with the Minnesota State Fair, Dish readers, was no accident.
Over 170,000 people attended the Minnesota State Fair on Friday, Aug. 23, the day we went. (Ben Sigurdson / Free Press)
If you’ve never been to the Minnesota State Fair, it’s truly an awesome experience — hundreds of thousands flock to the midway for rides, games, agricultural exhibits (including a livestock birthing centre!) and, of course, the grub. This was our second visit, the first was back in 2019.
For foodies (ugh, sorry), the Minnesota State Fair is a must-visit; there are more incredibly fun culinary options offered at food trucks, stalls and kiosks than you can shake a stick at.
When it comes to chowing down, “stick” is the operative term. Sure, you can get baskets of nuggets of deep-fried ranch dressing, alligator or ravioli, visit the all-you-can-drink milk booth or grab one of Sweet Martha’s Cookie Buckets — the latter offering an overflowing plastic bucket full of delicious chocolate chip cookies — but many of the fair’s best bites are served on a stick.
Hotdish on a stick? You betcha. (Ben Sigurdson / Free Press)
Perhaps you’ve heard of hotdish, popularized beyond the state’s borders by Minnesota governor (and now Democratic vice-presidential candidate) Tim Walz — it’s roughly what we’d call a tater tot casserole. Anyway, you can get it on a stick at the state fair, along with pork chops, corn dogs (naturally), deep-fried pickles, corn, teriyaki chicken, cheesecake, salmon, deep-fried Swiss cheese and much, much more.
(For a definitive account of the Minnesota State Fair’s food offerings, see the YouTube video posted by Chef Reactions, a guy who has made a name for himself posting videos critiquing TikTok cooking trends. He tried and rated a lot of the fair’s fare, but viewer discretion advised — his language can get colourful.)
Somehow I don’t think Spam is an acronym for “Sizzle Pork and Mmm.” (Ben Sigurdson / Free Press)
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We opted to visit the fair just before dinner time, as the afternoon had been sweltering. And after hours of wandering around, sampling various Minnesota beers (and some delicious deep-fried halloumi), checking out the butter carving of Miss Minnesota and more, we were pretty hungry by the time we opted to head for the exits.
A life-sized bust made of butter of 19-year-old Rachel Visser, crowned Princess Kay of the Milky Way of the 2024 Minnesota State Fair. Life-like, but the dead eyes are a bit creepy. No, not me, the butter statue — which is on the right, by the way. (Ben Sigurdson / Free Press)
Our timing wasn’t great. By the time we were ready to get some grub, some of the kiosks had shuttered for the night, so our options were limited to the state fair standards — a heaping pile of fries for the teenagers, and for me a corn dog the length of my forearm. Probably not the smartest thing to eat at around 11 p.m., but damn was it good.
Someone is way too excited about a way-too-large corn dog. (Frances Sigurdson photo)
And, of course, just before we hit the exit, we popped by Sweet Martha’s Cookie Buckets for a heaping helping of sweet treats to take home.
You can check out the incredible food options at this year’s fair here. I’m already looking forward to my next visit.
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