The Minnesota State Fair is paradise for this team of food writers. Not only do we gleefully anticipate opening day, when we sample and review all the new foods, but we all return outside of work, too. Sometimes it’s for a grandstand show, sometimes it’s with family in tow — and oftentimes both — but it always comes back to food. Here are the new foods we can’t wait to try, and the favorites we return to time and again.
Joy Summers, Taste reporter

Can’t wait: Swedish Ice Cream Sundae, Salem Lutheran Church Dining Hall
My stomach was rumbling perusing this year’s list of new foods. There are so many I can’t wait to try, but first I’ll head to Salem Lutheran’s stand for the Swedish Ice Cream Sundae: ice cream topped in lingonberries and ginger cookie hearts. The historic stand is also a must-visit for a cup of egg coffee, which is just a solid cup of coffee. Plus, the stand is always a pleasant stop with kind humans on even the most crowded fair days.

Can’t miss: Egg rolls, Que Viet
The first stop on my off-the-clock days at the fair is always the Que Viet stand for its massive egg rolls and a Vietnamese coffee. Strong coffee laced with sweetened condensed milk fuels the fun, from the floral displays in the Agriculture Horticulture Building down to the fabulous chickens in the animal barns. And those egg rolls? The blistered, crispy fried exterior and meaty interior should be a whole meal in and of itself. But, this is the fair, so it only counts as a snack.
Sharyn Jackson, Taste reporter

Can’t wait: Grilled Purple Sticky Rice, Union Hmong Kitchen
Yia Vang’s Union Hmong Kitchen came charging out of the gate in 2022 when it launched a stand in the International Bazaar with long lines and the most craveable fair food in ages. So naturally, I’m all in on this year’s new entry. It took a feat of stick-food engineering to figure out how to make the bricks of rice just so. “It looks like a Popsicle,” Vang said. “Crunchy on the outside, soft and sticky on the inside. It’s a real simple street snack from Southeast Asia. Nibble on it.” I will!
Can’t miss: Al’s Breakfast blueberry pancakes, Hamline Church Dining Hall