MINNESOTA STATE FAIR - FIRST WEEKEND!

A fun weekend enjoying the fair with friends! We sampled some original MN Fair Food favorites.  These included O'Gara's Reuben sandwich, Mancini's Porketta pig wings, Dino's gyro's.  New foods that we had the opportunity to try included chicken and waffle cone, blue cheese corn fritters, and walleye tacos.  

We also had a fun sampling of many of the fruit/veggie options at the fair - including frozen grapes, Island Noodles with Vegetables, and the fresh produce available in the West End Market.   

Finally, there was the corn dog/pronto pup sampling.  Many folks assume the corn dog and the pronto pup are the same thing (and typically have a very strong opinion about which one is best). There is an important difference between the two that lend to each having a unique flavor and texture difference. The corn dog uses a cornmeal batter, while the pronto pup uses a pancake flour based batter.  To test out which of the two was a fair favorite, I conducted a blind taste test. Although my personal favorite has always been the corn dog, the pronto pup came out on top with our group of samplers (and I might be swayed now too)!

Certainly the food at the Minnesota State Fair is a big hit.  But, after 4 days of walking around the fair, I was reminded over and over again about what truly makes me so fond of the fair.  For me, I love the enormous variety of activities, exhibits, demonstrations, live entertainment, (all included in the price of admission)  that showcase so many people's interests and talents.  For example, I'm amazed at how hard everyone works in the swine, cattle, horse and other barns.  There's lots of education, too...about dairy farming, how animals are cared for and what life on the farm is about. We walked by Princess Kay of the Milky Way reading a children's story to a group of kiddos, while on the north side of the fair features one of my favorite log rolling shows.  And, to top it off, I learned you never grow too old for the Giant Slide! There's so much more than I'm including here, so I encourage you to go find out what makes the fair truly "The Great Minnesota Get Together!"
  

---