Fairly Unbalanced

Giggles’ has been a Machinery Hill landmark for years now since the Fair revamped this corner as the North Woods Experience, and perhaps no other vendor better matches its surroundings. While the large stand suggests a traditional Northern Minnesota cabin, their yearly food innovations are anything but ordinary. Giggles’ consistently invents unique, and uniquely Minnesotan, new foods with seeming ease.

This year’s new offering is perhaps the most convoluted yet. A combination of turkey, duck and chicken blended into one sausage, with a wonderful fennel bun and a sweet relish makes for a complicated mix of flavors, yet they all come through and they all work wonderfully together. The sweet relish adds a bright pop of color too, making this more attractive than your average sausage in a bun. At $7, this is great value for such a meaty sausage, and after finishing it, you want another one. This is easily the best thing I’ve tried yet in this nascent Fair. Trek up to Machinery Hill just for this, it’s well worth it!

Ratings (0-4):

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

Overall Score: 18/20 (Blue Ribbon Best)

This is the new beer with perhaps the most Minnesotan pedigree possible: you have lefse, you have lingonberries, you have locally sourced malt, and the most Minnesotan term lending to its name. This beer sips easily, and the lefse chip and lingonberries floating in the cup are fun. The beer otherwise is not as exciting as first appearance would suggest however. Nothing inherently wrong, but not special. The lefse is also of dubious authenticity; it’s eerily similar to the wonton on offer at Giggles’.

Ratings (0-4):

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

Overall Score: 15/20 (Fairly Fresh)

The Anchor Coffee House is a new vendor to the Fair this year, but their stand, located right outside the former Ramberg Senior Center (now re-branded as Ramberg Music Cafe), operates with the efficiency of seasoned veterans. Maybe the attentive staff are energized by their own potent coffee; all Fairgoers will hit a wall during their day of excess, and The Anchor is here to give you liquid second wind. Their cold brew is available in Vanilla, Chocolate and Caramel varieties; hot coffee options are also available, along with a giant banana chocolate chip muffin and Stroopwafels. I opted for the Vanilla variety, and was greeted with a smooth and refreshing cold brew that gave me a needed pick-me-up after arriving at the Fairgrounds before sunrise. At $7 for 16 ounces and filled with large ice cubes, a lack of value is the biggest detractor here.

Ratings (0-4 scale):

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

Overall Score: 12/20 (Fairly Fresh)

First and foremost, new this year is Farmers Union Coffee Shop’s revamped stand, with about double the counter space as their previous iteration, which should cut back on what has often been a lengthy line protruding into the adjacent sidewalk. Their new remodel is bright and inviting, a far cry from what it once was, and I hope they continue to catch on in popularity as they have the best coffee at the Fair bar none.

With the lauding of their new space out of the way, this new Blueberry Rhubarb Cobbler is a mess. What could have been a fun and bright treat turns into a cup of sad-looking elements. The accompanying cornmeal biscuit is stale and flavorless, and does a poor imitation of the crumbly crust one would expect from a proper cobbler. The blueberries are flavorful but one-note, and the rhubarb is largely missing from the mix. The whipped cream topping is lazily slopped to one side of the cup, and adds nothing to this concoction. At $8 for a half-filled, lukewarm cup, this item is far too expensive to be worth it to even the biggest berry fans.

Ratings (0-4 scale):

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

Overall Score: 4/20 (Fried-Out Flop)

The Hamline Church Dining Hall has maintained a State Fair presence since 1897, making it the oldest vendor at the Fair. In spite of over 120 years of existence, my exposure to it has been surprisingly limited to the wonderful Izzy’s Ice Cream scoop shop positioned at their front door. Inside their building is a spacious dining area with a cafeteria-style setup. Long communal tables and hearty sit-down meals suggest the ultra-Minnesotan concept of a church basement. The brand new Bananas Foster French Toast drew me in past the scoop shop facade to finally get the full experience.

$9.25 gets diners a full plate of four sizeable slices of French toast, drenched in an orange-rum sauce and topped off by hefty banana slices and aerosol whipped cream. While the French toast slices were cooked to perfection, the sauce will disappoint Bananas Foster diehards, as it’s more sweet than sinful, as one may anticipate from a church. The prevalent orange shavings are a nice touch, and add both color and citrus flavor to the dish. Forget about eating this one on the go; this is a two-handed, knife and fork affair. Grab a seat next to a friendly neighbor, dig in and forget that a 100,000 people are right outside the door.

Ratings (0-4 scale):

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

Overall Score: 8/20 (Better Luck Next Year)