The Weirdest Bites at the Fair

Jason DeRusha looks back at 10 of the weirdest, wildest, and occasionally regrettable foods he’s tasted at the Minnesota State Fair
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Every year, I head to the Minnesota State Fair with one mission: Try as many new foods as humanly possible. Some become instant classics. Others… should probably never return. Over the years, I’ve tasted everything from chocolate-covered jalapeños to deep-fried meatloaf and lutefisk steam buns, all in the name of journalism (and curiosity). Here are the 10 weirdest State Fair foods I’ve ever tried—ranked from weird to somehow even weirder.

Uncrustaburger at Coasters, Minnesota State Fair
  1. Chocolate-Covered Jalapeño (2011). This was so bad I actually said on live TV that it was terrible. Raw jalapeño dipped in cheap industrial chocolate sauce. That was it.
  2. Crispy Lutefisk Steam Bun, Shanghai Henri’s (2023). I love the nod to culture and Minnesota history, and I absolutely hated the flavor of this. Not Shanghai Henri’s fault—just a flop for me.
  3. Deep-Fried Wine-Glazed Meatloaf, Minnesota Wine Country (2013). It sounds as bad as it tasted.
  4. Pebbles & Bam Bam, Nordic Waffles (2019). Fruity Pebbles on melted Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups on a hot waffle was a hot mess for me.
  5. Bison Bites Fried Ravioli, Giggles’ Campfire Grill (2021). I recall the flavor and consistency of sawdust when I ate these.
  6. Alligator on a Stick, Bayou Bob’s Gator Shack (since 1997). It has persevered all these years, but is alligator on a stick really good or just really weird? I’d say weird.
  7. Fried Pickles ‘n’ Chocolate, Preferred Pickles (2013). Fried pickles are amazing. Dipped in chocolate is offensive.
  8. Mobster’s Caviar, Hideaway Speakeasy (2017). Seafood and the fair rarely go together for me, but a cream cheese-based dip with crab meat was a horrid idea in Hideaway’s first year at the fair.
  9. Uncrustaburger, Coaster’s (2025). A deep-fried Uncrustable sandwich with a burger stuffed in between. Just a deep fried Uncrustable would have been less weird, but the burger made it weird and gross.
  10. Jello Salad Ice Cream by Izzy’s Ice Cream, Hamline Church Dining Hall (2014). Sweet, sweet, and weird. Lime juice, cranberry sauce, and marshmallows. Wasn’t horrible, but it was certainly weird.

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