Part 1: My Quest for Deep Fried...Well, Anything
This was a big year for me and my fair enlightenment, and I had the full experience. After attending my first official county fair, I set out to hit the biggest fairs I could. I went to the much-talked-about Minnesota State Fair and the LA County Fair. Apart from the standard fair experiences, they were as different as butter sculptures and deep-fried avocado.
My first installment is the MN State Fair.
Last year, I had heard many stories about the MN State Fair. Articles about the food, talks of butter sculptures, and a reviews about a well-stocked biergarten. This year, setting up camp at a good friend's house, we planned for the fair. We checked out the food locator, we studied up on wine and fair food pairings, we read the reviews of the best and worst, we were ready to go. My goal, the deep-fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick (say that five times fast).
The only way to hit the MN State Fair is through remote parking. My buddy scouted out the area for the best spot. When we arrived the bus was just getting ready to leave. Perfect timing. We arrived by the best entrance on the whole grounds, by the international area. I started my morning with a Spicy Jamaican Beef Patty and some Blue Mountain Coffee.
The international bazaar had tons to offer. I saw African carvings, exotic plants, woolen sweaters, and Irish jewelry. I picked up two vegetable samosas, and looked at the wooden percussion frogs, crickets, and owls. I balanced my samosa and bought some froggies. The samosa was okay, don't let the prepackaged dip fool you.
We continued our walkabout and grabbed some cream cheese wontons and spring rolls. They were edible. Not a highlight though. It was more entertaining watching the blondes behind the counter talking Swedish. We grabbed a couple of Summit brews and bought some shirts at an Indian booth. We ventured out past the baazar, and I took two steps before I saw my next snack. I saw a stand with giant Sweet Dream peaches. Half was bigger than my hand. I don't love peaches, but this was a peach to be eaten.
We continued our walk and got some wine ice cream from the Ag building (Bootlegger's Cherry with Port and Chocolate Raspberry with Raspberry Wine). We stopped at a bar to really enjoy this. We got a couple of tasters of MN wine (not impressed), and started back out. We took another few steps and walked into the food building. I realized then that I had not had a single on-a-stick snack! Sacrilege! Yet, with the lines, I settled in for another midwest fair staple, some cheese curds. My friend braved the crowd and got some bison on a stick. Both were good fair food.
We moved on for some ice cold beer. Surly to be exact. A couple others were thrown in. We watched the rain from under our umbrella.
After the rain I got some fried cheese on a stick and my buddy got some gator sausage (on a stick). Then we went to look at the animals to walk off some of the snacking. It was a standard fair set up. I could see the sign for fried turkey legs from the door of the poultry house.
We shared some amazing Sausage by Cynthia (wild rice, Cajun, and German) went into a dairy building and watched butter sculpting of the Dairy Queen contestants, and got strawberry rhubarb and vanilla malts.
We walked some more and I saw it, Martha's Cookies. It, apparently, is not possible to go to the fair and not have these cookies. We were all full, completely full. I figured, while we see it, we can grab a bucket to go. If you know Martha's, you know there is NO to go. The girl filled up the bucket with what seemed like a shovel. Then she filled it more. I finally let out my breath when she was done with the tray....until someone came over with another tray. She kept scooping. The smashed cookies all over the floor should have been my warning. When it was all over, we carefully navigated to the side. We didn't spill a single cookie. There was no putting a lid on this bucket. We proceeded to shove cookies into our malt-filled bellies. My good friend....ate...one. Between my husband and I, I think we downed a dozen cookies.
After that, we did nothing but walking. We walked all the way to the other end of the grounds. We walked through a very well done set up for enviro-friendly building/living options. We walked through the As Seen on TV demos and handmade purses. I saw quilts and other contest entries. I saw a John Deere tractor turned ice cream maker. This was a great set up.
We walked back to the biergarten for some Surly's Furious and serious people watching. Then I realized, I had not had my deep-fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick. After 10 hours of fair walking, I couldn't make it! My brave husband pushed through the crowds, risked injury from motorized scooters, and journeyed through the groups of terrible teens to get me my on-a-stick treasure. And you know what, it was worth it! So very good that I downed it before I could think to take a picture.
My first installment is the MN State Fair.
The only way to hit the MN State Fair is through remote parking. My buddy scouted out the area for the best spot. When we arrived the bus was just getting ready to leave. Perfect timing. We arrived by the best entrance on the whole grounds, by the international area. I started my morning with a Spicy Jamaican Beef Patty and some Blue Mountain Coffee.
The international bazaar had tons to offer. I saw African carvings, exotic plants, woolen sweaters, and Irish jewelry. I picked up two vegetable samosas, and looked at the wooden percussion frogs, crickets, and owls. I balanced my samosa and bought some froggies. The samosa was okay, don't let the prepackaged dip fool you.
We continued our walkabout and grabbed some cream cheese wontons and spring rolls. They were edible. Not a highlight though. It was more entertaining watching the blondes behind the counter talking Swedish. We grabbed a couple of Summit brews and bought some shirts at an Indian booth. We ventured out past the baazar, and I took two steps before I saw my next snack. I saw a stand with giant Sweet Dream peaches. Half was bigger than my hand. I don't love peaches, but this was a peach to be eaten.
We continued our walk and got some wine ice cream from the Ag building (Bootlegger's Cherry with Port and Chocolate Raspberry with Raspberry Wine). We stopped at a bar to really enjoy this. We got a couple of tasters of MN wine (not impressed), and started back out. We took another few steps and walked into the food building. I realized then that I had not had a single on-a-stick snack! Sacrilege! Yet, with the lines, I settled in for another midwest fair staple, some cheese curds. My friend braved the crowd and got some bison on a stick. Both were good fair food.
We moved on for some ice cold beer. Surly to be exact. A couple others were thrown in. We watched the rain from under our umbrella.
After the rain I got some fried cheese on a stick and my buddy got some gator sausage (on a stick). Then we went to look at the animals to walk off some of the snacking. It was a standard fair set up. I could see the sign for fried turkey legs from the door of the poultry house.
We shared some amazing Sausage by Cynthia (wild rice, Cajun, and German) went into a dairy building and watched butter sculpting of the Dairy Queen contestants, and got strawberry rhubarb and vanilla malts.
We walked some more and I saw it, Martha's Cookies. It, apparently, is not possible to go to the fair and not have these cookies. We were all full, completely full. I figured, while we see it, we can grab a bucket to go. If you know Martha's, you know there is NO to go. The girl filled up the bucket with what seemed like a shovel. Then she filled it more. I finally let out my breath when she was done with the tray....until someone came over with another tray. She kept scooping. The smashed cookies all over the floor should have been my warning. When it was all over, we carefully navigated to the side. We didn't spill a single cookie. There was no putting a lid on this bucket. We proceeded to shove cookies into our malt-filled bellies. My good friend....ate...one. Between my husband and I, I think we downed a dozen cookies.
After that, we did nothing but walking. We walked all the way to the other end of the grounds. We walked through a very well done set up for enviro-friendly building/living options. We walked through the As Seen on TV demos and handmade purses. I saw quilts and other contest entries. I saw a John Deere tractor turned ice cream maker. This was a great set up.
We walked back to the biergarten for some Surly's Furious and serious people watching. Then I realized, I had not had my deep-fried bacon cheddar mashed potatoes on a stick. After 10 hours of fair walking, I couldn't make it! My brave husband pushed through the crowds, risked injury from motorized scooters, and journeyed through the groups of terrible teens to get me my on-a-stick treasure. And you know what, it was worth it! So very good that I downed it before I could think to take a picture.
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