The Best, Worst, and Most Middling New Foods of the 2026 Minnesota State Fair

Key Points:

• The 2026 Minnesota State Fair introduced 36 new foods and eight new vendors, with evaluations using the "Scarf!, Shrug, Skip" rating system highlighting standout items and notable disappointments.
• Highly recommended dishes ("Scarf!") include Minnesota's Original Apple Fries, the Apple Donut Ham Grinder, Hmong Corndog, When Pigs Fly sausage flight, Peri-Peri Bowl, Mango Sticky Rice Refresher, Bucket of Chicharrones, Cracklin' Corn Ribs, and Dockside Poppers.
• Several offerings received mixed reviews ("Shrug"), such as Bridgeman’s French Chouxnut Sundae, Blue Moon Crunch shave ice, Banana Butterscotch Barnraiser, Chinese Sausage & Cheese Poppers, Korean BBQ Bao Buns, and Strawberry Ube Sundae Tart, often criticized for lack of seasoning, overcomplication, or underwhelming flavor.
• Many new foods were strongly advised to be avoided ("Skip"), including O’Gara’s Sligo Slider Bites, Butter Brew Mustache Pretzel, Jamaican Jerk Chicken Loaded Fries, Dubai Whoopie Pie, Honey Brisket Battered Potatoes priced at $22, The Fried and the Furious Cubano Drift, and the Pickle Pie, which was described as particularly unpalatable.
• Beverage innovations like Dodopop's dirty sodas and Quench’d Peach Lemonade Sparkler were generally well-received, though some drinks were criticized for excessive ice or lack of distinctive flavor. Overall, the fair showcased a wide range of creative but uneven culinary experiments.