The Growler’s review of the new foods at the 2019 Minnesota State Fair is supported by underwriting partner Save the Boundary Waters. Growler food editor James Norton joined via writers Amy Rea and Maja Ingeman; photographers Becca Dilley, Brenda Johnson, Victoria Campbell, and Sarah McGee; and illustrator Terri Myers Wentzka.
Bristling with heat, spice, earthy layers, ambitious hues, and some swaggeringly massive quantities, the new foods of the 2019 Minnesota State Fair are popping out of the gate (and barns) swinging each fist. While there are a few tragic developments we’re prepared to peer the again of (the proliferation of Fruity Pebbles as a substitute for innovative cookery is on the top of that listing), we were usually cheered with the aid of some super ice cream novelties, some extraordinarily formidable flavors, and a basic increase inside the range of dishes that did their element efficiently rather than swinging for the fences, blooping a nasty ball, and by chance beaning a wonderfully exceptional grandma in town from Mankato thereby spurring a lawsuit this is, in the end, settled out of court.
Let’s get this immediately right out of the gate: Not everyone will need to consume the puri at the Fair. These puffed rice and chutney-based Indian snack meals are one of the least conventional Fair alternatives we’ve ever encountered—however, that’s exactly why all of us loved them so very a great deal. It’s light. It’s slightly crunchy. It’s tart. It’s earthy. It’s superbly balanced, it’s specific from pretty much everything else, and it’s got a wonderfully shiny factor of view. When it comes time to devour the other of a corn canine—and that time will come—you understand simply what to do.
ADDENDUM: We knocked this down to the lowest of our warm foods list because a 2d sampling, later inside the day, featured some distance chewier (and consequently plenty less enjoyable) puffed rice, suggesting that it could be prone to staling because it sits out in the summer air. We nonetheless recommend it. However, our caveat is attached.
Bridgeman’s doubled down on peaches to create these dessert-targeted nachos, bringing peaches collectively and cream ice cream, peach topping, toasted pecans, and a drizzle of honey and slathering all that atop a mattress of fantastically (and enjoyably) savory pita chips. Dip, scoop, crunch, assault—there are many ways to head after this multifaceted dish.
Green Mill has been our steady State Fair nemesis, as 12 months after 12 months, they have got served up tired carbs + meat + cheese + marinara abominations that deaden the sensibilities of our remarkable democracy.
No longer, we’re glad to report: Green Mill’s Loaded Garlic Cheese Bread is a remarkably deft mixture of carbs + meat + cheese + marinara, a sort of sensible negative guy’s spin on a slice of Sicilian pizza. The dish has an awesome deal of fluffy loft, a satisfyingly crispy crust, and pepperoni, sauce, and cheese applied in the best proportions to the foamy bread it rides upon. We’d devour this again, with satisfaction.
