The Decadence of Fried Cheese Curds

With no plans last night, a few of us from the Maryland Delegation headed out to the Minnesota State Fair, which is about a fifteen minute drive from the hotel. As I have been told by locals since I got here, the Minnesota State Fair is the largest in the country. I told a Texan I had bumped into at the convention that I thought I'd be heading there and what I had heard about its size; he told me it probably wasn't as big as the Texas State Fair. Of course, everything is bigger in Texas.

As many of you well know eating to me is practically a religious experience, and I am willing to go far and wide to enjoy new sacraments. Locals had mentioned a few of the must have delicacies at the state fair. There were a few things that came up time and again: deep fried cheese curd and pork chop on a stick. These were very high on my list.

Joining me on this all-consuming expedition was Mike Pappas, member of the Baltimore County Central Committee and Alternate Delegate to the convention.

Below you'll find a list assembled in order of consumption.

1. Fried Cheese Curd: From what I was told by trusted Minnesotans, all cheese is curd before it is aged, so these tasted very much like Fried Mozzarella Sticks but much fresher. They were to be enjoyed with a Lingonberry Dipping Sauce.
2. Pork Chop on a stick: Minnesotans say that just about anything you'd ever want to eat on a stick you'll find at the state fair. These were skewered seasoned with a rub and grilled. They weren't dried at all which is a typical concern with grilled pork.
3. Fried Spam and Cheese Curd: Pappas was more excited about this than me. I tried one or two but that was enough.
4. Roast Corn: This was corn roasted in husk which was then pulled back as the ear was dipped in melted butter. A complete no-brainer. It was delicious.
5. Sweet Martha's Cookie Jar Chocolate Chip Cookies: A bucket of four dozen right out of the oven cookies. They were delicious and were enjoyed by the group as a whole, but not even a dent was made and the bucket is now sittting in the hotel room
6. Footlong Corn Dog: I couldn't keep up with Pappas on this one as I retired for the evening. It looked delicious, but If I ate anymore I would have burst!

Worth mentioning but not enjoyed was the chocolate-covered bacon: This was on the wish list, but apparently it is so good that it had sold out by the time we had bellied up to the counter. The scotch egg stand was noticed by the time we were full, but sounded delicious.

The state fair is a culinary experience and highly reccommended, however my stomach is still hurting!