There are 100 new foods in which you can indulge at the 2024 Wisconsin State Fair. But which ones are worth trying?
For the eighth year, I spent a good portion of opening day at the Fair working my way through a list of reader-suggested foods, tasting every single one. I've ranked 16 of them from worst to best (16 being the worst). I’ve also included my tasting notes and candid thoughts for your reading enjoyment.
Notes:
- Prices reflect menu pricing; some vendors add a service fee if you pay with a credit card.
- Dish descriptions were taken from the State Fair Food Finder.
- Wondering about the asterisks?
Sporkies contenders are noted with an *
Drinkies contenders are noted with **
16. *Elvis Nachos
Where to find them: Slim McGinn's Irish Pub, Grandstand Avenue & Second Street, $10.50
Description: Bringing back a blast from the past in the form of this shareable sweet and salty boat full of love. The Elvis Nachos feature homemade peanut butter banana sauce over Slim’s famous deep-fried potato chips and topped with chopped peanuts, chopped banana chips, and crumbled bacon that you can’t help falling in love with.
Hand me a skillet-fried sandwich showcasing slices of buttery-crisp bread spread thick with creamy peanut butter, adorned with sliced or mashed banana and topped off with thick strips of salty, smokey bacon, and I’ll gladly devour it.
Hand me a paper basket filled with these Elvis Nachos, and I’d definitely decline. The base of thick-cut crispy potato chips was wasted on these nachos, which were topped with a thick, pasty sauce that covered only the very top layer of the chips, leaving the second half of chips dry as a bone.
Not only was the sauce pasty and clingy, its flavor profile was out of balance, largely favoring the peanut butter over the bananas. In fact, I was hard-pressed to identify much in the way of banana flavor at all.
While the tiny shards of peanut, banana chips and bacon offered some welcome texture, they contributed very little in the way of flavor – a shame considering the nachos would have benefited immensely from the salty smoke of the bacon and the secondary punch of banana.
15. Funnel Cake Root Beer Battered Cheese Curds
Where to find them: Charcoal Grill Roadhouse, Main Street & Badger Avenue, $13
Description: Funnel Cake Root Beer Battered Cheese Curds are exactly what they sound like. White cheddar cheese curds covered in funnel cake root beer batter, deep-fried, and topped with powdered sugar - yum!
I sighed (maybe audibly) when I saw what was inside the paper boat of Funnel Cake Root Beer Battered Cheese Curds that was handed to me over the counter. Strike one: these were not cheese curds. Cheese curds, which form during the “cheddaring” process in cheesemaking, are not perfectly square by design.
These were “batter infused” curds. They’re made by adding flour to the cheese, which alters their texture and makes their exterior susceptible to browning in a fryer. As delicious as fried flour-infused cheese can be, it’s not a cheese curd. And I will die on that hill.
Strike two: The dish made made me confused. Were these pieces of cheese actually battered with funnel cake batter? Or simply infused with root beer flavored flour? I tasted one. While vaguely sweet, it wasn’t discernably root beer flavored. I tried one that wasn’t as covered in powered sugar. Nope. I pulled the exterior from one of the squares. It was somewhat breadlike …maybe a hint of root beer? Or was that just the “beer batter” that so many of these square curds are billed to have? Eventually, I gave up.
Strike three: These cheese squares tasted like little squares of cheesy French toast. They were squishy, pillowy, salty and sweet. Maybe delicious, but not even close to what was advertised.
14. Shark Attack Boba
Where to find it: Tri Boba Tea, Exposition Center (ExpOasis area), $10
Description: The Shark Attack Boba is all taste, no bite. Sip on blue raspberry green tea with strawberry popping boba, strawberry puree and gummy sharks.
I knew what I was getting myself into when I walked into the Expo Center seeking out the Tri Boba Tea Booth. Shark Attack Boba was surely an attraction for the kiddos with its promise of blue raspberry green tea and gummy sharks. But, I’ve been to New Orleans and I’ve ordered the cocktail by the same name, and the idea of a shark-infested fruity drink seemed like it might have a chance of being more than the sum of its parts.
And it was fun. I tried fruitlessly to get a video of my shark “swimming” in the boba. Unfortunately, before I even got it to the table, it had sunk into the strawberry “blood” at the bottom of my cup and was consumed by the hoards of little strawberry popping boba. By the time I got him out again, the blue “water” had mixed with the red “blood” and created an indigo drink.
So I move on to taste testing. My hope was for a vaguely fruity drink with a hint of tea that would function as a refreshing form of hydration for the hot summer day. But, no. Any flavor of green tea was also obliterated by blue raspberry syrup, resulting in a drink that reminded me solidly of the Kool-Aid I drank as a child.
My advice: Buy cups of Shark Attack Boba for your kids. They will think it's fun.
13. Jalapeño Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough On-a-Stick
Where to find them: Kora & Mila's Cookie Dough, Main Street OR Second Street, $10
Description: Jalapeño Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough On-a-Stick is a delightful fusion of sweet and spicy, designed to tantalize taste buds like never before. At the heart of this innovative creation lies signature chocolate chip cookie dough dipped in jalapeño chili-infused milk chocolate coating, topped with crispy jalapeño pieces and Flaming Hot Cheetos.
I had such great hope that this dessert would prove to be an invigoratingly chili-infused stick of rich, delicious chocolate chip cookie dough. And while it was made to order, coated in the jalapeno-infused chocolate and decorated with crunchy bits of Flaming Hot Cheetos, it didn’t take my palate to the spicy-sweet destination I hoped to visit.
On the upside, the cookie dough was satisfying. It was chilled and decadently sweet with plenty of chocolate chips. And while the milk chocolate coating may have contained a vague waft of jalapeno, it wasn’t enough to tickle my chili-loving tongue. The Flaming Hot Cheetos added a uniquely savory element to the mix, as well as some welcome texture. But it simply wasn’t enough to take this fun-sounding dessert over the top.
12. **Tropical Sunset
Where to find it: Deep-Fried Mashed Potatoes On-a-Stick, Badger Avenue & Center Street, $7
Description: The Tropical Sunset is a sparkly twist on a favorite refreshing drink! This drink consists of jasmine green tea infused with strawberry, mango, and pineapple juice with 100% edible, FDA approved glitter. Hold up your refreshing drink to the sun, give it a swirl, and watch the whole State Fair shimmer.
Yes, I’m a sucker for Instagrammable glittery things. And it was my hope that this refreshing-sounding drink would deliver an unnaturally gleaming, unavoidably eye-catching burst of photographic bliss.
What it did deliver on was a refreshingly fruity flavor. A bit sweet, but not artificial in its flavor, the drink was a lovely quaff for an 80+ degree day. And yes, there was glitter. It was enough to fancy things up and offer a whimsical slurry of sparkle when you swirled the liquid. But I definitely wasted far too much time trying to capture it on camera.
11. Pickles in Paradise
Where to find it: Caribbean Smoothees, North Grandstand Avenue OR Second Street, $9 (add $6 for the pineapple cup).
Description: Take the popular Caribbean staple of the Piña Colada and add the current Fair food craze: pickles! Creamy, sweet, and cold with the surprisingly refreshing flavor of pineapple, banana, cream of coconut, pickles, and pickle juice all served in a pineapple cup.
This drink was delicious and unexpectedly so. I had no idea that pineapple and pickles had an affinity for one another, nor that a pina-colada-esque drink would be changed (in an acceptable way) by the addition of pickle juice. But it was. I have no idea why. It just works. The drink is creamy and fruity and just ever so slightly briney. If you don’t like the flavor of pickles, I’m quite sure you won’t like this. But if you do, it’s a fun thing to try.
Is it better than a pineapple-coconut-banana drink? Maybe not. But is it intriguing? Tasty, even? Yes, I’m afraid so. Since pickle juice also contains electrolytes in the form of sodium and magnesium, it’s also a fine choice for someone who’s doing a good deal of walking on a hot day.
Is it worth it to pay $6 for the pineapple cup? Maybe. I get a kick out of drinking from pineapples, and I think it adds a little something in terms of the overall sensory perception of the drink. Plus, if you can’t have fun and drink out of a pineapple cup at the State Fair, there’s definitely something wrong with the world.
10. *Dirty Chai Cinnamon Roll Lumpia
Where to find them: Lumpia City, Grandstand Avenue, $10
Description: The Dirty Chai Cinnamon Roll Lumpia takes the best part of a cinnamon roll, the gooey center, adds a little spice, and rolls it up in a crispy lumpia wrapper. This unconventional dessert is made with fresh dough, chai-spiced brown sugar butter, and cream cheese espresso frosting.
If you agree that the best part of a cinnamon roll is the gooey center (I do) AND you like the flavor of a somewhat assertively spiced chai, then you will likely enjoy this lumpia.
On the other hand, if you’d prefer your cinnamon roll very thoroughly cooked with none of that goey, sugary filling/frosting part in the center AND/OR you prefer a more subtly flavored, less spicy chai, then you can probably skip this one.
These delicious bits are both gooey and sweet with a distinctively rich chai flavor that emphasizes the spicy elements of cinnamon, black pepper and cardamom. It also has an ever-so-subtle bitterness from the espresso in the cream cheese frosting. Having said that, these would be perfect enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee.
9. Pizza Cheese Curd Taco
Where to find them: Richie's Cheese Curd Taco, Wetley Way, two tacos for $14
Description: Calling pizza lovers, cheese curd lovers, and of course, taco lovers! The Pizza Cheese Curd Taco combines these three food icons with Italian sausage, pizza-flavored cheddar cheese curds, and pepperoni fried in a flour tortilla shell topped with rich marinara sauce.
As a general rule, I love Richie’s Cheese Curd Tacos. That’s largely due to their crackly flour taco shells, which take me back to the shameful-yet-nostalgic days of the Chi Chi’s chimichanga. But it’s also due, in part, to the flavorful, breaded fried cheese curds from Wisconsin's Ellsworth Creamery, which not only make these tacos a great fit for the Dairy State’s Fair, but a delicious way to ingest your daily requirement of Wisconsin cheese.
While I’m not sure that the cheese curds were pizza flavored (I didn’t decipher pizza flavor, nor hints of oregano or spices in the curds), these tacos reminded me of eating folded slices of super cheesy frozen pizza with a classic sauce, fennel-forward sausage, thin-but-good-pepperoni and a strangely wonderful crisp crust. Nothing fancy. Nothing fussy. Just pure Netflix & Chill comfort food in a crispy taco shell.
8. *Hot Ham & Glazers
Where to find them: Bud Pavilion, Central Avenue, $12
Description: Enjoy this take on the Wisconsin tradition of “Sunday Hot Ham and Rolls” but luckily, Hot Ham & Glazers is now served every day of the Wisconsin State Fair! Thinly sliced, savory, smoked hot ham covered with creamy, melted Swiss cheese, and drizzled with spicy and sweet raspberry jam stuffed between two iconic Kwik Trip™ Glazers donuts. Served warm, it’s a sweet and savory, melt-in-your-mouth experience!
My family was a “Sunday hot ham and rolls” family right down to the Sheboygan-style hard rolls and bakers’ dozen of doughnuts for “dessert”. So I very much feel the inspiration for this creation, and I get why it would have mass appeal.
If I judged this purely for nostalgia, it might win the day. If I judged it for its individual components, it would also do well. The ham has that classic “Badger Ham” flavor profile, the Swiss cheese is nutty, the raspberry preserves are sweet (and slightly spicy) and the glazed doughnuts are soft, sweet and indulgently pillowy.
Where this ideation fails is in its balance.
If I pulled the sandwich apart (which I did after trying it as-is) and ate just one of the doughnuts with the accompanying toppings, it was delicious. I could taste every element and they came together in a cacophony of sweet, savory and spicy. And that’s why this makes number eight on my list.
The reality is, when eaten as a whole, the two doughnuts and their very sweet glaze obliterate the subtle nuttiness of the Swiss, the savory smoke and salt of the ham and the kick of the raspberry jam. For the sake of all that’s holy about Wisconsin tradition, I’m overlooking this. But, I would like to request that – if we ever do this again – let’s kick it up a notch and shoot for the balance that would make this truly stellar.
7. Brisket Beer Cheese Baker
Where to find them: Doc's Smokehouse, First Street, $12
Description: It's a take on the classic Midwest meat and potatoes all in one hand-held item, of course with a Wisconsin twist. The Brisket Beer Cheese Baker is a smoked baked potato topped with ranch butter, Wisconsin white cheddar beer cheese, chopped brisket, Doc's sweet BBQ sauce, and crispy fried onion strings. This item can be gluten-free without the crispy onions on top.
Topped baked potatoes are generally a solid choice at the Fair, so when I saw this variation crop up on the list of new foods, I thought it deserved a try. Apparently, many other attendees thought the very same thing, since these potatoes sold out by 2:30 p.m. (Maybe take that as a word of caution and get yours early).
They’re smokey and savory with a beautifully complex flavor profile thanks to the ranch butter, the thick beer cheese sauce and the tender, smokey brisket. Even better, all that richness is broken up and balanced by the deft drizzle of sweet but tangy BBQ sauce. As for those onion strings, they not only add flavor, but keep the dish from being texturally one-dimensional.
There’s nothing crazy about this State Fair dish. But it’s a solid choice if you’re hungry for something tasty and filling.
6. Cream Puff Soda
Where to find it: Sodalish, Benno's Micro Alley, $9
Description: In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Original Cream Puff, the Cream Puff Soda is a celebratory beverage to pair with Wisconsin’s most iconic dessert! This sparkling beverage is made with organic vanilla syrup and swirled-in cream, topped with whipped cream and celebratory rainbow sprinkles.
Happy 100th Birthday State Fair Cream Puff! I ate too many other things today so I wasn’t able to fit you onto my list. But, I hope to get back to the Fair before it’s over to taste one of the delicious new anniversary flavors.
What I did make room for was a cup of Cream Puff Soda, which promised to be a sweet treat in and of itself. And it was. Rich with vanilla flavor and redolent with cream, this housemade soda was like a deliciously melty ice cream float with (nicely flavored and not too waxy) celebratory sprinkles to make it even more festive. Also: Even if you don’t like cream puffs, you probably will like this.
5. *Deep-Fried Lemonade Bites
Where to find them: Saz's BBQ, Badger Avenue & Second Street, $8
Description: Nothing is better than a refreshing ice-cold lemonade break on a hot summer day. Take it up a Fair notch with a “sip” of these Deep-Fried Lemonade Bites. Made with Hawaiian sweet rolls dipped in a French toast batter, a homemade lemonade curd filling, deep-fried to golden perfection, and tossed in a lemon sugar with a drizzle of icing.
These clever little rolls bring lemon meringue pie vibes with their sweet-tart filling. They bring lemon doughnut vibes with their sweet, cake-like texture and sugary exterior. Most of all, they bring sweet-tart dessert vibes that conjure the dog days of summer.
Did I like them? Yes. Did I want them to give me a bit more? I’ll confess I did. To truly make them a Wisconsin State Fair-worthy find, they could use just a bit of that fair food je ne sais quoi. Serve them on a stick, perhaps?
4. Cheesy Sriracha Funnel Cake Bites
Where to find them: Funnel Cakes, Grandstand Avenue, $13
Description: Transform a classic Fair dessert into a savory snack! These snackable savory Cheesy Sriracha Funnel Cake Bites are infused with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, deep-fried to a crisp golden-brown, and topped with an artisan blend of six different cheeses and chives. Served with a choice of homemade Sriracha aioli, ranch, or garlic butter.
There might be few things more classic at a carnival or state fair than funnel cake. With a history that dates back to fried batters created by medieval Persian and Arab cooks (and later, the sweet versions made by the Pennsylvania Dutch), these treats are now ubiquitous street fare at a variety of festive events.
But I loved the idea of taking this fried dough in a more savory direction. A few of you agreed, asking me to try these bites and report back. And here I am.
These fluffy bites are like the best cheesy doughnuts you’ve never had. They’re fluffy, pillowy and delicately crisp, enrobed in thin tendrils of cheese that underscore the dough’s savory cheese flavor. These are cheese puffs, fair and square. And the tanginess of the Sriracha aioli with which they’re served ensures that they don’t come off too rich or cloying.
3. *Cool Ranch Doritos Pickle
Where to find it: Deep-Fried Mashed Potatoes On-a-Stick, Badger Avenue & Center Street, $11
Description: Bite into the Cool Ranch Doritos Pickle! This large dill pickle is spiral-cut on-a-stick, rolled into crushed up Cool Ranch Doritos, and you guessed it, deep-fried. Served up with ranch dressing for dipping and you’ll be set for a delicious day!
A good frickle is hard to find, or so my experience shows. They’re seldom crisp enough to be satisfying, leaving me to give them a hard pass on most occasions. So I was intrigued by this promising monster-sized pickle with its potentially crispy Doritos breading.
And it delivered in so many ways. First, a spiral-cut pickle on a stick just works. It can be separated into sections and eaten without causing unpleasant mouth burns. It also provides lots of nice nooks and crannies for the crispy crushed Doritos to collect. Secondly, Doritos. They are already fried and they only get crispier when you fry them again. The Cool Ranch flavor is salty, but also dill-pickle friendly, and – while somewhat salty – makes this fried pickle an irresistible snack. You can even pass on the run-of-the-mill packaged ranch dressing, since the pickle doesn’t really need any extra flavor.
I still miss the delicious deep-fried olives from the Fried Fruit & Olives Stand, which seems to have made a permanent departure from the Fair. But the Cool Ranch Doritos Pickle is a near-perfect stop-gap for that salty-briney deliciousness that’s perfect alongside the Champagne of Beers.
2. *Rise & Swine Sundae
Where to find it: Camp Bar, Central Avenue & Center Street, $14
Description: Shatter the myth that you can’t have dessert for breakfast with the Rise & Swine! This warm brioche-based waffle has pearl sugar nestled into the dough, giving it just the right amount of sweet and caramelization. The waffle is then topped with Camp Bar’s Classic Vanilla Custard, a drizzle of Wisconsin maple syrup, gooey caramel sauce, toasted crunch bits, a dusting of powdered sugar, and for a savory twist, two made-to-order breakfast sausage links.
This “breakfast” sundae is a Fair-worthy indulgence, whether you eat it as your first dish or your last.
The vanilla custard is smooth and silky with a clean vanilla flavor that’s only enhanced by the sweetness of the maple syrup. Crispy bits of breakfast cereal add just the right amount of texture, along with a warming hit of cinnamon. Meanwhile, the pearl-sugar studded waffle makes a great edible bowl for the sundae, even as it soaks up all the delicious meltage from the frozen custard. Don’t be afraid to dip the savory breakfast sausages right into all that maple-flavored dairy goodness.
1. Loaded Gyro Bratzel
Where to find it: Gertrude's Pretzels, South Grandstand Avenue) $15
Description: The sky's the limit when it comes to pretzel brats! The Loaded Gyro Bratzel starts with a specialty gyro seasoned bratwurst, wrapped in fresh pretzel dough, topped with salt, and baked to golden brown perfection. Next, it’s topped with lemon tzatziki sauce, herbed feta cheese, and shaved red onion. The fantastic specialty gyro seasoned bratwurst is made by St. Joe’s Country Market based out of La Crosse, WI.
I remember being pleasantly surprised when I tried the Peño Pretzel Popper Brat in 2022 and found it to be a truly worthy fair food. It was number one on my fair foods list, a Sporkies Champion and it contained a truly delicious Wisconsin-made sausage. So when I saw the Loaded Gyro Bratzel on the list of new foods this year (with a gyro brat made by Joe’s Country Market), it immediately made my list.
This brat was a winner from start to finish: creative, sizeable and indulgent. The gyro brat was tender and beautifully spiced with a flavor profile that I’d gauge at 80-90% gyro and 10-20% bratwurst. If a gyro and a brat had a baby, this truly would be the optimal result.
Meanwhile, the pretzel wrapped around the brat was soft and toothy with a nice pretzel flavor. It also provided a nicely balanced meat-to-bread ratio. Meanwhile, the delicious tzatziki sauce, flavorful feta and thinly sliced red onions gilded the already delicious lily with the perfect combination of condiments.
Grab a load of napkins and feel free to share this one. It’s messy, delicious and sizeable enough to easily feed two (especially if you’re planning to eat anything else).
Lori is an avid cook whose accrual of condiments and spices is rivaled only by her cookbook collection. Her passion for the culinary industry was birthed while balancing A&W root beer mugs as a teenage carhop, fed by insatiable curiosity and fueled by the people whose stories entwine with each and every dish. She’s had the privilege of chronicling these tales via numerous media, including OnMilwaukee and in her book “Milwaukee Food.” Her work has garnered journalism awards from entities including the Milwaukee Press Club. In 2024, Lori was honored with a "Top 20 Women in Hospitality to Watch" award by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.
When she’s not eating, photographing food, writing or recording the FoodCrush podcast, you’ll find Lori seeking out adventures with her husband Paul, traveling, cooking, reading, learning, snuggling with her cats and looking for ways to make a difference.
