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It's bright and early on this - the first day of the Great Minnesota Get Together. People were lined up before 6 a.m. to be the first to fill their never-ending cups of milk, check the swine barn and consume all of the fried things ever.
Not all of us can be so lucky to swarm the food booths, so we decided to track our favorite food critics via Twitter to get an early taste of what to eat and what to avoid.
Breakfast
Jess Fleming and Nancy Ngo from the Pioneer Press got right down to business: mainlining coffee.
Plotting our course. With @nancyngotc at #mnstatefair. Coffee on an IV drip. http://t.co/UhUHLV1DWA pic.twitter.com/SqwLGNs1JY
— Jess Fleming (@jessflem) August 27, 2015
Then they hit the Blue Barn right at the main entrance for some French toast with blue Pop Rocks on top. That might put some people off, but these are professionals.
Blue Barn has so many new entries it was hard to pick. Starting with French toast (with bl… http://t.co/5r5EVISLcJ pic.twitter.com/C5aXR6AS1l
— Jess Fleming (@jessflem) August 27, 2015
Meanwhile, Rick Nelson of the Star Tribune started off like gangbusters - he must have caffeinated earlier. He wrote a round-up of State Fair breakfasts before diving into the real thing.
Today the critic plans to hit all 50 of the new food items. He began at the Turkey to Go stand for their new sandwich (declared tasty - it is just a variation on what we've grown to know and love from the bird purveyors.) Then he downed The Blue Barn's Bernaise topped meatloaf hash ("stick to your ribs goodness.") He's also grabbed Lulu's benedict with real hollandaise, the Peach Nectarine parfait at Midtown Produce Exchange and a blueberry corn muffin and a bacon roll from the Farmer's Union.
Bacon-Caramel Roll at Minnesota Farmers Union. Three words: Oh. My. God. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/mrQ8PFiu7W
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015
Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl of Mpls./St. Paul magazine was the first to weigh in with legitimate criticism. She full on hated the benedict at Lulu's.
Yargh. I am hating the LuLu's wild rice Benedict muffin. Muffin bitter, dry, hollandaise metallic. Nope. pic.twitter.com/XbidnA5mVi
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
Plus, the mac and cheese muffin tasted like the worst of cafeteria food.
Darn!! High hopes for the Mac & Cheese cupcake.But tastes like bad cafeteria food. Sigh. #MNStateFair #StateFairMSP pic.twitter.com/8SbF9h5MWh
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
Meanwhile, her magazine compatriot Stephanie March started out as we could only hope she would: breakfast beer.
Giddyup! First Caramel Apple PI beer poured at Blue Barn. #statefairmsp http://t.co/RQs8dEOJfz pic.twitter.com/2dZErOq5mT
— Stephanie March (@stephmarch) August 27, 2015
Stephanie March for president. She was also participating in a new State Fair tradition - snagging a picture with Blue Barn co-owner Stephanie Shimp.
Owner Stephanie Shimp: She should be proud, this French toast is a home run. #MNStateFair #StateFairMSP pic.twitter.com/jTs602VsRT
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
Researching a new drink at the @mnstatefair from @BlueBarnMN #CaramelApplePiBeer pic.twitter.com/NCI2AMoODV
— Jason DeRusha (@DeRushaJ) August 27, 2015
WCCO morning anchor Jason DeRusha got in on that. He also got that Pop Rocks topped French toast and loved it. Is that our first official hit dish?
The Heavy Table wrecking crew is out in full force - and matching yellow t-shirts.
59 items on our #HTStateFair game plan... we've got our work cut out for us! Follow along as we live-tweet the fair. pic.twitter.com/ssNQtary30
— Heavy Table (@heavytable) August 27, 2015
Not one to fall for trends, Dara took a moment to visit a favorite chef and her addiction-inducing macaroons.
Best cookie in MN or best cookie in THE WORLD? @TheSaltyTart Coconut Crackeroons. #mnstatefair #statefairmsp pic.twitter.com/phXEFBquF3
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
DeRusha also stopped by to congratulate Michelle Gayer on kicking cancer's ass and devour her cookies.
Michelle Gayer has defeated lung cancer! Go buy her coconut macaroons @TheSaltyTart @mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/YgyK7XEYJe
— DeRusha Eats (@DeRushaEats) August 27, 2015
Heavy Table loved the Limerick Sticks at O'Gara's, but Rick Nelson described them as, "Overpriced ($8!) deep-fried Cheese Whiz."
Limerick Stix from @ogarasbargrill - home run - not greasy, good texture, lots of cheesy pimento… https://t.co/o2K1tqibRW
— Heavy Table (@heavytable) August 27, 2015
Beer
Weird beers seem to be the trend of the year, while everyone kicked off the fair anticipation with a mini doughnut flavored brew from Lift Bridge yesterday, the beers at the fair include the Caramel Apple Pi beer at the Blue Barn, Bloody Beer from Schell's with a bloody Mary foam float and maple bacon brown beer from Giggles.
The @SchellsBrewery Bloody Beer is: Great. Your choice of beer w Bloody Mary foam float. #mnstatefair #StateFairMSP pic.twitter.com/cyMOkA7rQO
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
Maple Bacon Brown Beer @GigglesCG. Hilarious, in a state fair-excess kind of way. And delicious. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/mlT0UyOs3o
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015
Maple Bacon Brown Beer @GigglesCG. Hilarious, in a state fair-excess kind of way. And delicious. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/mlT0UyOs3o
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015Although, Nelson turned in the best beer description of the day for the bloody beer everybody loved.
Frozen Bloody at LuLu's Public House: A slushy, tasty hangover cure for the get-off-my-lawn set. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/xpfX4loDyS
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 28, 2015
Low Brow
One of the true decadent pleasures of eating through the fair is embracing the low brow insanity that is served up in a paper boat - or Dorito bag, as the case is with the walkin' taco from Tejas Express.
Walking Taco from Tejas Express. Wonderfully lowbrow (and surprisingly spicy) and portable. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/C25CCozMv0
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015
Everyone loves a totcho:
Manage your expectations, but the totchos at Boulevard Grill are good! Smoked chicken, sea… http://t.co/2sJIEjfbPE pic.twitter.com/zdhPQq266h
— Stephanie March (@stephmarch) August 27, 2015
Although, there's not much love lost for the Spam.
Spam. Sad trombone . #statefairmsp pic.twitter.com/DXpGJkafve
— Stephanie March (@stephmarch) August 27, 2015
And some deep fried, cream cheese stuffed olives on a stick.
A dark horse salt bomb of tasty bits. Olives wrapped in bacon deep fried. White trashin' i… http://t.co/geFwBkVFF1 pic.twitter.com/zTDZqIWHCa
— Stephanie March (@stephmarch) August 27, 2015
Dessert
Who doesn't like ice cream? The base can be altered in a million ways. At the fair we have the not-weird-enough.
BBQ Pickie Ice Cream at R&R Ice Cream. Amusing idea, but needs way more sweet pickle relish for flavor. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/VKKrHfsypI
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015
The perfect kind of weird. Nelson described these scoops as simply, "Divine. Divine. Divine."
Do yourself a favor; get @IzzysIceCream Butter Queen Coffee at @Try_our_Hamloaf -- "best coffee ice cream we've had" pic.twitter.com/Y9Wfkfzfis
— Heavy Table (@heavytable) August 27, 2015
So weird you might need chemical enhancements to appreciate.
Fire and Ice Kreme Sundae at Goertze's Dairy Kone. Love Sriracha? You'll love it. Yes, crumbled Fritos. #mnstatefair pic.twitter.com/hKHbNxmmVE
— Rick Nelson (@RickNelsonStrib) August 27, 2015
The perfect marriage of weird.
This is an important ice-cream and beer marriage. https://t.co/KPRVmAnCCj
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 28, 2015
And the too weird to consider.
Yeah, jalapeño chocolate ice cream is not for me. #mnstatefair #statefairMSP pic.twitter.com/y4LfrREelx
— Dara Grumdahl (@DearDara) August 27, 2015
And one entry that isn't even very weird at all, although the HT Wrecking Crew can't agree on if they like.
Lots of takes on @SweetScienceIC honey lemonade sorbet - too sweet / perfect balance / too lemon. I dig it. ^JN pic.twitter.com/aaXXyaYcUa
— Heavy Table (@heavytable) August 27, 2015
The Results:
In the end winners and losers had to be chosen. Dara's top five included the French toast with pop rocks and the bloody beer. Of her least favorite, the jalepeno ice cream seemed to draw the most ire. She laments, "World! Frozen giant green chunks of jalapeño pepper are as welcome in ice cream as herring."
Heavy Table declared a delicious dozen and a disastrous dozen - which also includes that jalapeno chocolate ice cream. In a show of how subjective these lists can be, the HT Wrecking Crew despised Hot Indian's chicken tikka on a stikka, while Dara declared them one of her favorite dishes of the day.
Rick Nelson's epic experience of trying everything was such a big story that Vineeta Sawkar followed and filmed him. It's fun to watch the enthusiasm wane as he progresses from adoring the gluten-free blueberry muffin and bacon topped spiral roll at Birchwood to a meat sweat sheen and glazed look as the great race to sample everything drags on.
Stephanie March also goes through the exhaustive roundup of all the new dishes.
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