The A.V. Club's strategic 4-point plan for eating your way through the State Fair

Whether you’re a lifer who's attended every year since birth or a first-timer who's never set foot on Dan Patch Avenue, pretty much everyone agrees that among the many attractions the Minnesota State Fair has to offer, one stands out above all others. (And it's not the music—c'mon, Kid Rock?) Beyond the blue gates lies a panoply of pork products, a cornucopia of cheese curds, a festival of fried fare—what we mean to say is, food, and lots of it. With the fair already in full swing, here's The A.V. Club's guide to making the most of your meals.
 
1. Everything tastes better on a stick
Scotch Eggs boothThe one-hand-free advantage of food on a stick has worked well for fairgoers for years. Those with children can hold several items at a time; couples can treat a corndog and deep-fried candy bar like champagne at a reception. So it’s no surprise that the category has expanded again. For the most part, the cuisine that gets skewered tends not to be of the breakfast variety, but the Scotch Eggs booth (near Liggett and Judson avenues) is the exception, offering up a deep-fried ground sausage ball surrounding a hard-boiled egg center. For lunch, there are tons of options: New on the menu at a variety of locations is the spiral-cut potato, a swirled potato that looks about as satiating as a bag of diet chips. For something a little weightier, Texas Steak Out (Underwood Street between Lee and Randall avenues) features a complete dinner, with cubed steak, potatoes, onion, peppers, and dinner roll on a stick. Down near the Midway, the Blue Moon Dine In Theater laughs at cholesterol warnings with their latest, the Fry Dog—a French-fry-covered deep-fried hot dog. 

2. Locavores, keep it Minnesotan
Caprese salad on a stickThe local-food movement flourishes this year with presentations on local shopping, cooking, and eating daily at the Eco Experience Building (near Cooper Street and Randall Avenue). Renewing The Countryside features caprese salad on a stick, apples and watermelons, and best of all, chokecherry soda—all with ingredients from local farms and garden initiatives.
For those with a more elite palate, Minnesota Wine Country offers tastings of the reds, whites, and fruit wines made in our state—yes, there are vineyards in the frozen north—inside the Agriculture/Horticulture Building (Judson Avenue and Underwood Street). Our pick: No matter how sweet, the rhubarb wine from Forestedge Winery in Laporte, Minn., is always an addictively refreshing summer drink. 

3. Visit established eateries' fair outposts
Even though you can visit local eateries like O'Gara's and Green Mill the other 353 days of the year at their usual locations, it's worthwhile to hit 'em at the fair for the leeway they have to experiment with their menu while keeping the classics straightforward and basic. For the 12 days of the fair, the expanded menu items at O'Gara's (in the Food Building, south of Dan Patch Avenue between Underwood and Cooper streets) include a reuben on a stick, corned beef and cabbage, and leprechaun legs (deep fried green beans), while French Meadow (on Carnes Avenue between Nelson and Underwood) features basic scones and coffee. (Why mess with what you do best?) The foot-long dessert pizza on a stick at Green Mill (Cooper Street between Randall and Wright avenues) is a sight to behold: cinnamon, flaky crust, and apples make this a stellar complement to the pizzeria's standard fare. Word to the wise: While the fair website's Food Finder lists the falafel and grape leaves at Holy Land (International Bazaar, Underwood Street and Judson Avenue) under the heading “Buck Or Less,” the item boasts a $4 price tag on the Middle Eastern deli's menu. Still, its lamb kebab is deliciously amazing.

4. Move on up from mini-donuts
BeignetsNew to the fair this year, a fancier way to nosh on fried dough: the beignet. A French donut, these warm, tetrahedral masses are enveloped in powdered sugar and served six at a time. Find them at the New Orleans-themed Ragin’ Cajun vendor booth inside The Garden on Dan Patch Avenue and Underwood Street. Although they're not traditional Minnesotan fare, these crunchy nuggets are a welcome gift from the world of Southern cooking.