Our tour through the Minnesota State Fair 2026 new foods ends where these things usually end — somewhere between delight and regret, with a wallet noticeably lighter than when we started.

This final round leans rich. Lobster on a burger. Ice cream stacked on French pastry. Chocolate cakes wrapped around pistachio cream. Some of it worked beautifully. One item was an outright disaster.

Korean BBQ Bao Bun

Where to find it: Rooted and Wild by Snack House, Lee and Rose Warner Coliseum
Cost: $9

Expectations for vegan options at the fair tend to run low, which may explain why this one landed better than anticipated. It also came in under ten dollars, which by 2026 fairground standards counts as a small mercy.

The bao holds Korean barbecue-glazed plant-based protein alongside a pineapple slaw. The sauce carries a bit of heat and does its job well enough without being memorable. Pineapple was scarce in my portion, though the slaw still lifted the barbecue and kept things from getting heavy.

The letdown was the bun itself — dry and noticeably tough, which is a problem when the wrapper is half the point of the dish. Enjoyable once, but not enough to pull me back for a second order.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Surf ‘N’ Turf Burger

Where to find it: Cafe Caribe, south side of Carnes Avenue between Chambers and Clough streets
Cost: $16

Whatever appeared in the promotional photo did not make it into my hands.

The pitch was a burger crowned with lobster tossed in garlic butter. What arrived tasted like none of those things. The lobster registered no butter, no garlic, and remarkably little lobster. There also wasn’t much of it.

The patty tasted mostly of grill rather than beef — the sort of burger you’d expect from an institutional kitchen. The chipotle mayo brought some acidity but essentially no chipotle.

At sixteen dollars, this was the clearest miss of the entire run. Nothing here justified the price or the premise.

Rating: 0.5 out of 5

French Chouxnut Sundae

Where to find it: Bridgeman’s Ice Cream, northeast corner of Judson Avenue and Liggett Street
Cost: $11

The construction is ambitious: a generous scoop of salted caramel espresso ice cream sitting atop choux pastry stuffed with chocolate mousse, finished with chocolate fondant, caramel drizzle, whipped cream and a cherry.

That is a lot of ideas competing for the same bite, and it follows a pattern Bridgeman’s has repeated in recent years — genuinely good components buried under too many of them.

The pastry ran tough, though it did contribute some welcome texture against all that softness. Still, the honest assessment is that I would have been happier with a plain bowl of the salted caramel espresso ice cream. That flavor was excellent and deserved better than being used as a topping.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Fiery Hot Deep Fried Ranch

Where to find it: LuLu’s Public House, west end
Cost: $13

A brief detour into unofficial territory. This is a reworking of the deep fried ranch that broke through in 2024, now rolled in a spicy coating that is functionally Flamin’ Hot seasoning.

There is no mystery about what you’re getting. Ranch dressing somehow rendered solid, battered, fried, and dusted with heat. It delivers exactly that, competently.

The one complaint is calibration. The spice level is distinctly Minnesota spicy, which is to say barely spicy at all. Nobody needs it to be punishing, but with that much ranch inside cooling everything down, the heat could climb several notches without anyone suffering.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Strawberry Crunch Mini Donuts

Where to find it: Solem’s Mini Donuts, east side of Underwood Street between Murphy and Lee avenues
Cost: $15

Two competing reviews live in my head simultaneously.

The first: these are mini donuts that taste like strawberry, and fifteen dollars is an astonishing amount of money for that.

The second: I walked up expecting the worst item of the day and did not get it. Solem’s makes excellent mini donuts, and these are that foundation dressed in strawberry, vanilla sugar and vanilla icing.

The balance among strawberry, pastry and vanilla is genuinely well judged. It is also relentlessly sweet. Kids will demolish these. Adults will feel complete after one. Possibly two.

One structural gripe — the bucket rim comes coated in icing and streusel crunch, which serves no purpose except transferring itself onto your pants, where it remains.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

Dubai Whoopie Pie

Where to find it: Dino’s Gyros, north side of Carnes Avenue between Nelson and Underwood streets
Cost: $13

Importing the Dubai chocolate trend to the fairgrounds is not an idea that stirs much enthusiasm. Pistachio filling, however, is a different conversation entirely.

That split is exactly what the finished product delivers. The dark chocolate cakes are neither especially dark nor especially flavorful, doing little beyond holding everything together.

The filling saves it. The pistachio cream is rich and properly creamy, and the crunch element supplies texture the cakes lack. It reads sweet without becoming overwhelming, and the pistachio flavor actually asserts itself rather than hiding behind sugar.

Worth ordering if pistachio is your thing. Thirteen dollars still stings.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Final Thoughts

The through-line across this batch is that execution beats concept every time. The most elaborate items — the lobster burger, the layered sundae — struggled under their own ambition. The simplest ones held up.

If you’re budgeting your fair appetite, the bao bun and the fried ranch offer the most reliable return. Skip the surf and turf entirely. And if you find yourself at Bridgeman’s, consider asking for the ice cream on its own.