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Deep Fried Tater Tot Hot Dish On a Stick
Sep. 2nd, 2006 12:02 amThe State Fair is this week, and as soon as Molly got wind of it, she asked if I could take her. I didn't make any promises -- it was a very busy week, and I really don't like taking the girls to crowded destinations on my own. We went to the fair last year with Molly's friend Marin and her mom Beth, but Beth had a new baby this week and trekking all over the fair was not high on her post-partum to-do list. And weekends are way too crowded for it to be any fun. But, my parents came up yesterday, and my sister took the day off, and we took the girls to the fair today.
The Minnesota State Fair is a much bigger deal than the Wisconsin State Fair seemed to be, back when I was a kid. I assume Wisconsin has a state fair, but I don't know where it's held. (Okay, Google has an answer for me: it's held near Milwaukee. It was held in early August, and 861,408 people attended. Last year, the Minnesota State Fair was attended by 1,632,876. So, yeah. Bigger deal.
It's very much a state institution. Every radio station in town broadcasts from the fair for the duration, including MPR. I don't listen to Prairie Home Companion (I know, it's practically heresy to admit that when you live here) but if you listen tomorrow, you'll hear a show that was recorded tonight at the fair. My parents and sister were in the audience. The local papers have big booths at the fair with free copies. The Star Tribune used to give out a Map on a Stick, which doubled as a fan.
All fairs serve foods on a stick (corndogs, for instance) but in Minnesota, putting things on a stick has become a huge statewide long-running in-joke. You can buy macaroni & cheese on a stick at the fair. A Belgian waffle on a stick. Pancakes and sausage on a stick. Deep-fried alligator and teriyaki ostrich and walleye, all on sticks. New this year was (I swear I am not making this up) deep fried tater tot hot dish on a stick, which adds an extra layer of Minnesotan in-joke, since tater tot hot dish is supposed to be the most quintessentially Minnesotan dish, the thing that everyone eats at Lutheran church potlucks while saying "yah, you betcha" and telling Ole and Lena jokes.
Anyway. We ate fair food, but no hot dish on a stick. Molly ate a foot-long corn dog (an hour after eating a regular sized corn dog) and I sampled various things, including fried catfish nuggets, cheese curds, and half of Kiera's corn dog. I didn't see the Belgian waffles on a stick, which made me sad; those were good.
We took the girls on the sky-ride (a gondola ride over the fair); Kiera spotted the giant slide from there. We wandered through the crop art. We went to the Kidway, where the girls went on some rides. We let them go on the giant slide on the way to the Miracle of Birth Barn (where, if you're lucky, you can see animals born -- and you can see baby animals regardless). The girls played on a fancy swing set at the booth owned by Rainbow Play Systems and I visited the DFL booth and met the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, as well as the volunteers from a bunch of different campaigns.
It was a good time. Tiring, but a lot of fun.
Things we didn't see: we didn't wander through any of the big animal barns. We didn't see the butter heads. (There's a beauty queen chosen each year at the fair called Princess Kay of the Milky Way -- she has to be the daughter of a dairy farmer, I think -- and each of the six contenders has a bust sculpted in butter by a professional sculptor.) I saw the bungee rocket ride from the sky-ride but not up close. I was looking for the Jack FM booth: Jack is the radio station in town with no DJs. They claim to be broadcasting from the fair this week, and I was curious if they'd have any human beings at their booth at all. Anyway, I didn't spot it, so I still don't know. I didn't check out any of the displays of farm equipment; I like the way the fair brings urban and rural Minnesota together (as my sister puts it) but I'm just not that interested in farm equipment. We didn't go to the main midway, just the kidway. We didn't see any music performances except in passing. And, alas, we didn't get to walk through any of the big buildings of businesses with tables and freebies and pick up the scads of free pencils, tote bags (the University of St. Thomas is handing out tote bags), etc. Molly was intrigued by the possibility of free pencils, but not enough to remind us to try to hunt for some.
(Dear self: next year, DO NOT park at the Gloria Dei park & ride. The buses from there take forever and don't run often enough. Ask around to find a good one -- maybe the one at the U? But not Gloria Dei. The fact that it's close to home does not make it worth it.)
The Minnesota State Fair is a much bigger deal than the Wisconsin State Fair seemed to be, back when I was a kid. I assume Wisconsin has a state fair, but I don't know where it's held. (Okay, Google has an answer for me: it's held near Milwaukee. It was held in early August, and 861,408 people attended. Last year, the Minnesota State Fair was attended by 1,632,876. So, yeah. Bigger deal.
It's very much a state institution. Every radio station in town broadcasts from the fair for the duration, including MPR. I don't listen to Prairie Home Companion (I know, it's practically heresy to admit that when you live here) but if you listen tomorrow, you'll hear a show that was recorded tonight at the fair. My parents and sister were in the audience. The local papers have big booths at the fair with free copies. The Star Tribune used to give out a Map on a Stick, which doubled as a fan.
All fairs serve foods on a stick (corndogs, for instance) but in Minnesota, putting things on a stick has become a huge statewide long-running in-joke. You can buy macaroni & cheese on a stick at the fair. A Belgian waffle on a stick. Pancakes and sausage on a stick. Deep-fried alligator and teriyaki ostrich and walleye, all on sticks. New this year was (I swear I am not making this up) deep fried tater tot hot dish on a stick, which adds an extra layer of Minnesotan in-joke, since tater tot hot dish is supposed to be the most quintessentially Minnesotan dish, the thing that everyone eats at Lutheran church potlucks while saying "yah, you betcha" and telling Ole and Lena jokes.
Anyway. We ate fair food, but no hot dish on a stick. Molly ate a foot-long corn dog (an hour after eating a regular sized corn dog) and I sampled various things, including fried catfish nuggets, cheese curds, and half of Kiera's corn dog. I didn't see the Belgian waffles on a stick, which made me sad; those were good.
We took the girls on the sky-ride (a gondola ride over the fair); Kiera spotted the giant slide from there. We wandered through the crop art. We went to the Kidway, where the girls went on some rides. We let them go on the giant slide on the way to the Miracle of Birth Barn (where, if you're lucky, you can see animals born -- and you can see baby animals regardless). The girls played on a fancy swing set at the booth owned by Rainbow Play Systems and I visited the DFL booth and met the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, as well as the volunteers from a bunch of different campaigns.
It was a good time. Tiring, but a lot of fun.
Things we didn't see: we didn't wander through any of the big animal barns. We didn't see the butter heads. (There's a beauty queen chosen each year at the fair called Princess Kay of the Milky Way -- she has to be the daughter of a dairy farmer, I think -- and each of the six contenders has a bust sculpted in butter by a professional sculptor.) I saw the bungee rocket ride from the sky-ride but not up close. I was looking for the Jack FM booth: Jack is the radio station in town with no DJs. They claim to be broadcasting from the fair this week, and I was curious if they'd have any human beings at their booth at all. Anyway, I didn't spot it, so I still don't know. I didn't check out any of the displays of farm equipment; I like the way the fair brings urban and rural Minnesota together (as my sister puts it) but I'm just not that interested in farm equipment. We didn't go to the main midway, just the kidway. We didn't see any music performances except in passing. And, alas, we didn't get to walk through any of the big buildings of businesses with tables and freebies and pick up the scads of free pencils, tote bags (the University of St. Thomas is handing out tote bags), etc. Molly was intrigued by the possibility of free pencils, but not enough to remind us to try to hunt for some.
(Dear self: next year, DO NOT park at the Gloria Dei park & ride. The buses from there take forever and don't run often enough. Ask around to find a good one -- maybe the one at the U? But not Gloria Dei. The fact that it's close to home does not make it worth it.)
