Good times are in the air at the Wisconsin State Fair! Next week, the summer celebration of agriculture, entertainment, and family fun returns to the Wisconsin State Fair grounds, featuring the iconic giant slide, pig races, and menu items loaded with a day’s worth of calories in a single bite. With food offerings ranging from fair classics to culinarily adventurous eats, here’s your sign to dine around the Wisconsin State Fair. Whether deep-fried, on a stick, dipped in chocolate or all three, here’s your guide to fair food. After all, we all know that calories don’t count when you’re having fun.
Original Cream Puff
A classic. An icon. A State Fair staple. Call it what you will, the Original Cream Puff has perfected the balance of light, airy pastry and whipped dairy filling, dusted with just the right amount of powdered sugar. It may be the longest line you wait in all day, but we promise it’s worth it. (Plus, it moves way faster than you think.)
Cheese Curds
Overlooked for its normalcy in the Wisconsin food pyramid, the cheese curds from Brad & Harry’s Cheese Curds are criminally underrated. Dip ‘em in ranch or marinara, or just eat them plain, these golden-brown nugs are worth the trip alone.
Flavored Milk
Where else are you going to find milk that tastes like root beer? The Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation Milk House offers standard pours of the well-loved classics like plain milk, chocolate and strawberry flavors, in addition to unique dairy delights that you just have to try. If you pair your milk with a cookie from around the grounds or a sweet treat from Ultimate Confections, you’ve got a refreshing dessert pairing.
Cool Ranch Doritos Pickle
First on the list of menu items that will spark your curiosity to try it for yourself is this Sporky nominee. The dish features a spiral-cut dill pickle rolled in crushed cool ranch Doritos. It is, of course, deep-fried on a stick and comes with a side of ranch if you’re up for a little extra zest. Stop by Deep-Fried Mashed Potatoes On-a-Stick, a vendor of an equally intriguing name, to give it a try.
Alligator Tacos
Does alligator really taste like chicken? Well, it’s time to find out. This Exotic Meat Grill menu item is stuffed with the bayou chicken, alligator meat, which is smoked, chopped and seasoned with taco seasoning, and served on a tortilla with Cajun sour cream, cheese, salsa and jalapenos.
Cricket Cookie Sandwich
They say bugs are an excellent source of protein and that variety is the spice of life, so why not step outside the usual fair fare for a cricket cookie sandwich? Apparently, these noisy insects have a nutty taste, which complements the chocolate chip cookies and pad of buttercream frosting sandwiched in between.
Fried Chicken and Waffles on a Stick
Returning to the State Fair food ethos that we all crave, if hybrid meals fried and on a stick is your thing, you’ve hit the jackpot with fried chicken and waffles on a stick. Leff’s Miller Lite Sports Bar & Grill is taking the brunchtime delight and turning it into a handheld bite with sides of hot sauce and hot honey.
Pizza Jerky
A story we’d all love to learn more about, this menu item description simply asks, “Have you ever wanted to put pizza in your pocket?” Well, if portable pizza problems plague you, there’s now a solution! Pizza jerky. Made with beef, this gluten-free culinary marvel can be found at All Things Jerky.
Rise & Swine
Let’s just call this pun-inspired option the breakfast of champions…or the dinner of champions…or the dessert of champions…however you slice it, Camp Bar’s Rise and Swine is a mouthwatering dish featuring a brioche-based waffle with a dollop of classic vanilla custard, drizzled with maple syrup and caramel sauce, and topped with two breakfast sausage links.
Loaded Gyro Bratzel
Travel across the world in one bite with the loaded gyro bratzel from Gertrude’s Pretzels. The innovative culinary creation takes elements of Greek and German cuisine, resulting in a dish that is inarguably all its own. A specialty gyro-seasoned brat is wrapped in pretzel dough and is then baked (NOT FRIED!) and topped with tzatziki sauce, feta cheese and red onion. It, of course, comes on a stick for low-mess consumption.
Purple Pickle Lemonade
The fair’s inventive offerings hardly stop at the food. Beverages, too, offer strange but delicious pairings that you quite simply can’t pass up. One of these is the Drinky nominee purple pickle lemonade. The beverage mixes a summertime classic, lemonade, with pickle juice and baby dill pickles to create a drink that is sweet and tart. Its yellow and purple hues also make the drink an instantly Instagrammable photo.
Glazed Donut Coffee Float
Last up, we have another Drinky nominee, the glazed donut coffee float from Fluffy’s Hand Cut Donuts. A complete dessert in a cup, this float has everything you need. Featuring glazed donut-infused iced coffee poured over vanilla ice cream, topped with a donut hole and dusted with donut crumbles, this drink is the perfect fair finish to a day of delicious dining wonders.
Of course, we’re just scratching the surface of the magnificent munchable marvels. Check out the full list here.
The Wisconsin State Fair is so, so, so much more than food. Whether it’s family fun with games at SpinCity, a petting zoo and pig races or shows at the Main Stage, shopping at the Expo Hall and the Cow-temporary Art Walk, visit our Wisconsin State Fair page to plan your experience and find your summer love of fair.
