It’s the last day of the Iowa State Fair and you have two final dishes to try before the sun sets on the Fair Fever. Walk all the way to Grandfather’s Barn and enjoy great views of the State Capitol and downtown Des Moines skyline at Bubbly Bar & Bistro.
First, order the fried bubble gum. It’s a really great dish that consists of a vanilla marshmallow in batter, flavored with bubble gum, and then fried in a funnel cake coating. Yes, it tastes exactly like bubble gum, just without the crunchy fried bits that contaminate the gum. This dish costs $10.
Then get a bubblegum lemonade for $6. You’ll feel like a kid again.
What to order at Bubbly Bar & Bistro
Owners Jennie and Bryan Enloe come up with the new dishes at this new stand. You’ll find waffles made from dog food drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter, pork belly corn dog bites served with maple syrup or Mike’s spicy honey, and fried pepperoni chips that are exactly what they sound like.
Also check out the Tipsy Peach, one of the 11 best new dishes at the Iowa State Fair. The pearl waffle is served with sangria-soaked peaches and a dollop of mascarpone cheese whipped with cream, thyme and lemon. The dish costs $13. Grant Gillon, the Altoona chef who won last season of “MasterChef,” collaborated with Bubbly Bar to create the dish.
More: These three top dishes will compete for the best new food at the 2024 Iowa State Fair
And the cocktails here even scream novelty. Try a Cotton Candy Bubble Trouble with sparkling wine over cotton candy, the Grumpy Old Manhattan with a fizzy and smoky surprise, or a Lavender Lemontini with a wine-based vodka.
Bubbly also won the award for Best New Beverage (Non-Alcoholic) for the Abracadabra Color-Changing Butterfly Lemonade, a drink that starts out a bright blue and then changes to a pretty magenta. The drink contains cucumber essence as well as butterfly pea flower. The drink costs $12. You can also add a wine-based vodka to it.
And because of its vineyard-like setting, the branch also received the Iowa State Fair’s Best of Show Award.
Where to find Bubbly Bar & Bistro
Location: Next to Grandfather’s Barn at the Iowa State Fair
Contact: bubblybarisf.com
Susan Stapleton is entertainment editor and restaurant reporter for the Des Moines Register.You can reach them on Facebook, Þjórsárdaluror Instagram, or message her at [email protected].
