Day 145: Unique foods at the State Fair

The Great Minnesota Get-Together is happening right now, as we featured yesterday. The Minnesota State Fair is known for many things, one of which is the unique, even bizarre, foods you can find if you know where to look.

There are some new things on the menu this year worthy of note. One is the Corn Dog Pizza, pictured here. It’s pretty much what it sounds like–a cheese pizza topped with corn dogs ($4 a slice).

An item that’s been talked about and anticipated by brave culinary adventurers is Camel On-A-Stick. There seems to be a lot of interest in this unique choice. However, it will only be available at the Fair from August 30th-September 2nd.

Also new this year is the Caramel Apple Puppies. These are baked rolled waffles, topped with cinnamon-flavored apple chunks, caramel sauce and whipped cream ($5)

Chesseburgers are nothing new, but this year the Minnesota State Fair and Axel’s bring you their Deep-Fried Cheesburger. I could feel my arteries tightening just typing that. Those that tried it found it surprisingly good. It is a cheeseburger slider, the entire thing tempura-battered and deep fried. At $3, it’s a great value compared to other new items. Some other new foods you could check out.

The State Fair isn’t only about artery-clogging foods on a stick. There are some options for our vegan friends as well. In the Food Building along the East Wall for example, you can get a cheese-less vegetarian burrito. The Island Noodles by the South Wall of the Bazaar are also vegan-friendly, as are many other items such as the famous roasted corn on the cob (without butter), the Hummus & Pita from The Holy Land, a veggie pita with no cheese, and many others. See the other vegan options available.

If you’d like, you can even have some say in determining what the favorite fair foods are this year by participating in Bracket On-A-Stick, a tournament bracket set up by our friends at Metromix.com and Kare11. Pairs of food items are pitted against each other tournament-bracket style and the winners advance until the champion emerges at the end. Maybe as a method to determine a winner, it’s not so scientific, but should be a lot of fun.

Remember, as we posted yesterday, the Minnesota State Fair website has a Food Finder that can help you locate favorites or new and interesting things to try.

Enjoy all the crazy foods, Twin Cities!

State Fair website: www.mnstatefair.org.