Monday, August 27, 2007

State fair trip report...

We were exhausted by the time we got home from the fair yesterday - I was all ready to get the post up last night, but nodded off not too long after finishing dinner! There were plenty of exhibits that we didn't get to see, but we did make a good dent and did quite a bit of walking. We took a fair amount of pictures so we could show you some (mostly food) highlights if you couldn't make it out this year. As always, you can click on the photos to see them in their larger form if you have trouble seeing everything in them.

We got there fairly early in the morning, but that did not stop Jeff from making a dash to his favorite stand where they sell the infamous pork chop on a stick! He has gotten this every time that we have gone but I've never tried one until this trip - it was much better than I was expecting. It was juicy, smoky, pretty tender - the blend of spices (that they of course sold separately) made you want to lick your fingers clean and forgo a napkin. I now see what Jeff was talking about... this will be on my must-have list next year.

Once that was out of the way, we spent a good deal of time strolling around checking out all of the different food stands. One of the first ones we saw was the obligatory cream puff stand - fairly large line for this one at 9am.

A little farther down we came across a very empty Hot Dish on a Stick vendor - wonder what that is? It is basically a tater tot hot dish on-a-stick with a cream of mushroom dipping sauce. They also sold the "Uff Da treat" - a filled krumkake topped with caramel sauce and butter roasted pecans.

Next were the Scotch Eggs and Meatballs on a stick.

Staying warm under the lights...

This stand had a sign up to let you know what exactly you were getting yourself into if you ordered either of them.

If you wanted to stick with breakfast in the morning, there were quite a bit of people checking out this vendor...

There did not seem to be much of a line at this next one... too odd for some maybe?

Now we couldn't go to the fair and not get classic mini donuts...


There are a couple different vendors, but we like Tom Thumb the best.

If you are a Chocolate Chip Cookie fiend, then this is the place to go at the fair here...

Most everyone coming from the cookie building were walking away with one of these pales... I can't imagine eating that many cookies!

While we did stop here...

Where we got some fantastic salty and greasy fries, we did not however get this many - we got the little cup! I swear!

Later on, once we recovered from the fries, we decided we should go healthy and make a pit stop at the Kashi booth - they had lots of samples and coupons. They also gave us a nifty tote bag... woo!

I'm sure Paula Deen would be proud if she would have came to see them carve the face of the Princess Kay of the Milky Way winner out of a 90 pound block of pure butter.

We didn't only walk around to see food, we made sure to take a snap of...

And as you can see, this piggy didn't disappoint - that is one large animal!

This is what the crowd looked like as we tried to navigate our way back to the car - it got extremely busy and very hard to move around... and this was only around 1pm!

Oh, and before you ask - no, we didn't eat at all of the places we took pictures!

13 comments:

  1. I don't think you would be able to post if you had tried everything you took pictures of--looks like lots of fun. Hope you get settled in soon. Jancd

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  2. Looks like fun!
    I think Scotch eggs sound gross. I would never buy them at a fair.
    Also, sloppy joe on a stick.
    Baaaad idea.

    Cookies look good, as well as the cute little donuts.

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  3. Boy do those pictures bring back memories of growing up in St.Paul. It's been 36 years and I keep promising to go back there. Besides it's cooler there than here in Houston.

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  4. Anon - hee hee, isn't that the truth!

    Emilie - yeah, there was some pretty "interesting" stuff out there!

    Oldduffy - Make plans for next year! The fair is certainly worth it!

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  5. Looks like you guys had a good time! Did you see anyone with a sloppy joe on a stick? I can't imagine it - how'd they do it? hehee

    xoxo

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  6. The number of things midwesterners somehow attach to sticks at state fairs never fails to amaze me. Holy cow.

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  7. Wow, Kashi was there? Some state fair that was!

    Bucket of cookies... I don't think I could have finished all those either.

    I like getting the giant plate of potato chips when I go. Something about seeing a mound of thinly sliced, fried potatoes that I can't pass up. That and the lemonade.

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  8. It sounds like you had a great time! I am excited to go later in the week. I am always amazed by what they think up to put on a stick...

    Courtney

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  9. My ex is from MN( shakopee) and I've had my share of hot dish. I can't imagine it on a stick.

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  10. Excuse me for sounding snobby, but the bucket looks more interesting than those chocolate chip cookies. I'm sure your cookies are much better.

    Also, I would have been first in line at the Kashi booth. I love that company. I was hanging out with a girlfriend while the kids were playing. She heated up one of the new Kashi pizzas as a snack. It was excellent and had Omega 3's. I'm going to go buy a few.

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  11. I didn't see the Kashi booth; I'll have to look for it. I did get a few samples from the Naked Juice booth; they're generous portions.

    I've been to the fair twice this year, with only one repeat foodstuff, 1919 rootbeer. My favorite is the mocha on a stick, which they've amped up this year to a Double Dark Mocha Dipped in Chocolate on a Stick.

    The Sweet Martha's cookies are good, especially with a glass of cold milk, but I always opt for the cone rather than the bucket. Taking the cookies home amplifies how only OK they are.

    My fair food guideline is always get the smallest size, and share as widely as possible.

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  12. Lis - We didn't actually! We kept watching to see, but no one bought one!

    Jen - Yes, some of the things we just couldn't even take pictures of they were so bad!

    Christina - Yeah, but people love them cookies for some reason!

    Courtney - I hope to hear about your trip!

    Randi - We will actually be living not that far from there!

    Anna - Yeah, I wouldn't say they are that great. They are very mis-shapen as they "scoop" them into the buckets with something that you would normally use to scoop up french fries.

    GD - I must have missed that, it sounds good! And yes, we did share quite a bit!

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  13. Kashi.com is doing a free snack sample right now, btw. You get your choice between crackers, a trail mix bar, or a cookie.

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