Something New

     On my way into the Minnesota State Fair on Friday I picked up a beige colored brochure. It boldly announced the 40 new foods being offered in 2015, complete with a map locating where each one was sold.  I'm always eager to try something new, but trying to sample all 40 would be virtually impossible.  So I settled in on just a few that looked interesting.  But that meant I had to eliminate others like the Up Nort Shoreman's Lunch (battered northern pike in a fresh tomato sauce with potatoes and corn, finished with smoked pepper tartar sauce) and the Kimchi 'n' Curry Poutine (braised pork and potatoes smothered with curry gravy and cheddar cheese, then topped with kimchi and a poached egg).  I was also disappointed that I didn't have time to get to the vendor selling Grandma Deb's Snicker Bar Salad (chopped Snickers bars and Granny Smith apples tossed in vanilla pudding with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel sauce).  And it broke my heart that I couldn't treat my taste buds to the Hot Tail (roasted pig tail coated in a scallion ginger sauce).



But I did make my way over to the Boulevard Grill to share a not so generous helping of Totchos.  And while the description did sound enticing (tater tots smothered in cheddar cheese sauce with seasoned sour cream, bacon bits and green onions), it didn't live up to expectations due to a stingy hand on the cheese sauce ladle.



The Deep Fried Ribs also sounded interesting (smoked baby back ribs, breaded, fried and served with BBQ sauce.  But somehow the cornmeal breading failed to adhere to the beef ribs when I took a bite and I all I ended up tasting was a fried meat bone.  Not even the cup of barbecue sauce could rescue that miscue.



But the hands down winner in the new food category was the Walleye Stuffed Mushrooms served up at Giggles Campfire Grill on Machinery Hill.  The mushroom caps were the size of door knobs and generously stuffed with a combination of flavored cream cheese spread, walleye, three cheeses, red bell pepper and topped with panko bread crumbs and a special sauce.  It wasn't merely a meal, it was a feast!



Good things come to those who wait...