2021 Visit #2: Fran's Solo Visit

Every year I try to do a solo weekday morning trip to the Fair to hit up some favorites and off the beaten path things. I wasn’t sure I’d do it this year, but decided to go for it! I headed to the Fair early Tuesday morning and was in the gate by 8am. Here we go…

I started on the patio of the Fair’s only sit-down restaurant, The Peg. It’s a legit diner in the middle of the Fair.

I opted for the Peg Muffin (english muffin, runny egg, cheese, sausage, tomato), hash browns, and a coffee. Verdict? Sandwich great - a step above the usual version of this. Hash browns - very good, crispy and buttery. Coffee - watery crap, as diner coffee should be! :-) Would definitely do again, enjoyed the novelty of table service at the Fair, and this was a great way to start the day.

Crowds were minimal so I felt ok trying some indoor stuff. I hit the Fine Arts building right when it opened. The official state fair poster art is always on display just inside the door.

I just liked the way the light was coming in here.

This one was my favorite - that’s an impossibly intricate hand drawn line art imaginary city based on the Twin Cities. I used to draw maps like this when I was a kid. I could have stared at all the little details for hours!

After quick trips through the Eco Experience (the only building where masks were actually required, I am not sure why, but I appreciated it!) to check out all the fun e-bikes, solar powered stuff, and other Earth-friendly things, and the 4-H building to check out the kids’ photography and other creative projects… it was time for more food. Kerala Fried Chicken Kati Roll from Hot Indian (permanent space in the Food Bldg now!) They never steer me wrong. This was very good, particularly the outer wrap and the chutney. The fried chicken could have been crispier, that’s my only complaint. A lot of food for the price. This is a good time to point out that as I was flying solo, I cut myself off and threw out half or more of a lot of the items you’ll see today. I don’t like throwing away food, but I did it for journalism (and my arteries).

Palette cleanser - cider freeze from the apple stand in the Ag Bldg.

Now - two items that are not what they seem. The first was the ChoriPop from Andy’s Garage in the Midtown Global stand. The deal here is that it’s fried chorizo on a stick, but it’s not chorizo - it’s from the Herbivorous Butcher, a well-known vegan butcher in town. I read so many “I couldn’t tell it wasn’t meat!” reviews. Listen - you can tell it’s not meat. BUT IT DOESN’T MATTER. Best thing I ate all day. Perfectly spiced, make-your-nose-run-but-not-your-mouth-burn spicy, perfect avocado sauce to offset the spice… so good. Ate the whole thing. That other thing is a chicken tamale - they were running a 2-for-1 special on their last day at the Fair - yep, sorry, Midtown Global changes vendors halfway through. The tamale was hot garbage. Dipping sauce was great, though!

Next up in the “fool you” foods was the funnel cake from Auntie M’s Gluten Free. Another hit! Crispy outside, soft inside, a little malty, powdered sugar… didn’t miss the gluten one bit. Ate half, and had a lot of trouble cutting myself off.

The funnel cake was made even more enjoyable by the magical pan flute South American music coming from the DNR Outdoor Stage.

Quick passes through some animal barns (where I was pretty much the only one masked :-( I did my best to stay socially distanced, which wasn’t too hard at this point of the morning). I caught a sheep judging in progress! The one left of the pole won first place.

These ducks looked blissful for the photo, and then started fighting right after I took it.

Settled in at Dan Patch stage for some music while the skyride cars floated by overhead. Picked up a couple more foods to try…

Every year I make myself try a new ridiculous beer. Every year I regret it. This year’s entry? Cookies and Cream Golden Ale from Coasters. Verdict? Terrible. It was terrible before I even drank it, it smelled like fake flavor. I threw out 90% of it. Every year I question this plan, but every year I think “what if it’s the next mini donut beer?” This was NOT the next mini donut beer.

Better luck with these fried ravioli from JJ Vescio’s. I had a mix of cheese and sausage - both good, but get the sausage!

Poked around outside the DNR Building for a bit. Hello Great Horned Owl!

The pond is stocked with native fish as usual!

Here’s a classic I never got around to trying - a milkshake from the Gopher Dairy Bar outside the Moo Bldg. I picked strawberry - very good! I have a hard time with ice cream at the Fair - it all tastes good. One year we’ll get a bunch of us to all run and get different versions of the same flavor milkshake so we can do a proper ranking.

A very quick trip into the Dairy Bldg through the secret back door that takes you right to the butter sculptures. So 2021 - the princess has to sit for hours with a face shield on. She seemed to be enjoying her time in the spotlight though!

With less time indoors I had more time to explore outdoor spaces. Did you know the Future Farmers of America have a native plant garden contest on the back side of the Miracle of Life barn? Me neither. Got some good plant ideas!

And that’s a wrap for the Fabrizios at the Fair this year. Much lighter than our usual 5 or so visits, but with Covid anxiety, this is enough for us this year. We’re just happy there’s a Fair at all. I hope next year we can get back up to full speed - so many traditions and new things we couldn’t get to this year! Until next time… see ya!