Why do you go to the Wisconsin State Fair? Maybe it’s the nostalgia-driven music lineup (hello, TLC). Perhaps it’s the opportunity to see several farms’ worth of animals in one place. It could be you’re a gargantuan-slide enthusiast.
For many of the people who brave the logistical challenges of fair-going, it’s the food. The sweet. The savory. The decadent. The downright weird. They all keep people coming back year after year. It’s clear the vendors know this because each State Fair brings with it another long list of new creations meant to tantalize and/or befuddle.
This year’s queue of culinary curiosities weighs in at a nice, round 100 items. I suppose if you went all 11 days, you could conceivably knock out the whole list and then be very happy that the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin campus is less than two miles away. But, because we care about your well-being, I examined all 100 entries and picked out the ones you should make it a point to try (and a few we suggest avoiding).
Here are my selections, along with where to find them inside the fairgrounds:
Best new food at the State Fair
Beer Cheese Brat & Spud Muffin
Leff’s Miller Lite Sports Bar & Grill
When done correctly, potato pancakes are no mere side dish to the traditional Wisconsin fish fry. They’re indispensable. This maximalist version starts with a foundation of cheesy hashbrowns, gets infused with beer cheese and bratwurst, and then bakes in a muffin pan to create a crispy and highly mobile meal, perfect for refueling without breaking your stride.
Birria Egg Roll
Fiesta Grill & Cantina
The Milwaukee area is fortunate to have so many excellent examples of food from across the Latin diaspora. Fiesta Grill & Cantina’s Birria Egg Roll brings those flavors to State Fair Park in a celebration of its chef’s Mexican heritage. This beef birria doesn’t skimp on the spices and comes crisped in an egg-roll shell, which you most certainly should dip in the consommé beef birria broth.
Burnt Ends Bonanza
Big Sky Country Bar & Grill
OK, so, start with the very Canadian poutine and then make it decidedly American. Trade out the French fries for tater tots. Add some protein courtesy of crackling burnt end pork butt. Pour on the Wisconsin beer cheese, drizzle some “Kickin’ Bourbon” sauce and sprinkle on the scallions — and you’ve got your Burnt Ends Bonanza.
Cheesy Sriracha Funnel Cake Bites
Funnel Cakes
Do funnel cakes exist outside the fair environment? Beyond Six Flags Great America, I’m not sure I’ve seen them anywhere else. And that’s fine by me because, like a hot dog at a baseball game, the setting is critical to maximum enjoyment. This version dials it up even further by capitalizing on the sriracha movement to create a savory rather than sweet experience. You’ll find mozzarella and parmesan cheese in the center, chives and a six-cheese blend on top, and a supposed choice of dippers: sriracha aioli, ranch or garlic butter. But if you don’t choose the first one, what are you even doing?
Deep-Fried Lemonade Bites
Saz’s BBQ
We are clearly into the “Bites” portion of our list — a medium that calls to the fair-goer focused on doing as much as possible during their day inside the grounds. While cradling this particular paperboard boat, you can find out whether the word “refreshing” can pair with the phrase “deep fried.” Hawaiian sweet rolls dipped in French toast batter get filled with homemade lemonade curd and are deep fried before being tossed in lemon sugar and topped with an icing drizzle.
Dirty Chai Cinnamon Roll Lumpia
Lumpia City
The center of a cinnamon roll lives in the pantheon of “food where you get other stuff with it but really you’re just trying to get to the good part.” The folks at Lumpia City decided to do something about that by taking all of that gooey goodness in the eye of the pastry, adding a bit of spice and surrounding it in a crispy lumpia wrapper. With chai-spiced brown sugar butter and cream cheese espresso frosting involved, I’m not sure how you could resist this one.
Funnel Cake Root Beer Battered Cheese Curds
Charcoal Grill Roadhouse
Even after many years as a grownup, “root” still might be my favorite of the beers. It’s the soda for those who can’t tolerate anything tooth-achingly sweet. Charcoal Grill Roadhouse takes off that edge even further by combining the taste that made Sprecher famous with white cheddar cheese curds, covering them in funnel cake root beer batter, deep frying them and then applying a dusting of powdered sugar.
Loaded Baked Potato Churro
WürstBar
Baked potatoes are good and all, but they’re a hassle. You gotta throw the spuds in an oven for an eternity, gather all the fixin’s (many of which also require cooking time) and then spelunk your way fork-first through the whole thing. Alternative, you can pick up this elongated starch stick and chow down. Inside the crispy, deep-fried exterior, you’ll find all the hallmarks of the baked-potato experience — bacon, chives and cheddar cheese — ready to dip in the housemade sour cream and onion sauce.
Pop’s Pulled Pork Parfait
Pop’s Paradise
The pulled pork parfait was the best thing to happen to the Milwaukee Brewers since CC Sabathia. When it debuted at then-Miller Park in 2014, the stadium’s well-earned food reputation jumped another notch. Whether intentionally or by happenstance, Pop’s Paradise has tapped into those memories and — I would argue — enhanced it by keeping the pulled pork and going with mac and cheese rather than mashed potatoes. Coleslaw and Wisconsin brandy BBQ sauce are also in the mix for this meal in a cup.
Not-the-best new food at State Fair
Anything with dill or pickles
So many places
Do you know how much pickle is enough pickle? About half. You get to that 50% mark of a decent-sized pickle, and if you were really being honest with yourself, you’d call it a day right there. The people from Milwaukee’s Pickles really got it right with those baby dills.
Anyway, it’s clear the foodmakers at the fair do not agree with me because holy cow are there so many pickle- and dill-related things among this year’s new offerings. You’ve got your Cool Ranch Doritos Pickle, your “Dill”icious Tots, a Dill Pickle Poutine and for God knows what reason something called Pickles in Paradise, which finds pickle juice (blended with other more traditional tropical flavors) in a hollowed-out pineapple shell. I just can’t. More power to you if you can.
Hot Ham and Glazers
Bud Pavilion
The main reason this landed here is the photo. It just doesn’t look very appetizing. As someone who tried and very much enjoyed the Krispy Kreme Cheeseburger, I can imagine the hot ham version tasting just fine. But with the “spicy and sweet raspberry jam” pouring out the side, it feels like something I would wait for a friend to order and then ask for a bite.
Elote Corn Ribs
Tropics
Sort of like the last item, I’m dinging this one for non-taste-related reasons. The word “ribs” is right there in the title, but you’re basically getting deep-fried corn on the cob. According to the description, the cob acts as the rib, which is akin to me acting like a surgeon — saying it doesn’t make it so.
Elvis Nachos
Slim McGinn’s Irish Pub
For something with not a lot of ingredients, there’s a lot going on here. Deep-fried potato chips topped with peanut butter banana sauce, chopped peanuts, chopped banana chips and crumbled bacon. If you’ve got a group of people with you, I can see going for this one. If you’re lone wolfing it, I see a future similar to the pickle situation: You’ll get about halfway in and wonder what you’re going to do with the rest of this.
