Fairly Unbalanced

This is exactly the type of one-of-a-kind beer that the Fair should be known for. This is a vibrant summer sipper, with fruity citrus notes and a light malt finish. The orange sugar rim makes this beverage really stand out and go the extra mile, both in terms of taste and novelty. With this Pop Rocks-like rim, the beer creates a fascinating experience: an intense orange flavor, with a more bitter beer aftertaste, returning to a more mellow orange finish. This creates an addictive compulsion to try another sip, just to replicate what happened and figure out its nuances. The beer perfectly evokes its namesake, creating an adult version of the classic warm weather childhood treat, with its inclusion of orange cream and lactose.

A 12 ounce cup goes for $5.50 while the 20 ounce tall is $9, making this beer considerably more expensive than the original Push-Up. Its bright orange color basically invites you to try it, and even the beer tap will entice you. Fulton has nailed what makes a fun Fair beer; not something we’d necessarily want to drink all the time or away from the Fairgrounds, but an exciting drink to have during these hallowed twelve days of summer. This beer is sure to stand out from the massive field of new beverages this year to be one of the most talked about, and one of the most important to try.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 4
• Appearance: 4
• Novelty: 5
• Value: 2

Overall Score: 15 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

Sometimes a Fair food idea is just crazy enough to work out. Combinations that are too crazy, too out there, too extreme to be practical anywhere else find their match with the zaniness of the Fair. In this case, pickle meets bratwurst meets batter meets hot oil for something that has no right being as good as it is, and something no one would ever dare try anywhere else. The Fair offers up some artistic license, and Swine & Spuds has taken that and run with it.

Remarkable with this item is the massive size of the pickle, necessary to fit an entire bratwurst inside. Adding a thick layer of fried batter just adds to the visual of this monstrous cylinder of food placed on a stick. In fact, the first few bites were very difficult to wrap a mouth around, especially as the pickle was harder to tear into than your average corn dog. The batter and pickle work well in tandem, with some of the acidity of the pickle meeting the sweet batter, and the coating masking what would otherwise be a strong pickle flavor. The bratwurst stuffed inside the pickle, a remarkable feat of engineering, has a great flavor to it as well, and is surprisingly cooked well considering the challenge that comes with it being two layers deep, fully encased by both pickle and batter.

An $8 price makes this considerably more expensive than a regular corn dog, albeit one with an added ingredient so the comparison is not quite fair. The wait to receive ours was quite long, as they seem to cook them in batches of 10 or so, with all those waiting on the product finally receiving them en masse as they come out of the fryer. Mustard is made available, though it seemed unnecessary and we ate ours plain. Some of the batter did fall off the pickle around our final few bites, but in truth, it’s impressive that it adheres to the slippery surface of the pickle at all.

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 4
• Appearance: 3
• Novelty: 4
• Value: 3

Overall Score: 14 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

Izzy’s Ice Cream knows a thing or two about great partnerships. First, they paired up with the Hamline Church Dining Hall, a relic of the Fair that has been serving food to patrons since 1897, to place an ice cream cart at the front of their building to serve cups and cones on the sidewalk. Then, they synced up with Minneapolis rap powerhouse Dessa to create this year’s terrific new ice cream flavor. No false hopes here, this new flavor lives up to the hype — and the sterling reputation of Dessa being truly talented at everything she touches, including now apparently ice cream craftsmanship. Good grief, this is some great ice cream!

Allow me to chime in with this list of ingredients: chocolate-covered espresso chips, toffee crunch, and cardamom are the components that make up these scoops, mixed into Izzy’s exemplary vanilla blend. All three components are as fierce as she is on stage, especially the cardamom which stood out as the dominant flavor despite the description saying it was “just a hint.” This is hardly a complaint, as the unique flavor worked perfectly with the rest to make this a variety of ice cream we’ve never quite experienced before. Much more common were the espresso chips and toffee crunch, though both amped up the flavor as well and added some texture to the velvety smooth ice cream.

At $5.50 for a single scoop (plus Izzy’s customary mini-scoop of your choice perched on top), unfortunately their prices might throw your wallet into the spin. The ice cream visually is indistinguishable from most others in appearance, meaning taste is really the only place this one stands out from the pack. That said, the taste is definitely worth trying, and if you offered us six different choices of ice cream, we’d make this choice 5 out of 6. Rush on down to the Izzy’s stand out front of the Hamline Dining Hall like you’re running fire drills to give this ice cream a try. And be sure to go see Dessa performing on the Leinie Lodge Bandshell stage for the final two nights of the Fair, September 1st and 2nd!

Ratings (0-5):

• Taste: 5
• Appearance: 3
• Novelty: 4
• Value: 1

Overall Score: 13 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)