Minnesota State Fair: ‘Unofficial’ new foods available this year

Minnesota State Fair: Unofficial new foods, drinks

After coming just 1,700 people shy of an all-time record on opening day, Rob Olson joins the FOX 9 crew live on the second day of the Great Minnesota Get-Together to recap the sites, sounds and ?unofficial? new items of the 2025 fair that?s well underway.

FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. (FOX 9) - At Bayou Bob’s at the Minnesota State Fair, Dallas Simonette debuted a new menu item with a catchy name.

It’s ground alligator, sautéed with spices and poured over tater tots and was first tested out at the fair’s "Kick-off to Summer" event over Memorial Weekend.

It’s also one of several dozen new offerings that was not selected to be featured on the fair’s new foods list, but still added to menus.

"We like it, and we think the customers will like it, so we serve it," Simonette told FOX 9.

Finding hidden gems

Dig deeper:

Every new food introduced at the Minnesota State Fair has to be submitted and approved by the fair, in part to avoid redundancy among vendors.

From there, the approved new offerings can be submitted for consideration as an "official" new food.  According to the fair, not all of them are.

There are 33 new foods and drinks on the "new foods" list, which is a sampling of foods that offer unique twists that make them stand out.

But if you want to find a complete list of new offerings, the fair guided us to the best way to do that:  on their website, under "food finder," search by "new."

This year, a total of 76 new foods and drinks come up.

Worth seeking out

What they're saying:

At the Hamline Dining Hall, among their new offerings that are not highlighted on the official new foods list is what is called the Maple Shaker – an iced espresso drink with a maple syrup flavoring.

They also have what’s called the Dan Patch Dip – a cheesy streetcar tortilla dip.

Both have proven popular, driven by social media and word of mouth.

At The Peg, which is a diner outside the Agriculture Building, the new offering this year is the Mr. Peg sandwich. It’s also not on the official new food list, but worth seeking out.

Featuring deep-fried dill pickle chicken, bacon, fried egg, coleslaw and more, it’s a beast.

"We’re looking at almost a pound sandwich," Brett Auge of The Peg told FOX 9. "Yeah, it can be messy too."

What's next:

As you’re seeking out the new foods, realize there’s a lot more than makes the featured list.