Tuesday was my third and
final day at the Minnesota State Fair and it was an important one for
foodies.
Minnesota Cooks hosted its 7th annual
Farm to Table event which brought consumers, foodies, farmers and chefs
together in Carousel Park. There was a
full day of food demonstrations by local chefs accompanied by dialogue from
panelists who included farmers, politicians, media members and athletes. I'll be posting more about it over on
Café Cyan
later today.
As to my progress in
completing my fair foods
list?
I have to say I did quite well.
Although I nixed a few items, they were quickly replaced by other foods.
For example, I nixed the
Spam Breakfast Sandwich. Why? Because I tried the Spam Curds on day two and
figured that was enough Spam for one person.
Instead, I went to French Meadow and tried their Breakfast Pretzel.
I was expecting a browned
pretzel cut in half with egg, cheese and bacon layered in between. Instead I got pretzel dough wrapped around
scrambled egg, cheese and bacon bits.
The whole thing was a bit flavorless, but easily transported through the
fair without a mess. It was a clever idea,
but I wasn't overly impressed. That is
okay because French Meadow remains one of my favorite restaurants outside the
fair.
Next up, cheese curds from
the food building. I ate these for
breakfast and they were just as I had always remembered, soft and squeaky with
the perfect light batter coating the outside.
Lately I have been involved in a few debates over if cheese curds should
be eaten plain or with a dipping sauce.
My vote is obvious, with ketchup:
For a mid-morning treat, I
sought out the Arctic Slushies booth in the Midway. Once I caught sight of the Technicolor slushy
machines, I thought, "oh no, this is going to be flavorless sugar water".
However, I was pleasantly
surprised. Of course I made a "suicide"
and mixed multiple flavors and each one was very distinct. I could first taste the sweet cherry, then
the grape, and so on, all ending with the tropical pineapple and orange mixed
at the top.
For lunch I tried Harry
Singh's Trinidadian Doubles (listed as Fritters Doubles on their menu) and this
was absolutely my favorite item at the fair next to cheese curds, of
course.
Not necessarily the most
photogenic of foods, but definitely delicious.
The curried chickpeas on the inside were coated in two spicy sauces and
placed between very soft Caribbean split pea fritter dough which was not greasy
at all. The doubles served as a prime
example of a vegetarian dish done well with plenty of flavor and substance. I almost went back for seconds!
Also for lunch, I visited
Vescio's for fried ravioli. Throughout
high school I enjoyed many meals from Vescio's as their kids went to school
with me, but fried ravioli is something I enjoy only at the fair.
The sauce was piping hot
and I had to let it cool down just a bit before digging into the spinach and
artichoke filled raviolis. Lightly
breaded and fried perfectly, these hit the spot. The cool thing about Vescio's is they have
school desks along the side of their booth so you can sit and enjoy their food
all while relaxing with a table and chair.
There were three other
items from my list that I nixed.
Although I wanted a cream puff, they were huge and I couldn't fit more
food into my belly! The Peg muffins were
simply a breakfast sandwich that I could do without and I found that a Veggie
Pie was something I'll save for family potlucks, just a pre-baked crust smeared
with cream cheese and ranch topped with raw veggies. Not exciting enough food for the fair.
I just had to try one more
thing before leaving the fair because I had heard so much about them from
readers and friends:
Yep, the Aussie Fries
smothered in ranch and cheese sauce.
Disgustingly gluttonous, these are not for one person to enjoy. Bring a few friends to polish off the plate
of battered and fried potatoes. I swear
I had heart palpitations while eating these.
After spending ten hours
at the fair yesterday, I am ready to move on and live vicariously through all
you other fair-goers. Trying my best to
get healthy fruits, veggies and whole grains in me to make up for all the fried
food I've consumed over the past few days.
I will be back next week to shift gears and talk about healthy cooking
again.
