Iowa

Meet the deep-fried bubblegum and bubblegum soda at the Iowa State Fair

Published

1 year ago

August 18, 2024

Meet the deep-fried bubblegum and bubblegum soda at the Iowa State Fair

It’s the last day of the Iowa State Fair, and you still need to try two last dishes before the sun sets on Fair Fever. Head all the way up to Grandfather’s Barn for gorgeous views of the State Capitol and downtown Des Moines skyline at Bubbly Bar & Bistro.

First order the deep-fried bubblegum. It’s such a fun dish made with a vanilla marshmallow in the sent, flavored with bubblegum, and then deep fried in a funnel cake coating. Yes, it tastes just like bubblegum, without the crunchy fried bits mucking up the gum. This dish goes for $10.

Then get bubblegum soda to go with it 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 novelty dishes at this new stand. You can find waffles made with puppy chow and drizzled with chocolate and peanut butter, pork belly corn dog bites served with maple syrup or Mike’s hot honey, and deep-fried pepperoni chips, which are just what they sound like.

Find the Tipsy Peach as well, one of the Top 11 Best New Dishes at the Iowa State Fair. The pearl waffle comes topped with peaches soaked in sangria and dolloped with mascarpone cheese that is whipped with cream, thyme and lemon. The dish goes for $13. Grant Gillon, the Altoona chef who won “MasterChef” last season, worked with Bubbly Bar to create the dish.

More: These top three dishes compete for Best New Food at the Iowa State Fair in 2024

And the cocktails here even scream novelty. Try a Cotton Candy Bubble Trouble with sparkling wine poured over cotton candy, the Grumpy Old Manhattan that includes a bubbly and smoky surprise, or a Lavender Lemontini with a wine-based vodka.

Bubbly also won Best New Drink (Alcohol Free) for the Abracadabra Color-Changing Butterfly Lemonade, a drink that starts a vibrant blue and then changes to a pretty magenta. The drink contains an essence of cucumber as well as butterfly pea flower. The drink goes for $12. You can add a wine-based vodka too.

And the vineyard-like setting earned the outpost the Best of Show Award from the Iowa State Fair as well.

Where to find Bubbly Bar & Bistro

Location: Next to Grandfather’s Barn at the Iowa State Fair

Contact: bubblybarisf.com

Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. You can reach out to her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.

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Iowa

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren joins growing 2nd District GOP field

Published

3 days ago

September 23, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren joins growing 2nd District GOP field

Iowa Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, announced her run for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District Tuesday, joining a growing field of Republicans aiming to take the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson. In a social media post Tuesday morning, Lundgren announced her U.S. House campaign, kicking off by stating her early support for President Donald […]

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Iowa

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson launches campaign for U.S. Senate

Published

2 weeks ago

September 14, 2025

Press Room

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson launches campaign for U.S. Senate

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Republican U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson officially launched her campaign for U.S. Senate at the Radisson Hotel in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.

“In the Senate, I will fight to make America look more like Iowa,” Hinson said. “Here, we know the difference between boys and girls. We know that families deserve to keep more of what they earn, and we know the people, not the government, always come first,” she said.

Right now, Ashley Hinson represents northeast Iowa’s 2nd District in Congress.

She’s running to replace Republican Senator Joni Ernst, who announced earlier this month she would not run for re-election.

“Ashley Hinson gives me hope. Someone that I know fights for me. Someone that has my back. And somebody that will have your back,” the Jones County Sheriff, Greg Graveler said about Hinson.

Hinson told Sunday’s crowd she wants to keep deporting illegal immigrants, cut taxes, and defend farmers in agriculture.

She also addressed Democrats who she said may consider her an extremist.

“If it’s extreme to want parents in charge of our kids’ education, if it’s extreme to want safe borders and safe streets, if it’s extreme to believe that there are only two genders, then they can go ahead and call me whatever they want,” Hinson said.

While Hinson will face plenty of competition for the Senate spot from other Republicans and Democrats, she said she’s confident in her campaign.

“We can only deliver on these critical wins, and make America safer and stronger for a generation to come if we win this seat. Or correction – when we win this seat,” Hinson said.

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