If you’re not a State Fair person, no shame! It’s true that sheep barns, pickle beers, and funnel cakes all rolled into one is an acquired taste. Luckily, fair haters, local restaurants have your back. Here’s where to find State Fair foods around town, no entrance fee required.
Pickle Pizza
Few State Fair foods have captured the culinary zeitgeist quite like Rick’s Pizza, which, three years after its debut, continues to draw some of the longest lines at the fair. There are a quite a few restaurants around the metro dishing up their own versions of pickle pizza, however—a few favorites are Yoerg Brewing Company, Slice Brothers Pizza, Good Times (which does a pepperoni and pickle rendition), OG Zaza, Young Joni, the Tipsy Steer, QC Pizza in Mahtomedi (the true pickle pizza O.G.), Mana Brewing in Shakopee, and Bunny’s in St. Louis Park. Also, Pizza Luce is serving pickle pizza at Target Field this year.
Sweet Martha’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
Personally, we feel that Sweet Martha’s cookies don’t taste quite right when they’re removed from the sugary, chaotic context of the State Fair—but if you’re compelled to bake ’em at home, you can find frozen dough at Lunds & Byerlys, Hy-Vee, Kowalski’s, Target, Jerry’s, and many other stores around the metro (and, in fact, the broader Midwest). Use the store locator to find your closest spot.
Famous Egg Rolls
The finest egg rolls at the Minnesota State Fair come from the folks behind Que Viet Village House in Northeast Minneapolis and Em Que Viet in St. Paul. These we fully endorse for year-round dining.
Cheese Curds
Our hot take is that the most fair-adjacent cheese curds reside at the Nook and Mac’s Fish and Chips, both in St. Paul. Or, if you’re so moved, schlep out to Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery to get the freshest raw curds (starting every day at 11 a.m.) and batter and fry them yourself. The creamery produces 180,000 pounds of cheese curds daily. Here’s an air fryer recipe.
Dairy Barn Soft Serve
On that same Ellsworth note: The creamery also offers soft serve, which is probably the closest approximation to the uber-fresh ice cream that’s served at the State Fair’s Dairy Barn.
Corn Dogs
If it’s a corn dog kind of day, Uncle Franky’s in Northeast Minneapolis serves a classic for $6.50. Also, the Korean-style corn dogs at CrunCheese in Dinkytown are pretty darn good.
State Fair Specials Around Town
Here are a few highlights from local restaurants running State Fair specials:
Earl Giles is serving porchetta sandwiches, funnel cakes with brown butter caramel, cotton candy dandies, corn dog Old Fashioneds (someone please report back on these) and more through August 31.
Smack Shack’s North Loop and Bloomington are dishing up cheese curd and pickle baskets, lobster corn dogs, crispy gator nuggets on a stick, and “MN State Fair lobster rolls” from August 21 through September 1.
Tria is doing a State Fair-themed prix fixe from August 21 through September one—highlights include cheese curds with truffle-honey mustard, fried chicken coconut skewers, and mini donuts.
Out in River Falls, Tattersall is serving mini donut sours and pineapple upside-down cake on a stick from August 6 through August 31.
Out in Eden Prairie, Flying Dutchman Distillery and Cocktail Lounge is serving a state fair-themed cocktail menu plus dill cheese curd pizza.
Last but not least, Kendall’s Tavern and Chophouse is serving fried pickles with ranch, mini donuts, and a few fair-themed drinks (think blue raspberry lemonade, mini donut martinis) from August 22 to 24.
Dining and Cooking