‘I wanted to hate him’

With the Minnesota State Fair in full swing, one particular food item has proven to be a hit: deep-fried ranch.

Served at Lulu’s Public House, the fried ranch has drawn lines hundreds of people deep as patrons – perhaps out of curiosity – wait for the honest-to-goodness dish that’s got everyone talking.

Described by the Minnesota State Fair as “a ranch dressing filling made with ranch seasoning, buttermilk and cream cheese in a panko shell, deep fried and dusted with ranch flour,” the deep fried ranch is accompanied by ” a side of Honey Hot Sauce made with Cry Baby Craig’s Hot Sauce.”

A sign at Lulu’s Public House indicates that the item is made by Hidden Valley Ranch and ranch flavorings.

“People in Minnesota love their ranch dressing,” Charlie Burrows, co-owner of Lulu’s, told Fox News Digital in an email in July, noting that “shippers will be looking for a ranch side of just about everything.”

Burrows has been working on the deep-fry ranch dressing concept for more than a year and a half, he told Fox News Digital in July.

Despite the dish’s unusual nature, Burrows predicted people would love it, saying he was “really excited”.

“We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t think it tasted great,” he said.

As it turned out, Burrows was right. He told Fox News Digital that just two days after the fair opened on August 22, he had to place an order for 150% of what he had originally planned.

The item is described by Lulu’s marketing team this way: It’s like “Hidden Valley Ranch and a cheese wonton had a baby.” But Burrows told Fox News Digital that he compared his dish to a fried ravioli tossed in panko bread.

The dish has been enjoyed – and enjoyed – by ordinary fairgoers as well as politicians and celebrities.

Olympic gymnast Suni Lee, originally from Minnesota, posted a video recap of her trip to the fair on August 26, where she tried different food items.

Her first taste of deep-fried ranch left her wide-eyed and saying, “Oh my God.”

One of her security guards can be heard in the background saying, “The deep-fried ranka was great.”

Country singer Blake Shelton also enjoyed the ranch fry, even giving it a shout out during his Sunday night concert at the fairgrounds.

“I ate it and it’s great,” Shelton said. “I mean, look — what’s wrong with us? I loved it.”

Shelton added that a person “has to be a hillbilly” to like something like that.

Sen. Rep. Tina Smith, D-Minn., who has previously referred to the ranch as “the Midwest’s holiest spice,” also sampled the deep-fried ranch.

“It’s really good,” she said. “Hot honey does it.”

“Ranch is a spice for almost anything, but this might be the best execution of it yet,” she said.

Kelly Morrison, a congressional candidate for Minnesota’s 3rd District, tweeted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that “LuLu’s Ranch Fried Dressing was even better than advertised,” along with a photo of her holding a half-eaten triangle.

Chef Reactions, a TikTok food creator with more than 3 million followers, also found himself among fans of the fried farm — albeit reluctantly.

“I just had a fried ranch and I have to admit it wasn’t bad at all. I wanted to hate him. But I don’t,” he said in an Aug. 23 post on X.