it’s 9:30 p.m., i’ve just put on my jammies and propped my feet up on the couch. all i can say is holy effing fair batman. i just spent about 7 or 8 hours at “the great minnesota get together” other wise known as the minnesota state fair. i didn’t think i would actually go as i only remembered cooped up animals giving birth and all you can drink milk but here i am, belly bloated and wiped out. the best part about the fair is the people watching, here’s a few oddities from the crowd:
1. a pregnant woman getting pushed in a wheelchair, while smoking.
2. winter boots on numerous people (it was 83 degrees)
3. live spaying and neutering of animals (seriously!? wtf?)
4. the guy who came up to me and started pulling up his shirt to show me “some tats!” barf. barf. barf.
5. too many people over the age of 8 with “fairdos”, hair shellacked in colored glitter hair spray that’s teased out in a ponytail. the average ages i saw wearing them were 7 and 55.
before i went to the fair i looked up a few other blogs that listed vegan food options and was impressed with the amount of items i saw listed. sadly, a few that were listed by others as vegan turned out to be not vegan, or couldn’t be found.
item not vegan (but rumored to be)
veggie fries: veggie roll and fries, the man operating the counter said the batter was soy based but contained dairy. maybe he was confused?
vegan state fair food we didn’t try: (don’t hate, we were full)
fried pickle slices. they claimed the batter dry mix was free of whey, egg and dairy and is mixed with beer before the pickles are dipped and fried in corn oil.they had the dry mix for sale but it did not have an ingredient listing on the package.
La Lomas Tamales: sadly,this could not be found. we looked so hard we spent 7.5 hours at the fair! 
i really was craving a tamale.
vegetarian bean burrito: we didnt see it, but its supposedly located in the food building
sweeties and ??: oven baked sweet potato fries. if i realized that they were there i definitely would have skipped the regular fires for these. they sound super good.
sno cones/hawaiian shaved ice: they’re everywhere.
large soft pretzel: my sister found vegan ones, but we didn’t. we also only stopped at one pretzel stand and it was “apple lils” so you can skip that one in your search.
vegan state fair food we ate!!!! OMG!
the best part of going with someone is that you can share everything giving you a chance to try more stuff!
Holy Land: international bazaar. we had the mini falafel balls with tahini sauce. they are super fluffy and crunchy and the tahini sauce was perfect, not too garlicky.
falafel from holy land
cinnamon roasted almonds: international bazaar. not too sweet or hard but taste best when still warm.
1919 root beer: by the food building. not the best, not the worst. full of bees, so buyer beware.
tornado potato: food building. a whole spiral cut potato fried on a stick. not as thin as a chip, not as thick as a fry. the texture was awesome and they’re not super greasy.
fresh roasted corn:by the grandstand. my absolute favorite item. i guess butter free is a super popular item so don’t be surprised when they have a bunch already waiting for you 
love.
fresh cut french fries: there are 2 of them floating around. decent, but i would have rather held out for sweet potato fries. these could have also been a lot crispier.
pickle on a stick: they’re everywhere!
island noodles: international bazar. a huge wok full of buckwheat soba noodles, veggies and a “special sauce” that is free of fish/oyster sauce and eggs. one carton is more than enough for two and tasted like fried rice and lo mein had a baby.
kettle corn: heritage square. this was the best way to end our night, lemonade and warm kettle corn. 
when it was all said and done, i learned a few things from my all day fair excursion:
wear sneakers i seriously saw way to many people in ill fitting heels (!) and flip flops getting their feet stepped on. we also parked a mile away to avoid parking fees so even though i wore sneaks, i was still stiff and sore.
dress comfy i think this would be self explanitory but i saw ladies lookin like they were ready for the club
bring a camera because people are hilarious and you need documentation. everybody’s doing it
see you next year!
p.s. if any of the food recommendations turn out otherwise, or if you know of some other vegan* items at the fair, please let me know in the comments section:)
*free of dairy, eggs, meat, fish, by-products such as whey or gelatin and preferably fried in oil not used for meat or cheese.
