2025 Minnesota State Fair Trip + Food Review!

Today is Monday, August 25th, 2025, and I will be documenting my trip to the Minnesota State Fair with my family!

In case you're wondering what the Minnesota State Fair is:

The Minnesota State Fair is this bomb-ass annual event held in late August through Labor Day in St. Paul, Minnesota (technically Roseville, though).

It's one of the largest state fairs in the United States, attracting over two million visitors each year. The fair features a wide variety of attractions, including livestock shows, agricultural exhibits, live music, carnival rides, competitions, arts and crafts, and an enormous, delicious selection of food—famously including unique, stereotypical fried treats and other temptations that absolutely contribute to the sin of gluttony.

It's a celebration of Minnesota's culture, community, and heritage, and a chance for vendors to get away with selling overpriced fried food.

Anyways, I always love the state fair, and it's a great way to spend time with my family.

And y'know, if there is one thing that makes me shit my pants the most, it's the idea of losing my family and loved ones forever. That thought fuckin' terrifies me.

So before we continue, just remember to always cherish your loved ones and your family, and say "fuck you" to anyone who says otherwise.

Anyways, this year I had a foodie bucket list that I wanted to complete during my time at the State Fair.

One of the biggest degenerate things about me is that I'm a big fucking foodie! Like, God's greatest gift isn't clean water, penicillin, electric toothbrushes, or even Yuri Hentai—God's greatest gift is the introduction of good, fattening food. And I'm hella grateful to be alive and free enough to be eating good shit instead of bad shit.

Here is my foodie bucket list:

Absolute Classics That I Want to Try

• Corn Dog / Pronto Pup – The fair's most famous staple hyper-priced appetizer. Yes, there is a difference, and yes, you should try both. You're a sissy if you don't eat this, and yes, both are delicious.
• Sweet Martha's Cookies – A $20 bucket of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies filled to the brim. Mandatory. Any fool who goes to the fair has to get a bucket of these cookies!
• Fresh Cheese Curds – Hot, squeaky, melty perfection. Optional, but most people should still try them.
• Mouth Trap Cheese Curds – A rival for best curds. Your allegiance will be tested. A lot better than the "Fresh" Cheese Curds—eat these over the former.

Minnesota Legends Roster

• Turkey Leg – Giant, smoky, medieval, Big Dick energy. A staple food item at the fair.
• Minnesota Honey Ice Cream – Simple, sweet, elite. I always love to support my beekeepers, and natural honey is better than store-bought honey. (I miss you, Hannah.)
• Blueberry & Key Lime Pie on a Stick – Because at the state fair, everything is better on a stick. (Key Lime is my favorite pie.)
• Alligator Sausage/Kebabs – For your "I tried something wild and didn't chicken out like a pussy" moment. Usually too rough, but this year they were alright.

Sweet Treats to Eat While Walking

• Mini Donuts (Tom Thumb or The Original) – Hot, sugary, and addictive. Great to share.
• Cinnamon Roll from the Midwest Dairy Booth – Huge and heavenly. Too huge and sugary for me, so I usually pass.
• Funnel Cake – Powdered sugar bliss. I actually hate eating funnel cake, so I usually just share it.
• Milkshakes or Malts from the Dairy Building – Made with real MN dairy, not that Dairy Queen shit. This is peak natural milkshake, all organic and fresh from the cow titty.

Savory Favorites

• Giant Pickle on a Stick – Crunchy, cold, perfect walking snack.
• Fresh French Fry Bucket – MUST HAVE. Goes great with hot sauce, so bring your own because they don't provide any.
• Gyros from Dimitri's – Surprisingly legit. Usually I hate Balkan food, but these are alright.
• Walleye Fingers / Walleye Cakes – A Minnesota seafood moment. Always good at the fair.
• Pork Chop on a Stick – Thick-cut, juicy, and iconic. One of my favorites.
• Stuffed Tomatoes – Kind of good; I eat it like an apple and the stuffing isn't too bad.

Diabetes Checklist

• Deep-Fried Candy Bars – Snickers, Milky Way, Crunch, Butterfingers…all better deep-fried.
• Deep-Fried Pickles – A beloved oddball. Surprisingly tasty.
• Kimchi & Pickle Fries – A newer fusion hit. Minnesota State Fair made me eat pickles unironically.
• Hot Dish on a Stick – Because Minnesota.
• Deep-Fried Oreos – Because, y'know, everything is better deep-fried.

My Personal Favorites

• Steak Sandwiches with EVERYTHING ON THEM – My absolute favorite.
• Hmong MN Kitchen Mumblao, Hmong Sausage, and super spicy Papaya Salad – Not gay, but I love me some Hmong Sausage. The ladies love my Hmong Sausage too, tee hee. This spot sells the only decent Hmong food with proper kua txob hot sauce.
• Giant Bacon on a Stick – ا يعجبني تحريم المسلمين لأكل لحم الخنزير.
• Solid Pork Baby Back Ribs – Ghetto fools make the best BBQ; always delicious.
• Carolina Reaper / Ghost Pepper Chicken Wings – THIS SHIT MAKES MY MOUTH ON FIRE. Not sure if they actually use Carolina Reaper or Ghost Peppers, but the Scoville units are insane.

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Anyways, during my trip to the State Fair, I wasn't able to snag too many photos unfortunately, because I was too occupied with my family.

I did my best to snag as many photos as I could, but below is an archive of the photos that I did manage to capture during my trip.

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10:00 AM - Arrival (Already Crowded As Hell)

Me and my family arrived at the fair at around 10 am that day. We wanted to arrive early under the "belief" that arriving before noon would help us avoid the crowds at the fair. However, we were wrong.

When we got to the fair, it was pretty crowded—like really, really crowded. It seemed that everyone else who had arrived had the EXACT same idea as us.

We drove to the fairgrounds and parked nearby, then walked a few blocks down to the entrance, where the admissions stands were more jampacked than the line at GameStop whenever the new Mario Kart releases, and the fan-gays pack up the entrances like sardines.

Luckily, me and my family came prepared, and we purchased tickets online in advance. That way, we didn't have to worry about waiting in line like the rest of the other stooges and paying for tickets.

We walked past the gate and the admissions team let us in.

I split up from the group because I wanted to first get a MN State Fair Steak Sandwich, which is the MOST DELICIOUS Steak Sandwich to ever exist.

Here is the stand where they keep the steak sandwiches:

When you purchase a steak sandwich, they give you a wooden coin that you use to give to the cooks, and then you'll detail to them what you want, and they'll add it.

Every year, I always get a steak sandwich with EVERYTHING on it, with the tomatoes, banana peppers, cheese, and salt and pepper.

Actually, this deadass might just be a glaze, but these steak sandwiches are actually kind of bland—hell, even less than mid.

The meat is usually super dry and has no flavor or smokiness to it, and it mostly tastes like filler. The type of sandwich you spit out because it's so damn dull.

But I really like these sandwiches, and I always eat at least 3 of these whenever I come to the fair despite their mediocrity, because it was actually these steak sandwiches that made me fall in love with steak sandwiches as a whole.

A few years ago, I first ate one of these steak sandwiches here at the fair, and it inspired a love of steak sandwiches as a whole for me. So whenever I make my own steak sandwich, I make it better than the shit I ate at the fair. Anyways though, eating these is due to nostalgia—and I really love eating these.

I didn't get any pictures, but I got some cheese curds, french fries, funnel cake, deep fried cookies, and a corn dog afterwards, and I just kept eating and eating and eating.

GOD DAMN, GOOD FOOD IS GREAT. EATING GOOD FOOD IS THE EPITOME OF FREEDOM.

After that, I regrouped with the fam.

Next, we went into the Grandstand Building, which is this giant shop for indie merchants to go window shopping. I picked up some delicious long licorice and a few cool iron-on patches for my jean jacket.

On the second floor, I took this amazing photo of the sunset:

Afterwards, we went walking, and our group split up again. One part went down and into the fair, and my part went into the botanical and agriculture building area, where they serve all the farmer-grown food.

I ate me some honeycomb, honey ice cream, crisp apples, and drank a bunch of lemonade. It was cool there, because they also had a Shrek-themed area, and it was deadass super cool to see.

Afterwards, we walked out and I bought some fries for the group. The worst thing about the fries is that they don't come with any hot sauce. The fries themselves are really good—just that I like fries with hot sauce. Hot sauce makes EVERYTHING better.

We wanted to ride the midway and the skyline, but we had to find it. When we did find it, I saw this stand serving cream puffs, and I just HAD to buy some.

They only came in 4s though, and I ate 2 of them. They were a bit too sweet, but I still enjoyed them.

When we went to ride the skyride, I saw this cool sunset, so I snapped a picture:

Earlier that day, I purchased some cotton candy, some caramel apples, and some deep fried ice cream sandwiches (don't tell me how these are made). So we ate some of these on the ride.

Next, we were going to head to the animal building, but I wanted to buy some wings to eat and some MN Lemonade, so I bought some ghost pepper wings, and my fucking mouth was on fire. Luckily the lemonade quenched my thirst.

After that, we regrouped with the fam again, and we went to the Mighty Midway, where they keep the carnival rides and games, because every decent State fair needs a carnival game selection!

We went to the carnival and played some games. This year they didn't have a ticket system anymore, and everything was done using a play card which you swiped or scanned at the game host.

I played with my mom, and it was fun. I didn't realize my family could be so damn competitive over carnival games. If only it was this way regarding making money.

I bought some pizza cuz I was hungry again, but this fucking pizza was the worst pizza that I ever ate in my entire life. It was disgusting and I spat it out and threw it away—waste of $15 for a single slice too.

I played a few games myself and won a cute little panda bear prize.

Next, we went to the culture area, where I bought some BBQ ribs, and I loved eating them! I ate them while we waited in line at Hmong MN Kitchen, and I purchased some Hmong sausage with extra kua txob and sticky rice.

We watched a show at the culture area, and it was a bunch of Native Americans having a powwow while we ate our food.

After that, we shopped for a bit, and I bought me some mint chocolate chip cream glazed with caramel and fudge. I also bought some cool little hippie necklaces with stones. I betcha these stones aren't even real either—they're just fortune cookie nonsense that these druggies got off the street and spun off as "exotic minerals," and I was a sucker who just got conned. But I don't care, it was fun to get.

Afterwards, we went walking and it was getting dark out. But we stopped by the haunted house, and then we went to the sky tower, and then I got myself some burgers from this non-profit Dads Association grill that helps serve food to fund youth sports programs.

The burger tasted like something straight from White Castle.

Next, we got some turkey leg, and I got myself some pork chop on a stick. The turkey legs almost ran out by the time we got there, and we got there in the nick of time. I also ordered some sweet corn on the cob and some RC Cola floats with toffee ice cream.

Next we went to the dairy area, but the smell of animal shit kind of turned us away. We got to see some pigs, goats, and other barn animals, so it was cool.

After that, the concert at the main stadium was blasting, but we strolled through. I got myself some dairy ice cream and shared that, and ate some baked potatoes and pickle fries.

At this point my stomach was stuffed, and I spent almost $700 in pure foodstuff, but it was worth it.

When it was the evening, we were going to leave, but before I did that, I took a snap of this:

I had to wait 30 minutes in line to get one last bucket of Sweet Martha's Cookies and my family left without me, but they were going to pick me up afterwards. (They went to the car first). The line at the cookie stand was fucking longgggggggg—everyone was tryna get some before they left.

This year's state fair was super fun. I ate a TON TON TON of food.

In conclusion, I had a ton of fun with my family. I love my family a lot, even more than good food. They mean a lot to me.

Checking off the bucket list:\

Absolute Classics

• ✅ **Corn Dog / Pronto Pup** – The fair's most famous staple hyper-priced appetizer
• ✅ **Sweet Martha's Cookies** – A $20 bucket of warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies
• ✅ **Fresh Cheese Curds** – Hot, squeaky, melty perfection
• ❌ **Mouth Trap Cheese Curds** – Didn't make it to these, sadly

Minnesota Legends

• ✅ **Turkey Leg** – Giant, smoky, medieval, Big Dick energy
• ✅ **Minnesota Honey Ice Cream** – Simple, sweet, elite
• ❌ **Blueberry & Key Lime Pie on a Stick** – Missed this one
• ❌ **Alligator Sausage/Kebabs** – Ran out of time

Sweet Treats

• ❌ **Mini Donuts** – The line was too long
• ❌ **Cinnamon Roll from Midwest Dairy Booth** – Too full by the time I remembered
• ✅ **Funnel Cake** – Powdered sugar bliss
• ❌ **Milkshakes or Malts from Dairy Building** – Got ice cream instead

Savory Favorites

• ❌ **Giant Pickle on a Stick** – Forgot about this one
• ✅ **Fresh French Fry Bucket** – MUST HAVE, got multiple
• ❌ **Gyros from Dimitri's** – Didn't make it
• ❌ **Walleye Fingers / Walleye Cakes** – Next year for sure
• ✅ **Pork Chop on a Stick** – Thick-cut, juicy, iconic
• ❌ **Stuffed Tomatoes** – Skipped it

Diabetes Checklist

• ❌ **Deep-Fried Candy Bars** – Ran out of stomach space
• ❌ **Deep-Fried Pickles** – Next time
• ❌ **Kimchi & Pickle Fries** – Got regular pickle fries instead
• ❌ **Hot Dish on a Stick** – Couldn't find the stand
• ✅ **Deep-Fried Oreos** – Actually got deep-fried cookies, close enough

My Personal Favorites

• ✅ **Steak Sandwiches with EVERYTHING ON THEM** – Got THREE of these
• ✅ **Hmong MN Kitchen** – Hmong Sausage with extra kua txob and sticky rice
• ❌ **Giant Bacon on a Stick** – Somehow missed this
• ✅ **Solid Pork Baby Back Ribs** – Ghetto fools make the best BBQ
• ✅ **Carolina Reaper / Ghost Pepper Chicken Wings** – My mouth was on FIRE

Extra Shit I Ate That Wasn't on the List

• Cotton candy
• Caramel apples
• Deep fried ice cream sandwiches
• Cream puffs
• Honeycomb
• Crisp apples
• Lemonade
• RC Cola floats with toffee ice cream
• Sweet corn on the cob
• Baked potatoes
• The world's WORST pizza
• White Castle-tasting burger
• Mint chocolate chip cream with caramel and fudge

**Final Score: 11/30 from my original list** (but I still ate like 40+ things total, so who's really winning here?)

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**Final Stats:**

• Money spent on food: ~$700
• Items from bucket list completed: 11/30
• Total food items consumed: 40+
• Hours at the fair: 11 hours
• Regrets: Only the pizza
• Best decision: Going with family

Thanks for reading this blog, detailing my trip to the MN State Fair.

With love,

Devv