State Fair Announces Sporkies and Drinkies Finalists
Dubai chocolate, "dirty pancakes" and ice cream-filled doughnuts
2025 Sporkies and Drinkies finalists. Photo courtesy of Wisconsin State Fair.
Bacon, ice cream and doughnuts, pillars of Wisconsin State Fair food, made a triumphant return to the shortlist of this year’s Sporkies and Drinkies finalists — and that’s just one dish.
The 2025 lineup, featuring a dozen food and drink offerings, also includes a viral snack, a breakfast bratwurst and a nod to an iconic musician. The Wisconsin State Fair on Thursday announced the finalists for the 2025 awards, with eight Sporkies selected from a field of 35 entries and four Drinkies from 17.
On July 29, a panel of local judges will gather at the fairgrounds, 640 S. 84th St., to taste and rank each entry, awarding the coveted Golden Spork and Cup just ahead of the fair’s 11-day run, July 31 through Aug. 10.
Würstbar, a perennial finalist in the Sporkies category, has put forth a unique mashup: Brat Rangoon. The fusion dish combines bratwurst, cream cheese, green onion and melted cheese with a crisp wonton wrapper. The dumplings are then skewered, sprinkled with furikake seasoning and served with housemade sweet and sour sauce.
Milwaukee Brat House will also offer a twist on its namesake dish. Its entry, Blueberry Breakfast Bratwurst, features a blueberry-infused Usinger’s brat wrapped in a pancake and topped with housemade bourbon bacon jam.
Gertrude’s Pretzels is behind the third brat-focused finalist: the Pretzaroni Pizza Brat. The dish features a garlic parmesan brat wrapped in pepperoni-lined pretzel dough, baked and topped with more garlic parmesan, then served with marinara sauce.
Additional entries include S’mores Churro Fries from defending champion Saz’s BBQ, A Hunk A Hunk Elvis Donut Ice Cream Sandwich from Badger Bites, Gochujang Smashburger with Kimchi Bacon Jam from Blue Moon Tavern at the Park, Mexican Street Corn Pizza from Charlie’s Pizza and Ube Butter Banana French Toast Lumpia from Lumpia City.
Dubai chocolate, a viral sensation that’s been reimagined as cheesecakes, baked goods and more, will take the form of a smoothie in one finalist’s entry for the Drinkies competition. Caribbean Smoothees will offer a Dubai Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie, featuring a strawberry base swirled with pistachio butter and chocolate, then topped with shredded kataifi and chocolate drizzle.
Rock and Roll Beer Garden will pay homage to Prince with its drink, Purple Rain Refresher, which combines Concord grape juice, lemonade, grapefruit soda, edible glitter and pop rocks.
Dirty Pancakes, a riff on the Utah-famous dirty soda, comes from Buzzy Badger. The drink is a super-sweet mix of root beer, vanilla creamer, maple pancake syrup and brown sugar popping boba — all topped with whipped cream and garnished with mini pancakes.
The final Drinkies entry comes from Carnival Cooler: Tropics at the State Fair, made with watermelon, pickle juice, lemonade, lime, Tajín and hot honey. The drink is available with alcohol for those 21 and over.
The competition, now in its 12th year, aims to highlight the fair’s most innovative new offerings. All entries will be available during the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair, with 13-foot Sporkie or Drinkie statues displayed at each of the finalist locations throughout the grounds.
A full list of finalist entries and their descriptions is available to view on the state fair website.
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