Fairly Unbalanced

The Herbivorous Butcher, Minnesota’s premier vegan food purveyors, has once again put on a double feature of movie-themed main courses for their offerings at the Minnesota State Fair. Each item is uniquely distinct from each other, and can be ordered separately ($11 for the pizza roll, $14 for the ball) or together for a slight discount ($23 combined). We found both items to be fascinating if not outright enjoyable, and collectively it was a lot of food for the price but perhaps only worth the high price for those actually attempting to keep a vegan diet at the Fair.

The better of the two items was clearly the pizza roll, a giganticized version of the popular baked snack, filled with Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, and marinara sauce, topped off with a basil drizzle. As we have experienced with Herbivorous Butcher products in the past, we found it difficult to tell that the meat was vegan, with a very similar taste and texture to the real thing making it great for all diners, even those adverse to fake proteins. Likewise, the vegan cheese was delightful and prominent, and collectively it tasted identical to a Totino’s pizza roll, an impressive achievement on this scale and with the vegan limitation. We did think the sausage was too sparse, and the filling in general pooled to the center so edge bites were mostly just crust; thankfully, the herby breadcrumb shell was enjoyable and was further enhanced by the basil sauce. We found the basil flavor to ultimately be a distracting departure from the familiar pizza roll flavor, but overall enjoyed it.

We were more confounded by the Raging Ball, a self-contained cheeseburger stuffed inside a mochi dough ball, complete with cheddar cheese, grilled onions, and pickles, and liberally sprinkled with bacon-flavored powdered sugar. This ball is massive, about the size of a softball, making it difficult to eat, even when seated at a table with a plastic fork; in fact, ultimately we picked it up, but it was still difficult to wrap a mouth around it to take a bite and we were covered in powdered sugar and sesame seeds in doing so. We don’t mind getting a lot of food for our money, but this is so large as to be impractical. Of the two items, this was easier to determine it was vegan as the burger inside had a slightly off texture, though it was flavorful. For those that despise pickles, the dominant flavor profile came from their inclusion, and even as they were not visually present in many bites the briny taste prevailed. Bites near the top of the ball that contained the bacon powdered sugar were fascinating, the mix of smoky and sweet adding complexity and we were mesmerized by how well it worked, far more than just a gimmick. The grilled onions were impossible to detect, either in taste or appearance, which was disappointing. The mochi ball itself was fun and littered with delightful sesame seeds, providing a delightful chewiness to the dish, although it thickened up toward the bottom of the ball and some of those bites toward the middle were much chewier. Ultimately, it was too difficult to get a perfectly proportioned, cohesive bite, and even when we did it was too pickle-forward to completely enjoy.

Ratings (0-5):

Honey I Blew Up The Pizza Roll:

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

Overall Score: 14 out of 20 (Fairly Fresh)

Raging Ball:

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

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

After a few year’s of bringing larger new food items to the Fair, Hamline Church Dining Hall has downsized to offer a pair of meatball sliders for 2024. A cranberry and wild rice meatball mix is topped off with a ruby-red relish comprised of beats, onions, red peppers, lingonberries, and cranberries, rounded out with a slice of dill Havarti cheese serving as a base underneath and sandwiched on a brioche bun. Even with all the veggies at play in the relish, the berries stood out and added a tartness that became the defining characteristic. The beats, onions, and red peppers got lost together as the relish turned into a dark red mush, and when combined with the mealy meatloaf it was rather displeasing overall. The cheese underneath the patties didn’t help, as it was cold and lifeless, lacking in character and merely present, and the buns were standard-fare as well.

For a food item that had so much promise to wow, these were regrettable, as is the $10 price point. While they were sizeable sliders, these are difficult to recommend at any price; perhaps individually one for $5 could be worthwhile as a substantial snack, but we were glad we were splitting the order and didn’t have to subject ourselves to both in the pair. A flawed execution marred what otherwise could have been a tasty snack, and of the two new Swedish-themed church food hall items (alongside Salem Lutheran’s Swedish Ice Cream Sundae) it was clearly the lesser.

Ratings (0-5):

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

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

Great Fair food is born out of an ability to think outside the box and reinvent your specialty as a vendor to create something entirely unseen that will grab eater’s attentions. In this sense, we’re impressed by West End Creamery flipping the concept of what an ice cream sandwich could be on its head, but unfortunately the execution wasn’t there to turn this into a bona fide hit.

This one requires a little explanation: kettle chip-flavored ice cream is sandwiched between large pieces of focaccia bread, and basted with honey butter, herbs, and kettle chip crumbs, in what becomes an adult ice cream sandwich. Beginning with the ice cream, individualized bites separated from the rest of the ingredients revealed no potato chip flavor, only a mild vanilla, not overly sweet and with creaminess as its lone standout quality. Together with the focaccia, provided by the outstanding Wrecktangle Pizza, the kettle chip concept becomes actualized but turns out to be very heavy on rosemary as to be distracting and unpleasant. We were impressed that the focaccia was soft and delicate, yet held up well to support the ice cream, even as it melted fast on a hot day, and we were able to maintain the integrity of the sandwich structure throughout, although with some messiness from the potato chip bits dotting the top inevitably falling off. Though we saw the honey butter applied to the bread just prior to it being served to us, it lacked honey flavor and disappeared completely, unfortunate as this could have really utilized any element of sweetness. Instead, it turns into a more savory dessert that was too one-note and not refreshing as a treat the way ice cream should be, a perplexing item that we’re glad we tried but won’t be rushing back for.

$12 was far too much to spend for this experience, the ultimate gut-punch after reeling from the initial disappointment that this didn’t live up to the promise it had from description alone. Truly, a better time could be had dipping a bag of Lay’s into a bowl of vanilla if one really wanted to see if chips and ice cream should coexist, at least at a much lower cost. We hope that West End Creamery keeps trying to innovate but puts some more work into perfecting their ideas before next year’s Fair.

Ratings (0-5):

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

Overall Score: 7 out of 20 (Better Luck Next Year)

Is the Fair about making fun food fast or fast food fun? In a self-contained culinary universe with so much to offer, Fairgoers face so many choices about how they want their day at the Fair to go and how they should fuel it. While it seems like most want to graze as they go, grabbing a bite here and there and trying many different items, it’s perfectly possible — if not reasonable and sensible — to eat more akin to a traditional meal structure at the Fair. This creates space for more substantial menu items, something that has always been present on the Fairgrounds but seems to becoming more prevalent as more local restauranteurs open up State Fair outposts.

The new Crab Boil Wings from Twin Cities restaurant scene mainstay Soul Bowl has managed to lean away from the greasy, on-a-stick concepts of what makes good “Fair food,” and has instead has delivered good food, at the Fair. They should be lauded for these wonderful chicken wings, served five to an order, surrounded in a bowl by potatoes, corn, and slices of chicken apple sausage, all of it tossed in crab boil butter and hot sauce. The chicken wings were perfectly fried, juicy and meaty, and took to the crab boil seasoning very well. The hot sauce, which was optionally applied, did not overpower and added a pleasant zing to everything it touched. The corn cobs were large, the second-most prevalent part of the dish, and served as a nice “halftime” between wings; sweet and fresh, we thought it rivaled the Fair’s popular Corn Roast stand in quality. The potatoes and sausage were more sparse but filled in the serving boat well, afterthoughts compared to the truly remarkable wings but completing the scene of a down-south Cajun cookout. Visually, we were devouring it with our eyes before we could even sit down to eat, and unlike many Fair foods that can be taken on the go we do recommend finding a table to properly dig into this one.

Yes, this is meant to be a full meal, or something to be shared alongside another eater, so the $20 price point seems steep initially, but this is a level of quality food rarely found on the Fairgrounds and if you factor in that you won’t be seeking out your next snack a half hour later it has a promising value proposition. Indeed, on a restaurant menu outside of the Fair, we feel few would balk at this price for their dinner, especially given what is served. They’re not right for every person or every situation at the Fair, but we suspect most that choose to imbibe in these wings will not regret their decision.

Ratings (0-5):

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

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