Minnesota State Fair Food Parade

OVERALL: Could have had better pacing, but I am so glad that I could get a taste of the fair this year. We had friends in town who had never been to the Minnesota State Fair so we knew we had to give them this experience! Definitely worth the hassle of getting a ticket (even if it took me 45 minutes) ATMOSPHERE: Man, was it weird driving through an empty state fair grounds. Felt very post-apocalyptic seeing everything closed and the spots where I can picture myself walking around eating. FOOD & PRICE: All very very good but here's my breakdown of each. Turkey to go- We got the turkey sandwich and it was really good! The second we got it into the car we could smell how fresh and tasty it was. Nothing overly special but really delicious. $9 for 1/3 lb sandwich. Pro tip- get the Cajun seasoning at the end for more flavor!Tom Thumb Donuts- Is it a state fair without mini donuts? These were delicious and perfectly sugary. $6/bag Fresh French Fries- 88oz of fries for a whole car of people? Absolutely! We typically get the fries anyway but they lose heat pretty quickly so definitely eat them fast. $14/ 88ozMouse Trap Cheese Curds- A big bucket (we got 2) and it was plenty! They were very hot and exactly what you want from a cheese curd. So greasy and good. $17/bucket Que Viet- Okay this was a surprise for me because I wasn't really set on getting anything here but the giant egg roll on a stick was DELICIOUS. It was probably a top 3 food in our car. It's so crispy and crackly. So flavorful as well. The garlic cream cheese wontons are nothing to call home about. $8/wontons $8/eggrollPronto pups- Felt like they were sitting out. Pretty disappointing actually and usually a state fair must. We could've skipped this. $5/pronto pupWest Indies soul food- out of jumbo jerk chicken wings and drummies by the time we arrived. We had the 5pm session and this was a big bummer. Seems like that happened the night before as well.Butcher boys- Both the sandwiches we got were so filling and flavorful. I would say this is the best bang for your buck at $10/sandwich and they're giant. I've never gotten this before at the fair but it's overall a good Italian sausage sandwich/London broil steak roll. Cheese on a stick/Fresh Squeezed Lemonade- We got the souvenir bottle which was 28 oz of lemonade. Wish this came a lot sooner in the parade just because we definitely needed a drink early on. We brought our water bottles luckily. $8/28oz Giggles Campfire Grill- Walleye fries were pretty good, but they're fish sticks. Call them what they are. Duck bacon wontons were not really wontons, they're like empanadas. Both slightly misleading names but they were good enough. $9.50/wontons $9.50/Walleye friesThe Hangar- IF THE ONLY THING YOU TAKE OUT OF THIS REVIEW IS THIS- PLEASE KNOW THAT ITS NOT A SAUSAGE BUT A HOT DOG. This was so disappointing for our car. It was a hotdog wrapped in a potato. At $9 a piece (same price with or without the hot dog) it was a real bummer. It also was not fresh at all and tasted like something you could get at a gas station. Funnel cake and deep fried Oreos were pretty standard. Oreos/$7 funnel cake/$8. Sweet Martha's- The one true reason people go to these. Of course they were all fresh and overflowing. So glad that they gave us bags to hold our buckets! $17/bucketTIPS & TRICKS- Bring Tupperware, napkins, your own water bottles! If you are driving be prepared to be fed or wait until halfway through to start eating. The timing it really off where it's a lot of stands all at once and then nothing for like an hour. It took us 2.5 hours to get through it.

Such a fun experience! Once you got past the struggle of securing a ticket, I was so so excited to get a taste of the fair, despite the current state of the world. The fair made it so easy to plan out your trip and decide which food to order. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect as far as how long the wait would be, but it was a super fun and fast paced way to experience the fair. The food was super easy to order and I felt safe throughout the event. The route was easy to follow and the signage was excellent. The only thing is that the food wasn't the freshest. A lot of it seemed less fresh than when I got it at the fair in past years. For example the pronto puffs were luke warm. All together an unforgettable experience! But I can't wait for the return of the fair in 2021.

As a fair fanatic, I was just thankful to get a ticket. I went on a Sunday at 9am (first time slot of the day) and you can expect a line of cars waiting to get in but show up about 10 minutes before your slotted time and you should be great.Right before you enter, you have the opportunity to join the 'Friends of the Fair'. There are different levels/monetary amounts you can be involved with the MN State Fair Foundation. I chose the $50 level which included two 2021 tickets to the fair, 12 commemorative pins that outline the state of MN (so cute! I arranged them on the back of a denim jacket and love them!!) and a 20% off discount at the fair merchandise booth at the end of the drive thru. Limited amount of state fair vendors present but great setup- total time was 1.5 hours and, honestly, I wish it was longer because all of the food was pretty close together towards the latter half of the parade. Setup was great- two lanes (both of which you can order food from). Vendors have someone standing to collect payment and then a few car lengths later someone else will deliver your food. Only vendor that we ordered food from that did not accept card was the Pronto Pup booth- cash only.It was awesome getting that taste of our beloved state fair. We were a little over-prepared with bibs, napkins, paper plates, trash bag, Tupperware, silverware, etc. I was impressed with how many of the booths presented the food in a way that you could store it. The Tupperware was unnecessary unless you actually wanted to take food home or were ordering entrees by yourself. Our car of three was sharing all of the food and we didn't need much of it. The booths will provide you with napkins and there are trash bins sprinkled throughout the fairgrounds.I shared lots of the usual foods: cheese curds, mini donuts, French fries, pronto pup, corn dog, Sweet Martha's cookies. The ones I was impressed with were the walleye cakes (like crab cakes but with walleye) and walleye fries (walleye breaded with bread crumbs) which I'll be adding to my every year food list from now on. Don't get the fried Oreos (too rich and are worse leftover) or the tater twister (more of a novelty- it's just a hot dog with a potato chip wrapped around it). Seeing the fairgrounds empty and unlit was a little sad and made me miss the fair bit next year will just be that much greater. Only reason I'd rate the drive thru below five stars is that I was upset that tickets were so difficult to get.

This was such a fun substitution for a day at the fair! It was extremely well organized and efficient. There were a lot of different food options; from cheese curds and French fries to Mexican and Jamaican food. The only downside was that it was difficult for the driver to eat while driving. Beyond that, it was perfect! There were portable toilets around the drive, we never waited more than maybe 10 minutes at each stop, and there was a little parking lot to eat and throw away trash at the end.

After the frustration of buying a ticket, the food parade was worth it.We went at 11am today and arrived about 15 minutes early. We were held in a queue until 11am and then started through the food parade. The path is easy to follow and in most spots there were 2 lanes. It went faster than expected as we were through all of the stops by 12:15pm. Food was delivered so fast that we couldn't keep up so we parked at the end and ate as much as we could.Tom Thumb Donuts - excellent Mini Donuts: $6Mouth Trap Cheese Curds - excellent Bucket: $17Que Viet (cash/credit) Garlic Cream Cheese Wontons: $8 - averagePronto Pups Regular Pronto Pup: $5 - excellentDairy Goodness Bar by ADA of the Midwest Malts (12 oz.): $5 - excellent ChocolateWest Indies Soul Food Jamaican Patties: $6 - very good but slightly undercooked ChickenHansen's Foot Long Hot Dogs & Corn Dogs Foot Long Corn Dog: $8 - excellentCheese On-A-Stick and Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade Cheese On-A-Stick: $5 Jalapeño - excellent Fresh-Squeezed Lemonade - not as good as usual State Fair Souvenir Bottle (28 oz.): $8Giggles' Campfire Grill Duck Bacon Wontons: $9.50 - very goodThe Hangar Fried Oreos: $7 - excellent Funnel Cake: $8 - very good Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar Pail of Cookies: $17 - excellentI really miss the fair but this was fun. They had trivia games and you can purchase fair merchandise at the end.

The great Minnesota get together. I actually prefer the parade than the real fair. I was able to eat everything I would normally get at the fair (was except pork chop on a stick) without having to walk! I was really impressed with how smooth everything was. I was in and out in exactly an hour and had time to take a food coma nap. The highlight for me as always was the turkey leg. Wish I had another ticket because I'd go again in a heartbeat. Until next time.

State Fair the Covid way. Our family enjoyed that we had a piece of our normal state fair experience. It was organized well and went rather quickly. The gift bag contents were pretty nice including the cheese curd chapstick. The one issue was that some of the food was not hot. We arrived at 10am so we were the second group in to the fair. Not sure if everything was made up beforehand but it seemed to be sitting for quite some time ex. The deep fried Oreos were Luke warm. The cheese curds and fries were the best.

I didn't grow up here so I'm not State Fair obsessed. I'm the annoying fair goer who just wants one taste. Maybe that is why this was the best year ever! You drive in at your scheduled time and slowly make your way from one food spot to the next. It took us a total of one hour and forty- five minutes. We had one item at each stopBut skipped a total of five spots. We split all the items with the other riders in our car. It was perfect! The hospitality was top notch. Each vendor was thrilled to have us there and treated us with gratitude and supreme customer service. I know I could go to Que Viet and get my egg roll fix any day of the week but this was much more fun.

If you're lucky enough to have a ticket, or able to grab one this weekend, definitely go to the food parade before it's over! Such a unique way to experience the fair - and certainly an experience you may never have again! If you're a "friend of the fair" or decide to become one while at the food parade, we got the impression your car position in line will improve. We got there about 4:15 for our 5:00 start time and we were done with the experience in 2 hours. We're "friends of the fair" so we started right at 5. You'll find the first part of the process to just be a lot of waiting in lines, but once the food portion gets started it's actually really fun! The first three stops will happen rather quickly. So just know you can buy all the goodies and there will be a break coming up for you to eat before you go to the next section. Also, don't do the bypass....you'll only do this once so check out all the vendors! Having a car full of 5 adults, we actually sampled quite a few things & it was the best! We all looked at the menu ahead of time & that was really helpful, too, so we knew what we wanted & never missed an order for anyone. Favorites: Turkey Tom's Giant Juicy sandwich, Que Viet's Giant Egg Roll on a Stick, Mouth Trap Cheese Curds, vanilla & caramel malt from the Dairy Goodness Bar, fresh squeezed lemonade, and Giggle's Walleye Fries. And, sweet Martha's....it wouldn't be the fair without a bucket to-go! Some tips: Bring cookie sheets! My mom came through on this idea, and it worked perfectly for all the food & to have "tables." Bring a bunch of napkins and a few small bags for trash. We also brought some small ziploc bags for leftovers and that worked perfectly! There's a bunch of garbages along the car lanes as you go so you'll be able to toss what you need throughout your time at the fair.AND, don't forget there's donations for Second Harvest Heartland being collected at the beginning of the food parade while you wait. :) Checkout the state fair's webpage for a listing of what SHH is in most need of for donations!

Oh, the great Minnesota get together. My mother is the biggest fan of the fair so of course she booked tickets right away to the Minnesota state fair food parade. She was able to reserve tickets for Sunday at 10:30 AM. We were able to have five people in the car so you bet that we piled everyone in that we could. We arrived 30 minutes early and were shown to the waiting area. We did receive a little goodie bag with our order form, bingo cards, and a few small freebies. Everything was really well organized and all of the workers were super super friendly. We were off and running exactly at 10:30. The whole process was very smooth and fast. All of the stands tell you if they accept cash or credit. While some of my favorite food stands were missing, I think they still had a pretty good selection of the classics. The line moved rather quickly and the whole process for us took about 45 minutes. We were a little sad that it went so quickly but were also grateful that we got to experience the fair in some form this year with everything going on. The food was still fresh and delicious and we all left in food comas. Overall, it was a fun experience and was a great way to support the fair this year. Fingers crossed that we can go to the real deal next year!