Fairly Unbalanced

Elote has inundated the Minnesota State Fair — it seems like at every turn, a vendor has their take on the traditional dish where an ear of corn is slathered in mayo and cotija cheese. The strangest new take on elote is the offering from West End Market’s Blue Barn, where they’ve done away with the corn cob and instead serve something akin to a creamed corn dip, touched with lime juice and vanilla, and served with plantain chips to scoop up the concoction with. The good: the sweetness of the corn came through well, as did the cotija cheese sprinkled throughout and chile powder adding a manageable level of heat and making it more compelling. The bad: the plantain chips were flavorless which was disappointing as fans of the banana-like fruit, though they mostly held their composure as a chip substitute, aside from a few that sat in the dip too long. Despite the description promising both vanilla and lime flavors, both were completely unapparent. The ugly: this was definitely one of the less visually appealing things we’ve eaten at the Fair, and while looks aren’t everything, this might be a hard sell for a lot of folks. People with food texture issues probably want to stay away from this one too, as it was one big mushy mess.

At $12.75 for a relatively small appetizer, we’re not exactly sure what Blue Barn was thinking with this one. If it was just a way to innovate on the elote trend, we think this idea was a little too half-baked. We don’t expect this bizarre menu item to stick around the Fair for very long at a vendor notorious for giving up on ideas quickly to make way for new items.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 2
• Appearance: 1
• Novelty: 3
• Value: 0

Overall Score: 6 out of 20 (Better Luck Next Year)

Perhaps no Minnesota State Fair vendor has made as much of an immediate impact as Nordic Waffles has upon their debut in 2018, promptly receiving lengthy lines that wound through the West End Market and necessitating their relocation to a larger stand and a different location within the new area that better facilitated the crowd it draws. The brand recognition they received for being a marquee Fair vendor also helped them grow a following for their grocery store products and a year-round restaurant location. On the strength of a fun and delicious product with infinite opportunity for reinvention, Nordic Waffles has made a name for itself with a product that’s easy to love.

One of two new varieties of their iconic waffle sandwiches for the 2022 Fair is the Belly Full, a spring onion-infused waffle stuffed with pork belly, coleslaw, and a jalapeño jam, a savory option that works as a counterpart to their latest sweet dessert waffle. In the past we’ve preferred their savory selections more than the sweets, which are often sugar bombs; the Slammin’ Salmon Nordic Waffle remains one of our favorite food items on the Fairgrounds and an easy recommendation for first time visitors for how unexpected and delicious it is. The Belly Full sadly falls short of that high mark, though we mostly enjoyed what we were served. Pork belly is becoming increasingly common among the concoctions dreamed up by various Fair vendors, but we’ve yet to be served a pork belly anywhere that truly stands out; Nordic Waffles’ take on the protein was the closest we’ve come to being a fan, but was still underwhelming, with some pieces being flavorful and others too fatty. It was enhanced by the jalapeño jam, but it seemed to melt too easily upon the warm ingredients and led to a sticky, drippy mess that resulted in most of it seeping out of the thin paper wrapper provided; most of these drippings wound up on our shirt or the ground, and required a stop at a bathroom immediately afterward to wash up. The best element was the veggies that helped fill in this waffle, which were crisp and flavorful, and made this dish feel fresher than most of what we’ve been served at the Fair. The waffle shined as always, but we’ve come to expect that as Nordic Waffles has always had precision consistency in this department, with crispy golden brown edges that firm up the waffle as a proper sandwich; we’re doubtful however that ours was spring onion-infused as promised in the description.

$12 makes this among Nordic Waffles’ more expensive options, and we didn’t feel it was their best effort either, making it a tougher recommendation. For those with small appetites this may suffice, but it was more of a quick eat for most. While we appreciate the dedication to innovation and urge Nordic Waffles to keep adding more fun choices to their menu, this is one we probably wouldn’t come back to ourselves.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 3
• Appearance: 3
• Novelty: 2
• Value: 2

Overall Score: 10 out of 20 (Better Luck Next Year)

Fairgoers entering the Main Gate off Snelling Ave can barely step foot into the Minnesota State Fair before coming across the Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop just yards away, one of the Fair’s marquee vendors. For the last several years, this coffee shop on steroids has served some of the Fair’s best caffeinated beverages, bakery desserts, and sandwiches, made from farm-raised locally-sourced ingredients.

Among this year’s new offerings from the sizeable stand is a stellar Pork Schnitzel Sandwich for $14. The large piece of pork, breaded and fried, is sandwiched between a tall and golden brown bun and topped with coleslaw and a mustard mayo. The size of the pork is this sandwich’s stand-out attribute, exceeding out all sides of the bun and drawing the eater in to the deliciousness it contains. We found the pork to be juicy and tender, comparable to the excellent pork tenderloin we tried at the Iowa State Fair a few years ago, though not quite reaching that mark (a high plaudit to be certain). We appreciated that the breading around the pork was crispy but didn’t scrape up the roof of our mouth, and adhered admirably to the tenderloin, with no patchiness. The mustard mayo, spread across the bottom bun, was a nice accompaniment but not nearly plentiful enough. The carrot and cabbage slaw added some crunch but not much in the way of flavor and was drier than we would’ve liked. Attention to detail was apparent with caraway seeds mixed in as well, adding a nice depth when we would sparingly come across them.

This is a larger food item, and its price in the teens reflects that; if you order one, this will be one of the pricier foods you purchase, but in our opinion it was worth it. Those not looking to fill their stomach may want to opt for one of the stand’s smaller bites, but if you’re looking for a sandwich that will impress and could just as easily shine on any restaurant menu outside the Fair this is an outstanding choice, only heavily missing points on novelty from our review rubric below.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 4
• Appearance: 4
• Novelty: 1
• Value: 4

Overall Score: 13 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

R&R Ice Cream has made a name for itself by being one of the few ice cream vendors on the Fair’s north end, an area of the Fairgrounds more known for farm equipment and car manufacturers than its food options. The central gimmick behind this green and yellow tent are two model John Deere tractors churning their ice cream at the front of the stand, always worth staring at for a few minutes on each visit and a perfect connection to its Machinery Hill surroundings. New this year, they have added a bright and appealing Peach Shortcake Sundae to their menu, alongside their more traditional cones and cups of standard flavors like vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.

An extraordinary amount of peaches fill the plastic cup, surrounded by their silky smooth vanilla ice cream and sizeable cubes of shortcake, all topped by a comical amount of whipped cream. The whipped cream was very good, in line with the stellar offering from the neighboring Strawberries and Creme stand, though it was difficult initially to break through and get an even bite including all ingredients — fortunately, the whipped cream stood out so much that a few bites with only that was still enjoyable. The peaches were sadly lifeless, lacking the desired freshness that would take this sundae to the next level; they were helped along by the other ingredients, but were not as good as one would hope given how many are provided. R&R’s ice cream is certainly not the best on the Fairgrounds, with better versions found at Dairy Goodness or Kiwanis Malts, but is enhanced by the churning to make it smooth. The shortcake bites added some needed texture to this sundae, but the shortcake disintegrated too quickly within the ice cream turning it into a lumpy cake shake — not a tragedy, but we preferred it as a total package when it was more cohesive and considered tossing the last third of the cup away.

$9 is about the upper limit of what we would pay for an ice cream sundae, and there are far cheaper options around for getting ice cream and other sweets on the Fairgrounds. We didn’t quite feel ripped off, as what we were served was a large cup and filled with each ingredient in a good balance, but this might not be worth the extra cash and the limited stomach space.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 3
• Appearance: 5
• Novelty: 3
• Value: 1

Overall Score: 12 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)