Star Tribune
Our food writers return to the fair and reassess these low-ranking new foods
Tasting 68 foods in one day is a tall order that leaves little room for second bites — or second chances. The Star Tribune Taste team has to make quick assessments on every new food at the State Fair to deliver our rankings into your hands as quickly as possible. Unfortunately for the vendors, that means we don’t have time to apply the same rigorous standards of criticism that we do when we evaluate a restaurant, by going back to try it again. Until now.
We gave vendors a chance to overcome first-day jitters, and returned on Tuesday to reassess some of our lowest-ranked new foods, choosing three fan favorites that visitors seemed to enjoy more than we initially had. Here’s where they stand now.
(Joy Summers/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
French Meadow, Carnes Av. between Nelson and Underwood Sts., $14
We wrote: Battered mushrooms are a staple on plenty of restaurant menus. This shouldn’t have been an issue for the State Fair. The problem started somewhere between trying to pass them off as tentacled creatures and over-frying them into a withered, dehydrated something that was once fungi.
Original ranking: Not our favorite.
Update: Is it possible they forgot the mushrooms on the first day? Then, we had a basket of over-fried shards of breading. But today, we had chewy, tentacle-like pieces of oyster mushroom that gave the dish an entirely new character. Something like a cross between fried cauliflower and, yes, actual calamari, coated in a lightly crunchy and spicy batter, today’s version had us going back for more bites. The creamy chipotle dipping sauce paired much better, too. While it’s a solid new food, the price is still a sticking point, and we can’t overlook a lot of people’s deep dislike for mushrooms.
New ranking: It’s fine … for some.
(Sharyn Jackson/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Dino’s Gyros, Carnes Av. between Nelson and Underwood Sts., $8
LAFAYETTE, Wis. — About 25 children and adults were injured Wednesday when a wagon carrying them overturned at a western Wisconsin apple orchard.
The children, parents and chaperones were on a field trip to the orchard in Lafayette when one of two wagons being pulled by a tractor turned sideways and rolled over, Chippewa County Sheriff Travis Hakes told reporters. Hakes said the tractor was traveling at a low speed when the wagon rolled over while going downhill.
Three people suffered critical injuries, while injuries to five others were considered serious. Authorities didn’t say how many of the injured were children.
The elementary school-age children attend a school in Eau Claire. Lafayette is northeast of Eau Claire.
After about five minutes and several warnings that students participating in the protest would be suspended,, the protesters exited Northrop and Cunningham continued her speech. They later gathered outside on the mall afterwards to shout, “Cunningham, you will see, Palestine will be free.”
Cunningham recounted the story of Norman Borlaug, the U alumnus and agronomist whose research in wheat saved millions from starvation, and said she would prioritize keeping a college education affordable for students.
Cunningham actually took over presidential duties on July 1, replacing Interim President Jeff Ettinger. She oversees a budget of more than $4 billion to run the university’s five campuses, which enrolled more than 68,000 students and employed 27,000 people during the last academic year.
She was chosen for the job last winter over two other candidates: Laura Bloomberg, president of Cleveland State University and former dean of the U’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and James Holloway, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of New Mexico. She is the U’s second woman president, following Joan Gabel who held the office from 2019 to 2023.
Cunningham will be paid more than $1 million per year — about $975,000 in base pay and an additional $120,000 in retirement contributions. The compensation puts her in the top quarter of Big Ten university presidents.
Sgt. Gordon Blackey, once a security guard to Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, allegedly admitted to tracking the woman’s movements in her vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
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