A bunch of these reviews run very contrary to The Racket’s ratings, redeeming a few things I’ve written off. Thank you

Started the day at the Farmer’s Union, where the Apple Glaze Patisserie was a big disappointment. Too hard for a fork, too sticky to pick up. C-

The Potato Dumplings at O’Gara’s were solid but not a standout. Good garlic flavor. B

The Black Bean Balls at the Afro Cafe in the Food Building were a delight, with a great sauce. B+

Ooh what's in the cup?

Mango

I could devour some of these rn

The best compliment I can give the Grilled Peaches at the Produce Exchange is that every year they totally justify paying more than ten dollars for a peach. A-

Grilled peaches are phenomenal. We used to make them at home a lot.

The Caprese Curds at LuLu’s were something we were going to skip but ended up being a highlight because of the tomatoes. A-

The soft serve at the Dairy Building consistently bangs harder than any gimmick ice cream at the Fair, pictured here with the Princess Kay butter sculptures. A

I love getting a sundae at the dairy building on the first day; usually with the flavor of the fair. This year’s flavor seemed sus so I opted for strawberry-rhubarb.

The numbers one and four from the beer flight in the Ag Building were better than two and three, but it’s all still beer, so. B+

Logos for 1 and 4 are better too. 4 looks like a 90s game studio that would make an educational math game with a Doom clone. 2 looks like it in a few years it will be saying “I was just following orders” at a court martial hearing.

The Green Apple Sucker Ice Cream at Granny’s tasted exactly like how it’s described, but that’s not a flavor I want to have more than a little of. B-

The Pronto Pup, a corn dog made with flour instead of corn, is a perfect fair food from a more civilized age and I won’t grade it because it exists outside ranked judgement. Wonderful.

It’s so much better than a corndog. I mean, the sign says it all. “It’s a banquet on a stick!” A BANQUET.

The Fawaffle from Baba’s was an item that got a lot of attention when it was announced and it lives up to all of the hype. Absolutely wonderful, and is really helped by the best tomatoes I’ve had in Minnesota this year. A+

corn on the cob falls in this category as well

Can you discuss Pronto Pup (flour) versus corn dog (corn)? It's one of those huge rivalries I was late to because I love both almost interchangeably.

Soft serve is the comfort food of ice cream

This is the one instance when I opt for the cup rather than a cone so I can get a sundae fruit topping on my soft serve. Although a cone is better for jostling up close to the Princess Kay sculptures.

Buy a Peach

I’ve been so sad about not making it this year, but it’s been nice to see the fair’s still out there, thriving, even if it pains me