The must have foods at the Minnesota State Fair for your first visit

Minnesota State Fair Food Recommendations from a Minnesota Girl Who Loves Food

The Minnesota State Fair is my personal Christmas in August every year! I make sure to go with my hubby, best friend and family if I can get everyone together! When that doesn’t work out I go multiple times! Totally worth it.
After going to the Great Minnesota Get Together annually there are a couple of foods that I dream about until opening day. If you are looking to make your first visits to the Minnesota State Fair these are the foods I think you HAVE to try at least once.

1) Apple POP

Do you love apples? Well I DO! Most Fair Days are hot and can be wall to wall people in the hot sun. To help cool down in the most delicious way possible I suggest heading over to the apple booth at the Agricultural Building and purchasing a frozen apple pop. It is frozen apple cider that is to die for. There has been multiple occasions where I have gotten more than one. It is delicious and has me going back every year! This is also one of the healthiest options at the fair.

2) Corn On The Cob

Hot, Steaming, and mouth watering, this corn on the cob is a MUST. It is roasted and right off the grill into your outstretched hands. They provide salt for a seasoning option and the line is one of the quickest I encounter at the fair. I don’t know if they put crack as a secondary seasoning but let’s just say I wouldn’t be surprised. I will always be making a stop here. It is located right across on the right side of the Grandstands Building.

3) Cheese Curds from the Mouth Trap

Located in the Food Building, it is the most packed at all times but you will not regret all the touching once you put a piece of their deep fried cheese in your mouth. If you are not from the Midwest this will be a new thing for you. This is 100% worth all your money. For a two person group simply getting the little dish will suffice. But if you are a group of 3 or more I would highly suggest splurging for the bucket. There are other locations that offer cheese curds at the fair. I do believe the best ones that Minnesota has to offer are provided at The Mouth Trap.

4) Deep Fried Pickles

At the west end of the Fair Grounds, you will find a booth offering you gigantic pickles on a stick or a handful of deep fried pickles with ranch dip. I have done the leg work for you and have tried deep fried pickles at all the restaurants; nothing has come even CLOSE to these deep fried pickles sent directly from heaven. They are thickly sliced pickles battered to perfection. You might burn your tongue being unable to wait any longer for your second bite. The regular is my favorite, BUT they do come in a sampler seasoned kind as well if you want to play the pickle field.

5) All You Can Drink Milk

Coming from a family of 7 who loves milk, My Family would shamelessly buy ONE cup of milk and then repeatedly go back to fill said cup until everyone was satisfied. After that we would wash the cup out with some water and return multiple times throughout the day. You know, to make sure we got our FULL Dollars worth out of that one cup. After many gallons of milk where consumed, I think they caught on because the last couple of years they raise the price to $2 per cup. But Options include both White Milk and Chocolate Milk.

6) Martha’s Cookies

With Multiple locations, your Minnesota State Fair Experience would not be complete without you having your first Martha’s Cookies. Worked by an army of youths, Martha’s cookies will be served to you HOT and Ready! You can get a small amount in a little white cone (these kind of remind me of a bigger version of the ones you have in a waiting room and you drink the water from) est 7 to 10 cookies. Or You can get a overflowing bucket of chocolatey cookie goodness to easily save for later as a midnight snack.


I hope you LOVE the foods you try and enjoy an AMAZING first time at the Minnesota State Fair!


Please share with my any foods you think I missed out on below that are a must have for any first timers!

Happy Eating!
Molly

Tips For Your First Time at the Minnesota State Fair | Travel

If you have talked to ANY Minnesotian about what you need to do while in Minnesota, you will most likely be encouraged to come sometime at the end of August for the Minnesota State Fair. The Minnesota State Fair is basically Christmas in August for someone like me who can’t GET ENOUGH. I go 2 to 3 times every year with different combinations of people and I mostly go for the food and fellowship. I love the hustle and bustle and greatly look forward to this every year! I have gone at least once for every year I have been alive and will continue to go. This year I finally was able to have my AZ family experience their first time at the fair in only 9 hours and close to 20k steps later. So I thought if they had to go without me what would I tell them for their FIRST experience. I thought I could help you to from someone who goes annually.

For anyone who is planning on going for the first time here are a couple of tips before your first visit to the Great Minnesota Get Together.

1) Get Your Tickets Early At Cub

Admission ticket prices just got up to 15 dollars at the gate, which isn’t highway robbery but don’t pay more than you need to. To help you save for all the delicious things you will be eating, Cub Grocery Store offers Admission tickets for a $2 off up until the week before the opening day. If you are going with your whole family or friends save a couple of bucks and treat your team to a bucket of Mouth Trap Cheese Curds. You can also purchase the coupon book here for 5 dollars. Although you never use all of them, you can get a couple of coupons that will save you more than 5 bucks. So you have to ask yourself it is worth it. A couple of coupons we love annually are the Pop Coupon, If you are into Rides they have a 5 or 10 off ride ticket sheets, $1 off cotton Candy, and $5 to $10 dollars off Minnesota Stair Fair Merch.
There won’t be coupons for the new foods that year so be warned.

2) Use The Envelope System

Using the Envelope system is taking out a little bit of money at a time and storing it in an envelope that you will use the day of! This is something my husband and I do and it works great! The Minnesota State Fair is really a shared experience of eating all the foods you have been dreaming about since the last fair for the regulars. An average food item ranges from $8 to $12 an Item which can add up very quickly. So if you are able to save up in advance this method will look the best on your bank account when the time comes to get your hands dirty in the most delicious way possible. (with Sticky Pink Cotton Candy). Not big into food? Other things to save for would be rides for this kids or merch from all the booths in the Grandstands.

3) Download the Minnesota State Fair App

The Minnesota State Fair is the BEST State Fair in the whole of the United States. I am not just making this up. Much research has revealed this to be true (Google it) Technology has come into play in the best way and you can now download the Minnesota State Fair app right to your smart device. It has cataloged all food available that year and a map of where to find the food with details descriptions. It also has Merchants and Attractions. The app is better than nothing but still can improve. A big change I wish they would add is have a google maps kind of thing where it will lead you directly there on the app. Maybe it will happen in future but for not here it is!

4) Only Way To Try A Lot Is To Share The Lot

All the portions of food are for adult humans. Even for the most trained eater you will only make it to 2 to 3 items if you are eating everything by yourself and make it to about noon on day one. I really see the only way to try a lot of different foods at the Minnesota State Fair is to be prepared to share the food you are buying with your group! It is basically a day of samplers and by the end of the day you can check off all of your foods and events with a satisfied belly.

5) Bring Your Walking Shoes and Friends

Every year this was a family event. So my dad would pack us all in the car/van and drop us off while he spent the next 30 minutes looking for parking in the surrounding neighborhoods. Now, Marcus and I park and bike in to help save on pre-walking before you hit the gates. You can expect for a full day at the Great Minnesota Get Together to be anywhere from 15k to 20k (or more) on steps. If you do not bring the right shoes you will be kicking yourself mentally later as it will kill your feet. Trust me this will save you a whole day of icing your feet if you just wear the right foot wear! ( I wear my Bzees and have no regrets the next day! Others just do tennis shoes) I have always thought of the Minnesota State Fair as a group thing. It is so much fun to spend a couple of dollars and explore all the booths and buildings with your best friends and people you love. It is a great date for just you and your partner. I am a wedding Photographer and this location is HIGH on my engagement/couple session list.
SO If you and your significant other are trying something new or going for your annual fried pickle fix let me know and we can set up a time to enjoy the Minnesota State Fair TOGETHER!