Fairly Unbalanced

I knew I would like this dish before I ever tried it, as The Blue Barn has had a great track record of innovative and flavorful new food items that have quickly built up a reputation for being one of the Fair’s premier eateries. The Swedish Meatball Smorgas isn’t my favorite entry from this venerable establishment, but it is another bona-fide hit. Three Swedish meatballs sit atop a large bun, smothered in the same delectable sausage gravy found in some other Blue Barn offerings. It is finished off with lingonberry jam to add some sweet flavor and color to add up to a really great sandwich. It’s a little on the small side for the $9 price point, but the taste makes up for the diminutive size.

Ratings (0-4):

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

Overall Score: 14/20 (Fairly Fresh)

Last year’s Fair was an incredible freshman showing from the brand new Hideaway Speakeasy, located on the remodeled second floor of the Grandstand building, repackaged as the Veranda. Hideaway embraced the prohibition theme with sandwiches and appetizers appropriate to the era (other than the pricing, of course). A fun concept tied together by strong execution meant nearly every offering the new vendor had was a hit, including their most-Instagramable drink, the Cotton Candy Bubble Trouble. This year, there’s a second Bubble Trouble offering, the Mobster Mule, and it is even better than the first. Cannon River Winery Edelweiss wine is combined with ginger beer and lime in front of the customer on a cocktail tray, creating a sweet and refreshing perfect summer sipper. This drink is perfect to cool off after a long day of wandering the Fairgrounds in the sun. Unfortunately, this drink is served in the same plastic State Fair cups as most other beverages across the Fairgrounds, rather than the fun plastic flutes the Cotton Candy version offered last year, making this drink less fun to snap a picture of, but one taste of this concoction will render that vanity complaint pointless.

Ratings (0-4):

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

Overall Score: 13/20 (Fairly Fresh)

These pepperoni chips are so simple yet so good that you are left wondering how they are only a new food at the Fair just now in 2018. This could easily have been an established cult favorite food for many if it had only been introduced years earlier. LuLu’s Public House has done a remarkable job of developing innovative, tasty and affordable new foods each year since it’s inception at the outset of the brand new West End Market area of the Fair a few years back, and while this may be their most unique offering yet, it also might be their best.

Not much goes into the description of these craveable snacks, and that simplicity might be what makes them so perfect: they’re just fried pepperoni chips, served along with a delightful and addicting red pepper queso sauce. The pepperoni chips are good on their own, they’re even better with the queso, they’re fantastic to share with a group of friends, yet they do not get tiresome if eaten as an individual’s meal. My only quibble is that the cup of red pepper queso is slightly too small for the portion of pepperoni given. Give these fun new snacks a try, and expect to include them into your regular Fair favorites for years to come.

Ratings (0-4):

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

Overall Score: 17/20 (Blue Ribbon Best)

The primary thing to note about this new beer is it’s unusual location: this is the first new food or beverage item in recent memory to appear from the concessionaires located inside the ticketed music venue portion of the Grandstand. This means the only way to try this beer is to attend one of the nightly shows held at the Grandstand, the only entertainment at the Fair not included with the price of standard Fair admission. The exception is that the beer will be offered during the Amateur Talent Contest Finals held at the Grandstand on Sunday, September 2nd, which has free admission. Short of going on September 2nd or attending one of the paid shows, you will not be able to get your hands on this beer.

Having gotten all that disclaimer out of the way, time to talk about the beer. This beer’s name is sadly misleading; the “caramel corn” in the name evokes thoughts of caramel-covered popcorn showing up in the flavor profile of this ale, a risky concept in a beer but one that is not out of the question among the inventive craft brews that have taken hold of the Fair in recent years. Instead, “caramel corn” refers to the corn used in the brewing process and the caramel color of the beer itself, that is to say, it looks like most other beers. What results then is a rather boring and understated beer that has tricked you into thinking it will be something so much more. The good news, should you be attending a Grandstand show and look to have a few drinks while you’re there, is that the concessionaire for the Grandstand has revamped their beer offerings totally, and now feature a number of established craft beers, many of which are considerably better than the offering from Finnegans.

Ratings (0-4):

• Taste: 2
• Appearance: 1
• Novelty: 0
• Value: 3
• Portability: 4

Overall Score: 10/20 (Better Luck Next Year)