Dozens of Brand New, Out-of-This-World Foods and Drinks Were Just Announced for the Minnesota State Fair

It's that time of year again—The Great Minnesota Get-Together starts in August, and as usual, dozens of new foods, drinks, and vendors will make their debuts. I know you'll want to try them all, so dust off your fairgrounds map, fire up a spreadsheet, and get started on your Minnesota State Fair food and drink plan of attack.

The Minnesota State Fair is the biggest party of the year in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. As a matter of fact, it's one of the largest fairs in the country, with an average daily attendance of around 150,000 people. The second Saturday (i.e., Labor Day Weekend) is historically the busiest day, with crowds surging to nearly a quarter of a million people in some years.

We want to see all the seed art, the biggest vegetables, the top pies, and the heftiest swine—and get a bird's eye view of it all from the SkyRide, of course. But we're not fooling anyone. The real reason we go to the fair every year is to sample the food and drink—especially the new treats, dontcha know?

In some years, a clear theme emerges among the fair's new entrants. Recently, for example, a surge of pickle-flavored treats swept the fair. They remain popular, to be sure. In fact, this year, you'll find a new dill pickle iced tea from Loon Lake Iced Tea (pictured below), and Picklerita, a dill pickle hard seltzer from Lift Bridge Brewing, debuting at Dino's Gyros.

If there's a dominant flavor theme among this year's new foods, it's bacon—whether as the star of the dish or as an important supporting player. Soul Bowl, for example, is serving up chicken-fried bacon fries: beef bacon strips double-breaded in tempura flour, fried, and served with a dipping sauce (pictured below). You'll find a bison meatball sub made with bison-and-bacon meatballs at Minnesota Farmers Union Coffee Shop. Fluffy's Hand Cut Donuts tops its new hot honey jalapeño popper donut with bacon crumbles, and new vendor Greater Tater offers five flavors of "Tater Kegs", including bacon jalapeño and bacon cheddar. Finally, if you love the flavor of bacon but eschew meat, you'll find your fix at The Herbivorous Butcher. It's "Freaky Fryday" consists of chicken-fried vegan bacon and vegan fried chicken strips infused with bacon flavor.

Tropical fruit flavors appear to be all the rage among beverage vendors at this year's fair. From the Aloha Pineapple Haze by Pyres Brewing Company, at several Warner Coliseum vendors, and Freehouse Brewery's Aloha Ice at The Blue Barn (pictured below), to Lift Bridge Bridge Brewing Company's Aloha Lemonade, at RC's BBQ, you'll find all sorts of citrusy ways to quench your thirst at this year's fair. Passion fruit and dragon fruit infuse many of this year's drinks, including the Passion Fruit Vanilla Seltzy—a passion fruit and vanilla hard seltzer from Indeed Brewing. I'm beelining for Andy's Grille to try one of these bad boys when I hit the fair this year.

Cheese curds have long been a staple at the Great Minnesota Get-Together, and as they're wont to do, folks are messing around with the classic again this year. Green Mill is offering up "Hot Honey Pizza Ballz," which are pizza dough balls stuffed with cheese curds, pepperoni, and other ingredients. The Blue Barn's twist, "Sweet Squeakers," (pictured below) involves white cheddar curds deep-fried in funnel cake batter, topped with lemon whipped cream, and drizzled with berry sauce. (Honestly, I'm not sure what the cheese curds are doing in there. We'll have to see.) This year, LuLu's Public House is offering up an almost-refreshing sounding version, Caprese curds, which are mozzarella curds deep-fried in a breading of Italian seasoning served atop a bruschetta of tomatoes and basil, with a balsamic glaze drizzle.

So pull on your eatin' pants, slap on some sunscreen, and let's go try all these new Minnesota State Fair treats. You'll find a complete list of this year's new food items and beverage selections on the State Fair website. Do you have a favorite Minnesota State Fair food? We'd love to hear about it!