The Minnesota State Fair is known for having an endless plethora of (mostly fried) food, with new choices each year. The Fair added 32 options and two new vendors, and we had the opportunity to try out some good and some very bad new foods.

We started out the day with a breakfast of Mac n Cheese Curds from Oodles of Noodles. We had high expectations, hoping for cheesy noodles battered and fried to create something so gloriously greasy only Americans could delight in it.

But to our dismay we were handed a takeaway box full of disappointment. It came in the form of nine dollars worth mediocre noodles drenched in a sickly amount of low grade cheese sauce. Sadness has never come covered in so much cheese.

Following our gooey debacle at Oodles of Noodles, we crossed the Fair, shoving our way through hundreds of sticky Midwesterners holding buckets of cookies we desperately wanted. Our spirits down, we arrived at The Strawberry Patch and quickly received our Strawberry Donut Sandwich.

A glistening glazed donut filled with an ungodly amount of whipped cream and strawberry compote sitting in a styrofoam bowl, just waiting to be devoured.

The quaint booth has been a Fair staple for 33 years, but the owners truly elevated their status with this incredible new delicacy. As we pulled out our crumpled map to find our next new food, we were honestly unenthused. Our stomachs were full of a confusing mix of aggressively American foods and an overwhelming amount of carbs. Nonetheless, we plunked on to the Dairy Building.

As we traded in our ticket, we looked at the glorious ice cream combinations running past us, hoping ours would be just as delectable. Watching our clerk create the masterpiece, “Treat of the Year: Call it Breakfast”.

Ice cream, sprinkles, chocolate sauce, donuts and sprinkles again. This was by far the best creation we tried by both taste and aesthetic.

Though we ventured outside standard Fair foods, many Blake Students did not. For example Sara Gregor ‘19 who stuck to staples, like fries and Sweet Martha’s cookies said “I stick to familiar things because I know they’re good. I don’t want to waste my money on something bad.”

Though this fear is understandable, had we not pushed outside our gastronomic comfort zones we wouldn’t have reaped the benefits of Strawberry Donut Delight. So whether it’s at next year’s Fair or trying a “Toasty Dog” at lunch (whatever that is), go outside your familiarities.