Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: Minnesota State Fair Food from A to Z

 Minnesota Mural at State Fairgrounds in St. Paul

For those of you familiar with that all-American agricultural jubilee know as the State Fair, certain foods are synonymous with these events: corn dogs and roasted corn, cotton candy and candy apples, and more recently, all manner of deep-fried or on-a-stick treats. The Minnesota State Fair is no exception.

What began in 1859 as a livestock exhibition to promote farming is now second only to Texas' as the largest State Fair in the country. With so many hungry people streaming through the gates, the Great Minnesota Get-Together, as it's affectionately known, should really be called the Great Eat-Together: there are 300 concessions offering 450 different kinds of food with more than 60 of those served à la stick. (Source: mnstatefair.org)

Joining a few friends for lunch at the Fair

Having never visited this convivium of comestibles before, I was curious if the Fair's fare reflects modern Minnesotans' multiculturalism and concerns about nutritional and environmental issues with regard to food. So, I sent a proposal to Foodbuzz.com for its August 24, 24, 24 blog event - to eat one State Fair dish for each letter of the the alphabet, fulfilling at least one of the following criteria:

1. It contains an uncommon yet natural (or naturally-occurring) ingredient;

2. It originates in an ethnic cuisine to reflect Minnesota's multicultural past and present;

3. It is produced locally and/or uses organic/seasonal/healthy ingredients*. 

(*This doesn't mean that the complete dish itself is actually healthy . . . !)

Methodology

I started by identifying the foods ahead of time with help from the Minnesota State Fair's Fabulous Fair Food Finder and additional guidance from online food magazine The Heavy Table. I then marked my choices on a map of the fairgrounds so that I and my able assistant, Mr. Noodle, could eat with efficiency and expediency.

My plan to pick one edible per letter of the alphabet did hit a small snag: there were no choices for 'U' and 'X', which left us with 24 dishes. That's still a lot of food and I was worried about wasting any of it, so I came up with these additional guidelines:

- we would share one order;
- I would pick a food that could be saved for home (e.g. bison salami instead of bison burger);
- we would leave most of the heavy foods (e.g. noodles) until last so that we could taste, then wrap it to go with plastic and paper bags I brought along.

So, armed with small bills, camera, notebook and loose-waisted pants (me), Mr. Noodle and I set off on our edible expedition:

2009 Minnesota State Fair Food from A to Z

(Please feel free to click on the photos to enlarge!)

A is for Alligator at Bayou Bob's. Sautéed in garlic olive oil and served with gator-shaped french fries, these bites had a taste and texture more akin to pork than chicken. One of Mr. Noodle's favorites of the day.

 B is for Bison Salami, courtesy of the Minnesota Buffalo Association. Morsel of fact: bison and buffalo are not the same - only African and Asian species are considered 'true' buffalo. Rather than gnaw on a large salami at the Fair, we took it home and enjoyed it with cheese and crackers.

C is for Churros from local French Meadow Bakery, one of the country's longest continuously-running certified organic bakery since 1985. Their non-GMO, organic, gluten-free and low-glycemic products are available online and at national markets like Wegman's and Whole Foods. The churros were saved from being average by an excellent maple dipping sauce.

D is for Deep Fried Fruit at - surprise! - Fried Fruit. Banana, strawberry, pineapple, apple and grapes were skewered, battered and dunked in hot oil - a crazy fruit pancake-on-a-stick.

E is for Elk Jerky from the Minnesota Elk Breeders Association. This 'kippered' elk (a method of preservation that yields a softer meat jerky) had a surprisingly sweet flavor, which we enjoyed at home along with the bison salami.

F is for Falafel at Falafel King, a popular casual Middle Eastern/Mediterranean restaurant in the Twin Cities. This was my first taste of falafel - deep-fried balls of spiced ground chickpeas usually served in a pita. We opted for it on-a-stick to better concentrate on the crunchy goodness.

G is for Gyros from The Lamb Shoppe, the retail store of local all-natural meat farm Liberty Land & Livestock in Hutchinson, MN. This Greek dish is one of Mr. Noodle's favorites but I managed to get my fair share.

H is for Huckleberry Jam offered by Huckleberry Etc. This fruit is similar in appearance to blueberries but has a more tart flavor and is still only harvested in the wild. I used the jam as a topping for mild goat cheddar and crackers - so delicious!

I is for Shaved Ice (passion fruit flavor) from Hawaiian Ice. Consider it our between-course palate cleanser.

J is for Jambalaya at Ragin' Cajun. I had to have at least one rice dish at the Fair! Actually, Mr. Noodle enjoyed this mildly spicy, saucy dish full of chicken and sausages even more than I did.

K is for Kataifi from Holy Land Bakery and Deli, which has been offering what is considered the best Middle Eastern fare in Minneapolis since 1987. Kataifi is a sweet, crisp pastry made with shredded phyllo dough, nuts and honey - a bit too sweet for Mr. Noodle, who ceded the rest to me after a couple of bites. Score!

L is for Lefse at Lynn's Lefse. You can't consider yourself a Minnesotan if you haven't had this traditional Norwegian flatbread made of potatoes, flour and cream. A popular way of serving it is rolled up with sweet-tart lingonberry jam, but we opted for just butter and brown sugar. I only wish ours had been warm enough for them to have melted together.

M is for Maple Syrup Soda offered at the Countryside Market by Renewing the Countryside, a non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining Minnesota's rural communities. Made with locally-sourced pure maple syrup from Stanley's Sugarbush, this soda was refreshing, even for the unseasonably cool day we had. Its perfect amount of sweetness makes carbonated colas taste downright caustic.

 N is for Nitro Ice Cream by Blue Sky Creamery. The hands-down winner of our food-fest, per Mr. Noodle, was this plain yet unbelievably dense and rich vanilla ice cream, made by using liquid nitrogen to flash-freeze the ingredients so that ice crystals do not form in the process. The result is 'The Smoothest Ice Cream on the Planet', according to the company founders, who dreamed up their Nitro Freeze machine while studying chemical engineering at Iowa State University. Better eating through science indeed!

O is for Ostrich Teriyaki at Chinatown MN. And no, it doesn't taste anything like chicken. In fact, we thought that the texture and flavor was closer to bovine than avian. Ground ostrich on-a-stick was good but what I'd really like to see is ostrich feet at dim sum . . .

P is for Peach-Glazed Pork Cheeks from Famous Dave's, the Minneapolis-based national BBQ chain. This was actually our first stop and set a delicious tone for the rest of our day. The meat was wondrously tender and neither cloyingly sweet, as might be expected from a fruity sauce, nor too spicy, which might have wreaked havoc on a stomach used to plain yogurt for breakfast. If we didn't have 23 more dishes to go, I would've ordered another plate.

Q is for Quesadillas with tomatoes and basil at the State Fair outpost of Tejas, an upscale Edina restaurant serving Southwestern cuisine. Hot off the grill, the just-crisp flour tortilla enfolded gooey cheese, thick slices of fresh tomato and enormous basil leaves. Bringing to mind a south-of-the-border caprese salad, this quesadilla was one of my Fair favorites.

R is for Roti Dhalpourie prepared by local Caribbean restaurant Harry Singh's. A popular Trinidadian dish, roti dhalpourie refers to the traditional Southeast Asian flatbread made with a middle layer of ground yellow split peas and toasted cumin seeds (dhal), which is then wrapped around fillings such as curry chicken. I watched as one of the ladies behind the counter prepared a giant batch of fresh roti dough while Harry himself ground the peas. Though the curry filling was almost too mild even for my sensitive tastebuds, the roti was amazing with its thin yet flavorful layer of cumin-studded dhal.

S is for Sunfish Filets in a Boat at Giggles' Campfire Grill. It's no laughing matter: these 'sunnies' were outstanding with a light, crispy coating giving way to a flaky texture and sweet flavor. Walleye may be the revered state fish but I'll take a boat of sunfish any day.

T is for Tamales from La Loma Tamales, locally acclaimed for their authentic version of this very traditional Mexican dish of savory-filled corn dough (masa) steamed in corn husks. We ordered both chicken and pork tamales, the latter having a rich, deep-red hue that promised - and delivered - a nice bit of heat.

U is for Uff Da! Okay, this is a bit of a cheat: I couldn't find a fair food that started with the letter 'U'; then, I got mixed up and thought I had missed the letter 'K'. So we headed to Ole and Lena's for krumkake, a Norwegian cone-shaped waffle cookie traditionally made on special occasions (like Christmas and State Fairs). We were already well into our cream-filled and strawberry-topped cones before I noticed the 'Uff Da Krumkake', topped with caramel sauce and butter-roasted pecan. Maybe next year . . .

V is for Veggie Pie at its namesake stall. I'd describe this as a cold vegetarian pizza but that would be too generous. With its odd cookie-like crust and topped with raw vegetables over a ranch-type dressing, this was easily the most disappointing dish of the day.

W is for Watermelon covered in chocolate, from Andre's Watermelon. Though forewarned by The Heavy Table, we couldn't resist. Lesson learned: too heavy for a thin stick to hold and too thick of a chocolate layer to break through with a flimsy spork, this wasn't tasty enough to merit the effort to eat. A tie with the Veggie Pie.

X is for . . . well . . . nothing. I couldn't find Fair food starting with this letter - not even a special krumkake.

Y is for Yaki Soba at Island Noodles, which prepares this popular Hawai'ian-style version of Japanese fried buckwheat noodles over huge flaming woks. Not too oily and chockful of vegetables (supposedly as much as 21 kinds), I was amazed over how much noodles were stuffed into the container. Although not everyone may agree, I liked the bits of charred noodles.

Z is for Zeppole at Spaghetti Eddie's. These Italian deep-fried pastries are also known as 'St. Joseph's Day cake' for their traditional part in those festivities. Instead of zeppole dusted with powdered sugar, we went for the cannoli cream-filled version, which was a bit runny and had a pronounced almond flavor. Of course, that didn't stop us from gobbling them down.

It took us approximately 6 hours to complete our sponsored gluttony, not including some time checking out the livestock barns (aren't we supposed to see where our food comes from?) In the end, all but two items were either consumed on the spot or taken home. Thank goodness for the Express Bus, which took us most of the way back home - otherwise, we would've been DWS (Driving While Stuffed). As it was, we brought home some leftovers to tide us over for a couple of meals. Fair eating continues . . .

While most of the food served at the State Fair would never pass muster on nutritional quality, I was  pleased to find quite a few dishes that were reasonably healthy. Furthermore, it was great to see a strong representation by local businesses as well as an educational exhibit called The Eco-Experience, which showcases environmentally-friendly products and events such as cooking demos. However, I was hoping that among the food choices would be examples of the large Somali and Hmong communities (although they are mainly clustered in the Twin Cities). In particular, the latter group's active presence as vendors at the local farmer's markets attest to their dedicated participation in state agriculture; perhaps in the future, we will have more opportunities to taste their cuisine.

All in all, it was a fun and full-feeling day!

The Minnesota State Fair runs until Labor Day, September 8th so there's still plenty of time to make your way to St. Paul for a taste of Fair food.