2025 Minnesota Renaissance Festival

Minnesota Renaissance Festival 2025 Hipster Hack Food Review
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As I said last year I LOVE a costume party and while the Minnesota Renaissance Festival may frustrate some that it has become more of a cosplay convention for anything fantasy or even just nerdy instead of a sole celebration of the Renaissance era, I personally love it. You never know what you’re going to see. One second you’re looking at someone in period costume, the next second you’re looking at someone dressed up like Where’s Waldo, Batman or Bermuda Merlin from “Sword in the Stone” (true story haha).

You can check out my review from last year for some other foods I really like that are still available, but I did a really good job this year of trying new foods!
Pro: I liked everything enough.
Con: I missed out on the soup in a bread bowl, but there was also no way I was eating hot soup in today’s heat.

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Mi Pueblo | Stillwater, MN

Mi Pueblo Stillwater MN Hipster Hack Food Review
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My family was trying to find a place to grab lunch and my sister and I had just driven by Mi Pueblo and realized they were open now so we decided that’s where we should all go – we ended up very happy with our choice!

Mi Pueblo is located in a space where a few restaurants have been in over time, but I was really impressed with the interior and food.

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Xelas by El Sazon | Stillwater, MN

Xelas by El Sazon Stillwater Minnesota Hipster Hack Food Review
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Xelas has been open in Stillwater for a while so when my sister suggested it for dinner I was pumped to finally get to try it out.

The original restaurant, El Sazon, is located inside a BP Gas Station in Eagan and I have been hearing about how great it is for years, so I was very excited when they opened this larger location; Xelas by El Sazon in Stillwater. As far as I can remember, I haven’t had Mayan cuisine before, and not to ruin the review but you should just know up front it was delicious.

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Panda Fest Twin Cities | Bloomington, MN

Panda Fest Twin Cities Minnesota Food Review 2025 Hipster Hack blog
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I found out about Panda Fest about a month ago and immediately scooped up tickets for me and husband to go the weekend before our birthdays – food outings are sort of our tradition since we both love trying new things/places.

Panda Fest is happening until tomorrow, July 13th and it is currently sold out, but it looked like they were selling limited tickets at the gate and online some people are reselling if they can’t go so if you’re interested there is still time!

Read through to check out all the food items we tried and get my honest review about the experience.

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Fiesta Mexican Grill | Stillwater, MN

Fiesta Mexican Grill Oak Park Heights Minnesota Food Review Hipster Hack
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I’m going to apologize ahead of time, because we were in a group of 5 and I did not pay attention to what everyone was ordering I was too keyed up waiting for queso dip….so make sure you check out the menu below for all the details.

Fiesta Mexican Grill is in the same strip mall as the Kowalskis in Stillwater. Technically the city is Oak Park Heights, but everyone just refers to the whole area as Stillwater…the Stillwater High School is next door.

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