5 best things our food writers ate in the Twin Cities this week

From chocolate malts to ground cherries, here's a rundown of our dining diaries' greatest hits over the past seven days. What were your top eats of the week? Share the details in the comments section.

Chocolate malt at the Dairy Goodness Bar at the Minnesota State Fair

Iconic. At the fairgrounds yesterday reporting on the first ever Minnesota State Fair Food Parade, I was just a wee bit jealous of all the ticket-holders who got to treat Dan Patch Ave. like a drive-through. I was one of the unlucky souls who were shut out of the 19,000 golden tickets, but being there for work, I snagged this $5 chocolate malt on my way out. This really doesn't need description. Chocolate. Creamy. Cold. You know it inside and out as well as I do. It's one of the must-haves of the fair. If only there was a way to get one on the other side of those gates. (Sharyn Jackson)

Tickets to the Food Parade are sold out (but more might be released), mnstatefair.org/food-parade-2020

Jamaican beef patty at West Indies Soul Food

Good news — there is a way to get this flavor-packed patty, even if you don't have a ticket to the Minnesota State Fair Food Parade. In addition to three long weekends at the fairgrounds, West Indies Soul Food is always doing curbside pickup in St. Paul. You're probably going for the smoky grilled jerk chicken drummies and the house hot sauce that'll leave your tongue tingling, both owner Sharon Richards-Noel's specialties. But don't overlook this handheld meal ($5.50) that's everything a Pop Tart wishes it could be. And if you do happen to be driving by her stand at the State Fair, I'm here to attest this is car food at its finest. Compact, easy to eat out of bag with one hand, and completely delicious. Takeout only, open 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Thu.-Sat. (S.J.)

1166 W. University Av., St. Paul, 651-331-9523. (Also at the Minnesota State Fair Food Parade for ticket-holders, more information at mnstatefair.org/food-parade-2020.)

Wood-roasted sweet corn at Young Joni

When the Minnesota State Fair announced its plan to stage a drive-through food fest, there was a millisecond where I was tempted to try and nab a ticket, primarily because of the following two words: roast corn.

The Roast Corn stand is a fairgrounds must for me, in part because owner Brad Ribar has nailed the whole timing-is-everything rule. The fair's 12-day run (well, in normal times) happily coincides with local sweet corn season, which makes visiting his always-packed stand a pinnacle summer-in-Minnesota experience.

Is there anything better than biting into freshly shucked, butter-drenched sweet corn, particularly after the heat of the grill has unlocked the kernel's natural sugars and inserted a teasing layer of smoke? Unfortunately, Ribar, who would be marking his 31st year at the fair this summer, isn't participating in the sold-out food parade.

In its place, I was relieved to discover that Young Joni chef/co-owner Ann Kim had resurrected her interpretation of this State Fair star. It's a simple formula ($11), and beyond fantastic: Minnesota-raised sweet corn, roasted at her kitchen's dramatic wood-burning hearth and then coated, elote-style, with an indecent amount of Calabrian chile-infused butter and tons of finely shaved pecorino cheese. Each snappy bite is a late-August whirlwind of sweet, spicy, juicy and smoky.

"We may not have the fair this year, but at least we can bring our sweet corn back, and do it our way," said Kim. "It sells like hot cakes."

It's also a generous gesture for someone who admits that she doesn't exactly get all fired up at the prospect of strolling the fairgrounds.

"I'm one of those people who doesn't live for the fair," she said. "But I love the mini doughnuts, the fried pickles and the sweet corn." Takeout only, open 4-8 p.m. Sun.-Thu., 4-9 p.m. Fri.-Sat. (Rick Nelson)

165 13th Av. NE., Mpls., 612-345-5719

Fry bread taco at Trickster Tacos

The idea for creating a fry bread taco truck has been germinating in co-owner Mariah Grant's imagination since 2017, when she opened an insurance agency and began building a clientele in the food truck industry.

"That's when I got to know the business from the inside out," she said.

She already had a recipe in mind: her husband, Dakota Grant, has been making fry bread since he was a kid.

"He was raised on the reservation until he was 10, and he watched his grandpa and aunties make it," said Mariah Grant. "It's his grandpa's recipe. He makes it by hand — he doesn't measure, he just knows — and he makes it fresh, to order."

With that foundation, Mariah started experimenting on a weekly basis, using fry bread as a taco shell and then exploring all kinds of toppings.

"Sometimes, the results were great," she said. "And sometimes, they were horrible."

Once they had a critical mass of "great," the couple teamed up with Mariah's twin brother, Nic Timmerman, and decided that the time was right to launch their business. They purchased their bright-red trailer from Steven D's (one of Mariah's insurance customers) and Trickster Tacos hit the streets of St. Paul's East Side last month.

Their tacos certainly have the makings of a runaway State Fair hit: the puffy dough is slightly sweet (thanks to pops of granulated sugar and brown sugar), and the generously applied fixings are colorful and flavorful.

Variations include nicely seasoned ground beef dressed with sharp Cheddar, onions and a fresh radish-corn salsa; shredded chicken with a tangy cilantro-lime sour cream; pulled pork with coleslaw and pickled onions; grilled steak with salsa and an avocado sauce; and chili with Cheddar, sour cream and onions.

The results are portable, and affordable: prices are $7, with fries or onion rings for an additional $3. There's dessert ($5), too: strips of fry bread, topped with blueberry sauce and whipped cream.

The trio's entrepreneurial spirit has been paying off, because business has been brisk. Mariah runs the office, and Dakota and Nic — both have years of experience as line cooks at IHOP and Texas Roadhouse — are staffing the trailer.

"It's fun to see how excited they are to own their own business," said Mariah Grant of her husband and brother. "I already owned mine, so I know what that feels like. It's great to see them light up and be so proud of what they're doing." (R.N.)

Track the trailer's whereabouts — it's usually out and about Thursday through Sunday — on Instagram and Facebook.

Ground cherries at Gale Woods Farm

If you have been following this column the last few weeks, it might look like I only eat fair food, doughnuts and ice cream. But I swear, I eat things that grow from the ground, too. And last weekend, after a toddler-friendly tour of Gale Woods Farm, I brought home a huge haul of fresh produce. These groundcherries might be the highlight of my 2.5-year-old's life, now that he has figured out how to peel the papery exterior to find a magical sort-of-tomato, sort-of-gummy-bear-flavored ball of fruit inside. They're the perfect healthy, time-consuming snack for little fingers. And they're even more delightful after you've gotten to meet the farm's sheep. Farm market open 9 a.m.-noon Saturday. (S.J.)

7210 County Rd. 110 W., Minnetrista, 763-694-2001

Sharyn Jackson • @Sharyn Jackson

Rick Nelson • @RickNelsonStrib