Fairly Unbalanced

Sometimes when the description of a new Fair food doesn’t make sense, Fairgoers should take it at face value and pass on it. Such was the case when we heard the description of the Sweet Corn Cola Float, the new dessert item on offer this year from Blue Moon, a vendor with a lofty history of more successes than misses, including some of our highest rated foods of recent years. Sadly, our fears with this item were realized, and this was perhaps the worst we’ve ever had from Blue Moon, a complete disaster with few redeeming qualities.

Sweet corn ice cream, sourced from Minnesota Dairy Lab, has sweet corn cola poured over it, topped by whipped cream, Pop Rocks, and a frozen caramel. At least the caramel was good, a delicious garnish that didn’t last long but was a joy. The soda seemed flat and gave off an unpleasant taste, somehow devoid of sweetness and somewhat bitter. The ice cream, which we’ve tasted previously when utilized in other Blue Moon items, was thankfully inoffensive, but disappeared among the cola, and contributes to a one-note flavor profile where that one note is a jarring and dissonant one. The Pop Rocks do their best to liven things up but there is no rescuing this flawed concept.

Further insult is the $11 price point, which would have been excessive even if this were enjoyable. This float looks cool and nothing else, a kernel of an idea that was best left on the stalk.

Ratings (0-5):

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

Overall Score: 4 out of 20 (Fried-Out Flop)

Sooner or later, O’Gara’s has to run out of vaguely Irish-themed foods to debut from their prominent stand just inside the Fair’s main gate. Every year we think they’ve tried it all, and like clockwork the next year they come back with a new addition that fits their theme perfectly. Unfortunately, not all of these ideas have been good ones, with quite a mixed bag of results over the years, although this year’s Shepherd’s Pie is their best effort in recent memory.

Hot pastries are stuffed full of braised beef, mashed potatoes, onions, carrots, and peas, sliced into triangles that defy physics with how they manage to serve their contents open-faced but still maintain their integrity as you walk around with them. Indeed, this is a dense dish that’s meant to be taken on the go, and we were impressed with how capably we could walk and nibble without spillage. This is thanks to the mashed potato-heavy base that holds everything in like glue, thankfully enjoyable tubers that were a far cry from instant and seasoned well with parsley. Bits of braised beef were small and rare, though they added considerable flavor when they appeared. The veggies were much more apparent, though these merely added character more than contribute heavily to the taste. The pastry was flaky and buttery, although the edge bites were tougher and less enjoyable, with the middle relenting much easier. Herb gravy is advertised to be blended within the pastry, but it was non-existent in what we were served, though its absence may have assisted with this dish being less heavy on the stomach than we had feared.

This is a good value at $10 for a substantial appetizer that was just unique enough to the Fairgrounds as to be interesting, although not the flashiest of foods. By description, we were supposed to receive two pastries, but were served three and we were happy for the bonus as each bite was one of the best we’ve ever sampled from O’Gara’s. We’re hoping this is the beginning of turning over a new leaf for the vendor, and we’re now much more anticipatory for whatever vaguely Irish item comes our way next year.

Ratings (0-5):

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

Overall Score: 14 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

New to the Minnesota State Fair for 2024, though certainly not new to the Twin Cities event scene, is Paella Depot, a jumbo food trailer with open sides revealing gigantic cooking pans from which their paella is prepared. Paella Depot has been spotted all over town at festivals, art fairs, and other events for years, and their addition to the Fair was foreseeable, as those in charge of the Fair cherish vendors that have prior event experience before allowing them into their exclusive “walled garden” of concessionaires. We must admit, we have tried the paella some years prior to its debut at the Fair at another event, and we were disappointed with it, but its addition as a new Fair food gave us a duty to try it once more to see if anything had changed.

Smartly introduced to Minnesotans with branding on the their stand proclaiming it to be the “Hotdish of Spain,” paella is a caramelized rice dish filled with a cavalcade of vegetables: leeks, red bell peppers, zucchini, and snap peas. Chicken hunks and chorizo sausage slices are included, while fried egg and seafood are optional additions for a fee. We’ll get the negative out of the way first: our biggest issue when we first tried their paella was how overcooked many of the grains of rice had become, crunchy enough to crack a tooth on leading to many displeasing bites, an issue that persists here at the Fair as well. With that aside, we loved the prevalent chicken and chorizo pieces that stood out and filled us up quickly. The veggies were pleasingly fresh, particularly the peapods which had a fantastic snap to them and brightened up each bite they contained. Overall the dish was on the blander side, but fortunately hot sauce is provided in a pour-it-yourself squeeze bottle, and we were glad we applied it liberally to the dish to give it a needed punch up.

Without the addition of egg or seafood, the modest serving bowl of paella cost $14 and paired well with their fruity aguas frescas also for sale (we tried the Ginger Peach Raspberry flavor and enjoyed it immensely, though it should have been served with a wider boba tea-style straw to allow the fruit pieces at the bottom through). We thought this was a just price for what was served, albeit still disappointed with the poor execution on the rice as such a major component of the dish. While we can’t say we’ll be rushing back for more, we were glad it had improved on the whole, and we expect Paella Depot will be a successful addition to the Fair’s roster.

Ratings (0-5):

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

Overall Score: 11 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

We love a good mystery, so we couldn’t pass up a secret flavor ice cream sandwich that’s so bewildering that it’s not even included among the listed new foods for the 2024 Minnesota State Fair. Thelma’s has popped up in recent years just outside the Haunted House, serving a cavalcade of inventive cookie and ice cream combinations, but we thought the mystery flavor was the best one we’ve tried yet. Our only hint, by way of allergen necessity, was a warning that it contains tree nuts. Within one bite, the mystery was spoiled and we recognized it as a familiar and inviting butter pecan, with a maple flavor that coats the tongue like a treat. The blonde cookies had numerous almond shavings visible to their exteriors, and remained soft throughout despite the wide block of ice cream sandwiched between them.

A QR code invites eaters to guess and name the flavor, for future sale in stores, adding to the uniqueness of this experience. It’s certainly a first for a new Fair food to become a guessing game, and although we solved it quickly, we were so enamored with the product that we didn’t need the novelty to have a good time. At just $5, this is a great quick treat to grab and go, and won’t leave you puzzled about where all your money has gone either.

Ratings (0-5):

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

Overall Score: 16 out of 20 (Blue Ribbon Best)