A State Fair first-timer answers the question: Pronto Pup or Corn Dog?

A native Floridian and recent transplant to Minneapolis, Thursday marked my first time at the Minnesota State Fair and I was under strict instructions to take on the ultimate test: Pronto Pup vs. corn dog.

Someone – ie. a non-Minnesotan – may ask, "what's the difference?" because I certainly did. While there is the common perception that it's "cornmeal batter v. pancake batter" that's actually not true: both snacks use cornmeal in the batter, but the Pronto Pup's flour mix is different from the traditional corn dog, using less sugar to create a more savory punch.

Anyhoo I tried both and here's the verdict:

Corn Dogs

Full disclosure, I went into this knowing corn dogs – while a good ol' reliable fairground food – are not a favorite of mine. At the State Fair I got one with some ketchup, and it was crunchy, warm and the hotdog was juicy.

If I am being super critical though, the oil from the batter mixed with the juice of the hot dog made it greasier than I was expecting.

I'm also not a fan of the sweetness – I know the combination of sweet cornbread batter and salty hot dog is the whole point of the corn dog, but hey if you like that kind of thing then it's corn dog all the way!

Pronto Pup

Admittedly, it was both my first time hearing about and eating a Pronto Pup ( Editor's note: We're very excited to tell her about the Halloween Blizzard of '91 ), but it did not disappoint.

If you don't think about it you might miss the difference: the same juicy hotdog, wrapped up in the same fluffy, deep-fried breading. But I found the breading was less greasy and didn't come with the strange sweet aftertaste.

If you're not a fan of the at-times messy experience of eating a hot dog, grab yourself a Pronto Pup instead! Problem solved.

At the end of the day, both the Pronto Pup and corn dog taste pretty good, but a winner has to be chosen, and that’s the State Fair favorite.

Simple, savory and fluffy, it takes everything someone might love about a corn dog, and makes it slightly better.