Two Words: CHEESE CURDS!

Okay, so I might incur the wrath of my fellow Texans when I make this statement:

You have to go to the Minnesota State Fair.

All fairs–big & small–are great fun. The exhibits, the food, the rides, the food (see a theme here?!?!?).  Sure corn dogs, fried ice cream, turkey legs, fried candy bars, funnel cake, and corn-on-the cob are great.  But cheese curds are DA’ BOMB!

Trust me when I say that the picture doesn’t even do them justice.  FRIED BALLS OF CHEESE!!!!!  I was introduced to them on my first trip to Minnesota, however, the ones that I had twice (yeah, I went back for seconds!) at The Fair were far better than my first experience.

Of course, they weren’t the only things that I ate.  Ask April.  I pretty much tried ANYTHING with the word bacon in it.  And as an aside, I wasn’t (contrary to popular belief) a fan of the bacon ice cream–it was more like maple ice cream (which was actually very delicious) with soggy bacon bits (which threw the whole thing off).

The day wouldn’t be complete without a bite or two of funnel cake, roasted corn-on-the-cob, old fashioned sarsaparilla, and frickles (aka fried pickles)–my second favorite delicacy of The Fair.  I got the sampler platter with plain, spicy, and stuffed.  And I’m telling you, if you like cheese–The Minnesota Fair is the place for you!  The stuffed frickles were literally two pickles layered with cream cheese and the whole concoction thrown in the deep fat fryer.  I’m drooling just thinking about them…

The entire day I was in fat kid heaven.  My advice?  Go hungry, wear comfy clothes that will expand, and then eat & drink the entire day until you just can’t fit another bite in.  Gluttonous?  Perhaps, but well worth doing at least one in your life….or you know, once a year when the fair comes to town!

PS–in case you’re interested, The Minnesota Fair is a 12-day event that ends on Labor Day.  Thus, this year it’s August 22–September 02.  For more information, check out the The Fair’s website–they even have a food finder, so you can plan out your day of divine gluttony!  But you have to wait until July, as the Food Finder won’t be up & running until then–but only a couple more weeks, you can make it!!