Lobster, caviar and Champagne? Spend like a high roller at this Iowa State Fair food vendor
JR's SouthPork Ranch at the Iowa State Fair is offering a decadent $600 lobster roll that includes Maine lobster
By Kelby Wingert, Olivia Tyler
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DES MOINES, Iowa (KCCI) — JR’s SouthPork Ranch at the Iowa State Fair is offering a decadent $600 lobster roll that includes Maine lobster, caviar and gold flakes, with a bottle of Dom Perignon Champagne on the side.
“A lobster roll at the Iowa State Fair doesn’t make sense. But you know, that’s what we’re trying to change,” said Brooks Reynolds, the owner of JR’s SouthPork Ranch.
He opened his restaurant on the fairgrounds in 2020 and has been selling lobster rolls since, with prices starting at $32 for a regular roll and $100 for a single high roller roll.
Reynolds explained his decision to introduce the luxurious dish, saying, “I can’t do a corn dog. I’m not going to do a tenderloin. Can’t do cheese curds. So we had to come up with a food item that was kind of new … we said we were gonna do a lobster roll. People told me I was crazy to my face.”
The high roller package, which includes top-shelf Champagne, has sold seven units so far. Reynolds acknowledges that not everyone visits the fair for expensive seafood, offering other options like the Chicken Pickle Ranch Rocket, a top 11 new fair food finalist priced at $9, and a chicken sandwich for $12.
“We got something for everybody here,” he said.
Chef Heith Sheeley noted the increasing popularity of their offerings, saying, “It’ll be the fourth year in a row we’ve increased sales … it is something unique and fun, and that’s what the fair is all about.”
Where will KCCI be at the fair? You can see KCCI 8 News live at 4:30 p.m. every weekday during the fair from the MidAmerican Energy Stage.
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