The Best New Foods at the 2024 Minnesota State Fair

I learned hard lessons in planning and, um, time management at last year’s Minnesota State Fair, my first attempt to eat through all the Fair’s new foods. This year, I showed up to the Como Avenue gate with a highly detailed, meticulously mapped itinerary in hand. I managed to eat 35 of the 37 official new foods (that number also includes new vendors), only missing Union Hmong Kitchen, which was sold out of its sticky rice on-a-stick by the time I got there, and Indigenous Food Labs, which won’t be at Midtown Global Market’s stand in the International Bazaar until next week (go say hi to the folks at Momo Dosa, though). Here’s the best of what I found, in no particular order — dishes I would order again without regret.

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Deep-fried ranch at Lulu’s Public House, $12

Slotting the deep-fried ranch at the top of this list because I know what you’re here for. And yes, it’s good! The physics of this dish seemed questionable at first, but Lulu’s whipped up a ranch that’s much thicker than the average dressing you’d drizzle over a salad — it’s almost cream cheese-like. It tastes much like a crab rangoon, in fact, with little extra zhuzh from the dill, onion and garlic powder, etc. Very smart move to serve it with hot honey. At West End Market, south of Schilling Amphitheater

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Honey ‘n’ spice espresso shake-up at Hamline Church Dining Hall, $7.50

I came across this refreshing shake-up — a bonus, unofficial new drink for 2024 — at Hamline Dining Hall while on a quest for meatball sliders. It’s now neck-and-neck with the Farmer’s Union Coffee Shop’s maple nitro cold brew for the title of best coffee at the Fair. Crucially, this shake-up isn’t overly sweet; it’s creamy and served with a foamy cap; and the cinnamon and honey add a little intrigue, especially in the first few sips. North side of Dan Patch Avenue between Underwood and Cooper streets

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Buffalo cheese curd and chicken taco at Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos, $14

I wasn’t a huge fan of last year’s dill pickle cheese curd tacos — maybe I’m a curd purist, maybe it was the cheese/ranch/cream cheese combo that was just too much dairy — but this year’s rendition, bufffalo chicken cheese curd tacos loaded with blue cheese coleslaw, were pretty dang good. The acidity and spice of the buffalo sauce and the cool crunch of the slaw were ideal foils to the salt-fat-dairy trinity of the curds. North side of Judson Avenue between Liggett and Clough streets, outside the Sheep & Poultry Barn

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Dill pickle tater tots at Tot Boss, $8

These tater tots, one of the last remaining vestiges of the dill pickle trend that dominated the Fair’s past new foods lists in 2022 and 2023, are very straightforward, in a good way. They’re well-executed — beautifully fried, not at all stale or rubbery — and the dill seasoning is briny, a little vinegary, and applied with an even hand. East side of Underwood Street between Wright and Dan Patch Evenues, south of Kidway

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Crab boil wings at Soul Bowl, $20

I was so excited to see a dish seasoned with Old Bay — the most decidedly Atlantic of all spices — at the State Fair. Yes, these crab boil wings are $20, but they’re actually a pretty damn good value: You could easily share this dish between three people and all enjoy a couple wings; hunks of grilled sweet corn and sausage; and a solid handful of seasoned potato wedges. I paid $14 for a half-cup of fried mushrooms elsewhere, so. In the Food Building, east wall

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3 Piggy Pals On-a-Stick at Sausage Sister and Me, $12

These bacon-wrapped sausage bites on a stick are a pretty quintessential, pretty exquisite fair food. What made them stand out, though, was the combination of cream cheese filling, jalapenos (grilled, to bring out their natural sweetness), and a subtle brush of barbecue sauce. In the Food Building, east wall

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Afro poppers at Afro Deli, $6

These Afro poppers were everything I always want (and never get) in mini doughnuts: They’re craggy and a little rough-hewn; densely doughy and moist; and subtly sweet, not cloyingly so. They’re really well-priced, too. I got them drizzled in Afro Deli’s mango sauce, but on a second visit I’d probably go for the chocolate. In the Food Building, east wall

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Ba’bacon sour cream and onion hummus bowl at Baba’s, $14

I feel like Baba’s hit the sweet spot with this bacon, sour cream and onion, and tater tot combination, bringing a little of the salt-fat-dairy State Fair ethos to their reliably good hummus bowls. The tots themselves are pretty immaculate, as are the pita puffs, served golden and still warm. The sour cream and scallions add tangy, bright notes that pull the bowl together. East side of Underwood Street between Lee & Randall avenues, just south of Little Farm Hands

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Cotton candy iced tea at Loon Lake Iced Tea, $7

I expected to hate this iced tea, honestly — my fair food hot take is that nothing should be cotton candy-flavored besides cotton candy — but it was refreshing; even a little magical. The tea base is butterfly pea flower, which gives the drink its blue hue; when stirred with the supplied sugar stick, it turns to the lavender color you see here, and shimmers in the sunlight. It’s a great option for kids (and happens to be right outside the Kidway). Loon Lake says its teas are “naturally” flavored, which is likely why this one didn’t have an artificial cotton candy taste. It is quite sweet, though. West side of Underwood Street between Wright and Dan Patch avenues

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Chile mango whip at Tasti Whip, $12

It was a slight bummer that Tasti Whip let this soft-serve sit a little too long before passing it out the window — I took this photo about 45 seconds after it was in my hands. That said, it’s pretty hard to beat a tangy, frosty, dairy-free soft-serve drizzled with Chamoy and sprinkled with lime-bright Tajin and finished with a tamarind candy straw, ideal for snacking and walking long after you’ve housed the ice cream. Located on the northwest corner of Dan Patch Avenue and Underwood Street

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Chicken and chorizo paella at Paella Depot, $14

Paella Depot, stationed near the Fair’s new Como Avenue entrance, is a new vendor this year, serving what it calls “the hotdish of Spain.” With three-foot diameter paelleras firing inside the truck, it’s primed for high-volume fair service. I went for the simple chicken and chorizo paella — for $5 more you can add seafood — and it was a fragrant, savory, stomach-steadying choice. Opt to add a fried egg. South side of Judson Avenue between Clough and Nelson streets

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Quesabirria taquitos at El Burrito Mercado, $16

I’m so happy to see El Burrito Mercado at the Fair this year — find the stand in the International Bazaar, right next to Union Hmong Kitchen. Among this trio of taquitos, esquites, and agua de sandia (watermelon), the quesabirria taquitos are the standout. Stuffed with richly marinated beef and cheese and topped generously with EBM’s silky, unbeatable salsa verde and a sprinkling of cotija, they’re an ingenious repackaging of quesabirria into something a little less messy for fair-going purposes. At the International Bazaar, south wall