He’s not just a personality on TV and a chef, he’s a Minnesota treasure. Andrew Zimmern might originally be from New York, but after three decades living in the Twin Cities, we get to call him ‘one of us’.
The host of several shows including Bizarre Foods and Delicious Destinations, Zimmern is now producing along with hosting shows like Family Dinner, and a new show coming out soon on the Outdoor Channel.
There also may not be a bigger champion of the Minnesota State Fair. He sat down with Jason DeRusha on this week's "DeRusha Eats" segment to talk about why the fair is special, and a few of his favorite new foods.
Jason DeRusha: Andrew, I always think of you and the fair together because you unabashedly love the Minnesota State Fair. Why?
Andrew Zimmern: I think it's the single greatest cultural event in the world and I've had debate with other people about that. And if you judge festivals, events of all kinds, state fairs, national carnivals in Germany, I mean all these kinds of things and your criteria is historical underpinnings, that it actually means something, the state fair is foundational. It precedes our introduction into these United States formally, right? I think we've been in state for 150, some odd years. The fair is 160 years old give or take.
It's our chance. Does the whole state turn out, is it one of those things that everybody does? Pretty much. And every county, community, municipality, township is represented here. Go down to the 4H Booth go up on Machinery Hill and you can squint and you can still see the purposes for which this fair was first started, which was to exchange news of the day, farming information, the latest techniques, because it was the only way for people to communicate. Let's actually get together. And then the little dining halls started opening to feed the farmers. And then the politicians came.
I was over at Hamline Dining Hall shooting something. 125 years young. They entered their 126th year this year on the state fairgrounds. Now I just have to say, when you combine that with, I was just over today at the International Bazaar eating the Hmong Sausage that Yia Vang is doing at Union Hmong Kitchen. And I took Congressman (Dean) Phillips there. You sort of look at the new Minnesota with the emergence of Hmong culture. But the current generation of Hmong culture that is impacting our culture here in Minnesota in such a profound way.
DeRusha: It’s the 30-somethings?
Zimmern: That’s right. They are making the break with their parents, less traditional but they're introducing their way of doing things into our culture here and thereby changing it. The reason was, the biggest line that I'd seen anywhere was for the Hmong sausage. Now you put those things together, the Hamline Dining Hall and the newest iteration of what it means to be Minnesotan. Then we could go one by one with all the incredible things here. It is that time of year, that despite the fact that I'm essentially a socialist utopian, and I'm sitting next to the GOP booth, next door doesn't matter to me. Let's talk about all that when the fair is over. But for these 10 days, we literally are Minnesotans sharing our greatest treasure together.
DeRusha: You brought up Yia Vang and Union Hmong Kitchen. He talks about Hmong food as a concept is a curious thing, because the Hmong people come from a number of different countries. They don't have a clearly defined food culture other than taking what the land gives them.
He said, that's the beauty of it. That it changes. And I think in many ways, that's such a metaphor for our state. Where you have this group of people, some amazing Lutherans in Minnesota said, ‘come on over, we'll save you from war.’ And what he's doing with Hmong food is a beautiful thing I think.
Zimmern: I'll take the metaphor one step further. I think metaphor is probably the wrong word because I think we're both dealing in reality here. It's not fabulous, it is an essential part of our culture that we grow and change. The Scandinavians that were here, what happened when the first people came over with red sauce and started cooking Italian food in the 1880s and 1890s? They must have flipped their lid. What is this? What is this and why is it spicy? And here we are integrating so many different cultures. And in fact, talking about a people who do not have a country. It was essentially the colonial experience all over the world that put lines on maps. Those didn't existA, you know? Hundreds of years ago, there were regions and autonomous regions and ethnicities that lived in places, whether that's the Middle East or Africa, or even these United States with Minnesota being a territory. Right. Yeah. So I think it really does have some super impactful stuff. And I am also a Lotus eater. So of course, I come here for the things that make me happy. I come here to taste all the new State Fair foods.
DeRusha: Andrew, you said that you have a very clear top two of the new foods at the fair. Let's hear it.
Zimmern: Not only are they top two, but I think they're kind of instant classics and should not go away. I feel very, very strongly about this.
Number two is Yia Vang’s Hmong sausage. I mean, the chicken thigh is great. And I saw someone eating the tofu with turmeric. There's only so much food you can eat. I figured one item from there was good enough. Although I did try the Coconut Lychee Colada that he serves with it. Fantastic. But I think his sausage and the storyline is great.
You know, he doesn't have a production facility and Kramarczuk’s has a U.S.D.A sausage line that's approved. S they're doing the fill for him. That's a fourth generation Eastern European immigrant family to this, our Twin Cities that have become an integral part of our culture, now collaborating with Yia. I just think the story's great. Talk about a plate full of deliciousness. His, his mom's mustard greens, the, the rice sticky rice, the pickles, the hot sauce.
DeRusha: Which hot sauce?
Zimmern: I did both but I like the hot one the best, which isn't all that hot. But the pickled jalapenos that are in the little pickle cluster are all the heat you want in something.
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DeRusha: And then your number one?
Zimmern: Number one was the schnitzel at the Farmer’s Union.
DeRusha: That was also my number one.
Zimmern: There's just no way you can bite into that and think there's anything else. I mean, it might be in my top 10 fair foods like now, not just new items. It's that good.
DeRusha: And here’s the thing, I don’t like schnitzel.
Zimmern: Because you don’t like it thin and dry?
DeRusha: I don’t like it thin and dry. They pounded the crap out of it and why would I want that? So this shows my integrity as a food writer. I don't like schnitzel. That was my number one food at the fair. Because it is not thin, it's juicy.
Zimmern: It's technically not a schnitzel. It’s a fried pork chop sandwich. But the pork….
DeRusha: It comes from Pastures a Plenty (in Kerkhoven, MN).
Zimmern: Here my problem with a lot of the other items in everyone's universal top 20. So many of them use subpar ingredients because they're trying to get the price right. And gear up to serve 20,000 of them. I don't care whether it looks like restaurant food or doesn't. I don't care whether it is an eight foot pizza rolled up in a burrito, thrown into a hoagie bun, stuffed in a ravioli on a stick. I just want it to taste good. That's my number one. It has to taste good. And it has to be, just to me, something of a quality ingredient. I mean, the most simple one example, that would be the French Fry booth. Phenomenal starchy potatoes cooked the right way. It's potatoes, oil, salt and then whatever you choose to dip it into.
DeRusha: You have so much going on, your company here is doing terrific. And you have a couple of shows that you're producing, but some that you're in as well.
Zimmern: Yeah, Family Dinner, season three is being shot right now in Minnesota with a lot of Minnesota families. That's on Discovery Plus and Magnolia Network. Don’t try to describe it. It’s very complex. I said to the head of the network, two words, family dinner. And they were like, ‘Oh my God, done.’ I just show up and eat dinner with a family.
I've never done a “stand and stir” show before. I've done it on my YouTube. I've done it on Instagram, but we have Wild Game Kitchen premiering September 19th on the Outdoor Channel. And it's me cooking wild foods for people. Well, not just wild game because we want to make sure that if I do a recipe for a wild hog, that you can make it with a pork shoulder from the supermarket. So we make sure that there's something there for everyone.
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