Why fans come back to these state fairs year after year just for the food

It’s state fair season in America, and food vendors old and new have been busy for months prepping for the millions of attendees who come to eat.

“Our surveys found that the No. 1 reason visitors come to the fair is the food,” said Jeremy Parsons, CEO of the Iowa State Fair. The fair, which runs from Aug. 10-20, boasts 200 food stands and 64 new things to taste this year.

“Food is a main attraction,” agreed Danielle Dullinger, food and beverage manager for the Minnesota State Fair. “We’re offering about 500 different menu items this year from 300 food vendors.”

That fair, in operation from Aug. 24-Sept. 4, offers a mix of attention-getting foods, like that Minnesota specialty, lutefisk, featured in Asian-style lotus buns, and walleye fritter pops, to must-haves, including fried cheese curds, roasted corn and Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar cookies.

“The food vendor turnover is less than 5% every year, so we’re bursting at the seams. When we get a cancellation, we get a lot of applications,” said Dullinger.

Walleye  Fritter Pops fit the on-a-stick category at the Minnesota State Fair. | Photo courtesy of Minnesota State Fair.

This year, there were 110 applications for a spot and 34 new foods accepted. “We look for variety and try to fill gaps with foods not represented that fit into different categories, such as on-a-stick, healthy, fried and wacky,” she added. “We also look at the experience the vendor has. You must be able to push out food really quickly. I compare it to the Olympics—you have to run a few marathons before you qualify for the triathlon!”

Those that made the cut this year include the aforementioned Crispy Lutefisk Steam Buns, “Kind of a Big Dill” Pickle Lemonade and Fruity Cereal Milk Biscuits. Also new are vendors offering global foods reflecting their heritage.

The Afro Deli is serving up Somali food with traditional sambusas, a fried triangle-shaped pastry in three variations: beef, chicken and lentil, all mixed with onions, garlic and cilantro, and accompanied by “basbaas” a spicy dipping sauce. Also for sale are sweet plantains, Somali tea and fresh mango juice.

Coming back is Union Hmong Kitchen with their popular galabao (steamed pork buns) and nqaij with chilled rice noodles, a shredded pork stew that’s a typical “grandma” dish.

“People come from every corner of the state to the fair, many of whom have never tried Hmong food,” said Dullinger. “He [chef Yia Vang] feels like he’s feeding both his extended family and Minnesotans.” Minnesota has a significant Hmong population.

Many of the vendors feel a similar personal connection to feeding fair-goers. The farmer who sells roasted corn plants 25 acres of a special variety just to sell at the fair, and Sweet Martha’s Cookie Jar has been there since the ‘70s, selling cookies by the bucket only, four dozen to an order.

It’s a labor of love for the many vendors, but it can also be quite lucrative. Restaurants can garner a lot of publicity and build a larger customer base for their brick-and-mortar locations or food producers for their businesses. “It’s a really big deal to be on the ‘new’ list,” said Dullinger.

At the State Fair of Texas, vendor Jesus Carmona sells empanadas, tacos and more. | Photo courtesy of Milagro Tacos Cantina

Jesus Carmona, a vendor selling empanadas, tacos and mole fries for the first time last year at the State Fair of Texas, found it personally rewarding as well as a business boost for his two Dallas restaurants.

“I got great publicity as a new vendor, appearing on TV shows with my food and a chance to be on Good Morning America this year,” said Carmona. “I ended up selling 25,000 empanadas and 50,000 orders of tacos. I was No. 1 in sales of all new vendors, plus it helped promote my restaurants.”

This year, the State Fair of Texas runs from Sept. 29-Oct. 22—longer than most and in the fall rather than summer, when the weather is cooler down there. Carmona first got involved when some of the fair’s corporate team came to his restaurant, Milagro Tacos Cantina, and were impressed with the food.

“They were looking for new vendors and wanted to bring in locals to add variety to all the barbecue stands,” said Carmona.

Jesus Carmona's Mole Fries are coming back for a second summer at the State Fair of Texas. | Photo courtesy of Milagro Tacos Cantina.

For 2023, he’s bringing back two empanadas—spicy beef and chicken chipotle—from his other restaurant, Chimichurri. Instead of baking them, as he does in the restaurant, he is frying them. Fryers are easier to set up than ovens, and no fair is complete with a large selection of fried foods.

Carmona will also be doing two tacos: a Campeona Taco made with a corn tortilla, crispy cheese, guacamole and carne asada, finished with fresh pico de gallo and sprinkled with cotija cheese, and a chorizo and carne asada taco. The popular Mole Fries are returning, too. And plenty of margaritas will be on hand.

“Last year, I watched the other vendors set up their stalls and learned. This year, I’ll be more efficient,” said Carmona. His whole family and many team members come to help.

Tradition with some twists

The Iowa State Fair has dozens of traditional foods that come back year after year and can never be eliminated. It's located in the middle of farm country, and commodity groups set up tents to show off top products, said Parsons. The Iowa pork tent has its crowd-pleasing Pork Chop on a Stick, and the turkey federation offers up turkey legs.

“Food on a stick is mandatory,” said Parsons. Most fair-goers walk and eat at the same time, so portability is a priority. New on a stick this year is Deep Fried Strawberry Shortcake and a Crunchy Cool Ranch Pickle rolled in Cool Ranch Doritos.

The Iowa Twinkie is new this year at the Iowa State Fair. | Photo courtesy of Iowa State Fair

New this year is an Iowa Twinkie—a local take on the Texas Twinkie, a jalapeno oozing with cheese. This one features a smoked bacon-wrapped jalapeno stuffed with pulled pork, sweet corn, cream cheese and ranch seasoning, then finished with ranch dressing and barbecue sauce. Veering away from Midwest ingredients are couple of new global additions: a Shrimp Poke Bowl, Korean Egg Dog and funnel cakes made with Filipino ube.

At the Wisconsin State Fair, running Aug. 3-13, tradition plays a big part in the eating experience, with longtime vendors like Saz’s returning every summer for over 40 years. While they bring back favorites, they also show off new items.

“The state fair is built into our roots. We started here in 1982 and come together every year to celebrate all great things Wisconsin,” said Curt Klute, CEO of Saz’s Hospitality Group. Saz’s has three locations on the fairgrounds, including the huge Saz’s High Life Pavilion serving up beer, food and entertainment.

The popular sampler plate from Saz's sells for $13 at the Wisconsin State Fair. | Photo courtesy of Saz's

Saz’s offer a depth of items at those venues, including barbecue ribs, Bavarian soft pretzels with two homemade dips (Door County cherry cream cheese and beer cheese), pulled pork sandwiches, cheese curds and a treat that’s a signature of the Wisconsin State Fair—cream puffs. These are made very year by the Wisconsin Bakers Association and available throughout the fair.

“One of our best-sellers is a sampler plate for $13 with hand-rolled mozzarella marinara sticks that look like egg rolls, sour cream-and-chive fries and cheese curds,” said Kluth.

But Saz’s is also a finalist in the Sporkies, an annual food competition exclusive to the Wisconsin State Fair that’s “a driver for new, crazy fair food,” said Lisa Immel, director of vendor services.

“We have one finalist in the Sporkies and another in the Drinkies [a new contest for beverages],” said Kluth, “We entered a cotton candy lemonade and deep fried apple pie coated in French toast batter.” He and his team started working on the items back in January, and will proudly be selling both at the Pavillion.

The fair contributes a huge part of Saz’s revenue, Kluth added. “But it’s also in our blood and keeps the brand alive for the next generation of Wisconsinites. We employ 300 young adults from the Milwaukee area, some of whom stay with the fair summer after summer.”

Another Sporkies finalist is Slim McGinn, who’s been coming to the fair for 20 years. “We were the first Irish place at the Wisconsin State Fair. It was a novelty back then and drove business to our restaurants,” he said. McGinn, now retired, operated Irish pubs in Milwaukee.

His Sporkies creation is an Irish Dip sandwich—kind of like a French Dip, he said. “We cook onions in Guinness to caramelize them, and then add cream cheese and cheddar. Irish beef is also cooked in Guinness, at a low temperature, and when it’s tender, it’s shredded and combined with a gravy made from the cooking liquid.”

McGinn is proud that he made the finals, but wants to come in third or fourth in the judging. “Otherwise you get too busy,” he said.

At his sit-down venue, he’s also serving nitro coffee on tap to make a S’mores Latte and a Limerick Latte, the latter spiked with local rye whiskey. “You’re required to use Wisconsin spirits in drinks,” said McGinn.

There are 103 new foods at the Wisconsin State Fair this year, said Immel. “We have a new vegan vendor, which we’ve been trying for, who is offering vegan deep-fried Oreos and fried cauliflower bites. We also found a boba tea vendor.”

She noted that there are two distinct groups of eaters among fair-goers. “One type follows a specific route to make sure they get to sample specific foods,” said Immel. “The other group likes to try the crazy items and post them on social media.”