Sunday Sauce is a monthly Milwaukee Record series about the area’s Italian food, the places, the people, and the traditions that make a meal feel like home. I’m chasing how these restaurants, grocery stores, events, and small details keep feeding people comfort, community, and a sense of belonging in a loud world.

Since this installment happens to fall during Milwaukee Record’s Spirit Of Summer Week, it seemed like a good excuse to take this series somewhere especially summery. For this installment, I rode my bike, the Spaghetti Speedster, to the Wisconsin State Fair to see what kind of Italian food I could find on the grounds.

The Wisconsin State Fair is celebrating its 175th anniversary and I’m going to be straight with you folks, even though I’m a lifelong Wisconsinite and have been living in Milwaukee for the better part of my life since 2009, this was my very first time ever visiting the Wisconsin State Fair! For one reason or another, I just never seemed to have enough gumption to wade into the crowded grounds of Wisconsinites. But give me an assignment involving Italian food and suddenly I’m willing to confront 175 years’ worth of my lack of enthusiasm.

First Stop: Millie’s Italian Sausage

The food is everywhere, much of it classically fried and on a stick. After a bit of research prior to coming my first Italian lead was Millie’s Italian Sausage. Historically, it’s the first permanent food stand at the Wisconsin State Fair, opening in 1932. A fun fact I learned while touring the historical exhibit.

Waiting in line, I immediately noticed a long row of Italian sausages brutally impaled on a metal spit over glowing coals. I’d never seen them prepared this way, and between the sight and smell, I was ready to dive in. Paired with a pint of Peroni Nastro Azzurro, the sausage comes topped with mild or hot peppers. It was pleasant enough, but I wanted more of the fennel that makes a good Italian sausage sing, along with a little marinara to tie everything together.

I should also note that, while I didn’t stop there, Pistol Pete’s had one of the more Italian-heavy menus I spotted, with calamari, Sicilian rice balls, arancini di riso, and mini cannoli.

Portesi, My Old Friend

Continuing through the fair, I wondered into the Wisconsin Products Pavilion and found and old childhood friend: Portesi Pizza and Cheese Fries. Founded by Italian immigrant George Portesi, the company grew from his Central Wisconsin restaurant recipe into a Stevens Point frozen-pizza business. Portesi is especially known for its Cheese Fries, thin or rising pizza dough bathed in garlic spread, covered with cheese and Italian spices, baked until browned and crispy, then sliced into strips and dipped into marinara.

If, like me, you grew up in Central Wisconsin, Portesi Cheese Fries were probably involved in more than a few sleepovers. There was nothing quite like a Friday night spent eating Portesi and greasing up Nintendo 64 controllers while playing Super Smash Bros. with friends. I’ve probably eaten hundreds of these things over the years, so naturally I was happy to do it again for this outing. I’ll probably give Portesi its own article someday, but I digress.

Lasagna Stick Regret

Moving along, I stopped at the Steak Stop booth to try the lasagna sticks. Because this was the State Fair, I naturally expected deep-fried lasagna on a stick. Instead, I got a blob of molten cheese and beef wrapped in an egg roll wrapper and dropped in the fryer.

I’ll keep this review short: I did not enjoy it.

Hot Damn, Spaghetti on a Stick

That fire of disappointment was quickly extinguished when I found Spaghetti & Meatballs On-A-Stick at Leadfoot’s Race Bar & Grill. Hot damn, this scratched both itches: classic Italian-American comfort food packaged as a proper State Fair novelty.

Setting aside my Portesi Cheese Fries bias, this was the bite of the night.

And with that, my first Wisconsin State Fair was officially in the books: A little sausage, nostalgia, a regrettable lasagna stick, and an enjoyable spaghetti dinner on a stick. For your moment of zen, I’ll leave you with an onslaught of photos featuring prize-winning tomatoes, garlic, fennel, eggplant and basil practically begging to be made into somebody’s Sunday sauce, plus a parade of gloriously stereotypical Italian caricatures scattered around the fairgrounds. Saluti!