Taste of Minnesota

Every year I vow never go back to the Taste– this year I’m tattooing it backwards across my forehead, Memento style, so I’m forced to read it in the mirror every day until next July.
New management has upped the prices on everything– an extra $ 10 tacked onto admission (which no longer includes free food tickets) plus another $ 10 to get in after 4pm, $ 3 for the «I’m a grownup» wristband, and $ 8 per beer. Enraged yet? Don’t forget the usual offenses– antiquated musical acts (Gin Blossoms? Hello, Dawson’s Creek reruns) a bitter staff and of course the deep fried everything. Note to self– cheese curds give you the boom booms. Do not repeat.

I was thinking about giving this festival 2 stars, but I won’t because:
I got to see White Snake and Judas Priest for free. Sure they haven’t had a new song in 20+ years, but it is a free concert, no complaints. You have to pay $ 10 to get in, but you get $ 10 worth of free tickets and you can use the tickets on beer.
Also, I tried a wham Dog from some BBQ shack, I think it was called Williamson’s, but I can’t remember. It is a hot dog with shredded beef and cheese whiz on top. It cost $ 5, and was damn tasty.
They have a good fireworks display.
The bathroom situation was also adequate. I waited about 5 minutes each time, not too bad considering the number of people around.
Now the bad points. $ 5 for a can of Grain Belt Premium. Unacceptable. $ 9 for a Gyro, talk about price gouging. In general, things are very expensive.

Being relatively new to the Twin Cities, I thought that an event named «Taste of Minnesota» would offer tasty, local food. I was wrong! Fries, cheese curds, and elephant ears – pretty much what I could find at any festival, anywhere. After a few hours of being bombarded by people approaching us asking if we wanted to enter this or that raffle or going to «events» that were actually live infomercials, we left. Aside from the evening musical acts, there appeared to be absolutely no point to this festival. Unless they make some big changes in the food department, there is no way I’m going back!

One of the most dreadful festivals in the Midwest, the Taste of Minnesota is the go-​to event in the Twin Cities over the Fourth of July weekend; a food, drink and music bonanza culminating in a night of fireworks along the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Paul.
In the mood for leftse? How about larb? Or rice, beef and sambusi? No, you won’t find any of these here, despite the strong presence of the cities’ Scandinavian, Hmong and Somali cultures, from whence these dishes came. Nor are the cuisines that derive from dozens of other communities that have set roots in the state represented. Even hotdish – that most «Minnesotan» (and baffling) of concoctions – is absent from «Taste»; an omission that strikes me as being somewhat unforgivable.
Visitor, be warned that you will have to settle for microwave-​caliber pizza, hot dogs and burgers with fries — all of these cardiac-​arresting foods available anywhere in the US of A. The festival’s organizers should be ashamed for promoting such common fare at extraordinary prices.
The one reason to even consider visiting the Taste of Minnesota is to engage in some ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s music nostalgia. The festival is the ideal performance venue for aging rock Gods attempting to resurrect their glory days (I’ve seen the Go-​Gos and Howard Jones, among others). One wants to wish them well on their second run at stardom, but what hope have they with a fan base of cheese curd and foot-​long turkey leg munchers? Quite a sad (but fitting) place for reality to bite.

Over priced. Dirty. Ghetto-​ish/​trailer-​trash-​ish people. Boring. Always hot as hell out.
I’d rather spend the 4^th at any of the 10,000 lakes with a grill, family & friends.

It’s like a low-​class MN State Fair.
I hear it was recently bought out, and the new owners plan to make it a more upscale event (with better food, and larger name bands) starting next year.

«Disgusting Carnival» should be the name.
Clientele: Imagine a horrible county fair somewhere, but attended by urban folk. Add free admission and maybe you’ll get an idea of the type of crowd.
Food: Awful fair food. I was really disappointed as other Tastes such as Madison and Chicago actually attract high end restaurants offering something that you might actually want to put in your mouth.
Entertainment: Some hokey carnival rides and a few small music stages with acts you’ve mostly never heard of. The fireworks are good, but you might as well watch them from somewhere else in St. Paul.
Layout: Terrible. On paper it looks like it might work, but there’s no clearly defined lanes of movement so everyone just collides.
Final Thoughts: Another Minnesota «festival» has again let me down terribly. You’re better off driving five hours to Milwaukee to attend Summerfest or any of the ethnic festivals held along Lake Michigan.