State Fair of Texas

The State Fair is Taking Donations to Pay For Big Tex, Who Sends Along a Slightly Morbid Holiday Greeting

For now, the State Fair of Texas is sticking to its story that Big Tex wasn't reduced to a scorched metal frame during this summer's conflagration but instead is recuperating at an undisclosed Texas spa. Not only that, but he's well enough to send a holiday greeting that the fair passed along this m ... More >>

Big Tex is Gone. There's a Hole in Our Hearts.

On this day, we lost a fried hero. This morning, Big Tex caught on fire at the State Fair of Texas. Twitter lit up with jokes about as quickly as Tex did. I guess we all grieve differently. See also: Big Tex Burned Down Today at the State Fair Alice Laussade's exclusive interview with Big Tex We'd ... More >>

Honey, We Need to Talk About Your Food Porn Addiction

Last week we received an email about food porn addiction, which was really just an effort to promote the book Eating Mindfully by Dr. Susan Albers, Psy. D. Usually we discard these things, but we thought it'd be sooooo freaking hilarious to ask sly porn questions! Then we'd all laugh at our wit an ... More >>

Sustainable Living Ferments in Fair Park

FRIED BREAKING NEWS: Fried Jambalaya, Fried Bacon Cinnamon Roll Win Big at State Fair of Texas

See also: The Fried Food Finalists Coming to the State Fair of Texas 2012 Last Wednesday, the eight finalists of the Big Tex Choice Awards were announced. Today, they gathered for an epic fried battle. Three judges (1310 The Ticket's Donovan Lewis, Representative Eric Johnson from the Texas House o ... More >>

Once More, With Feeling, Questions at City Hall About How to Make Better Use of Fair Park

​We've had this conversation before. And before that. And before that. Why oh why oh why is Fair Park -- "our jewel," in the words of Dwaine Caraway -- so underutilized, so unloved?Daniel Huerta, Fair Park's exec general manager, and Park and Rec head Paul Dyer, actually came to the Quality of Lif ... More >>

The Bangles' Vicki Peterson Talks Breaking Up, Getting Back Together and Singing in the Nude

Although The Bangles started out as an indie pop band associated with Los Angeles' Paisley Underground scene in the early 1980's, it didn't take the band long to make major commercial inroads. By the mid 80's, the band had released two huge singles, Prince's "Manic Monday" and the almost novelty ... More >>

The DFW Truck Farm, Rolling to a Restaurant Near You

Trust me, it's more impressive when it's filled with living produce​There's more to the State Fair of Texas than deep fried my little pony turds, you know. If you find your way past the funnel cakes, Cuban sandwiches and fried beer, you might stumble on the DFW Truck Farm. The pickup truck out ... More >>

The Day Sonny and Cher Visited Fair Park

Photo by Skip Shoffner, courtesy Philip ShoffnerSonny and Cher in front of the Fair Park Coliseum​It's quite likely that many Friends of Unfair Park recall O. V. "Skip" Shoffner, who, his son Philip reminds, was a longtime mail carrier in Lakewood -- for more than 30 years. Skip was also a regular ... More >>

You State Fair-Goers Can Eat All the Deep-Fried Crap You Like. More Cuban Sandwiches For Me.

​ I grew up in a rural area, and the state fair was pretty far away. Most years the county or 4-H fair was where I got my fix for funnel cakes and sheep shit. The theme is about the same, but the scale much smaller and the food selection was less diverse. So when the State Fair of Texas kicked ... More >>

'Tis the Season ... for the State Fair Parade!

​Danny Fulgencio spent this glorious First Day of the Fair where he's always perched this time of the year: on Main Street, along the parade route for the State Fair of Texas's kick-off parade that's a little bit o' this and a whole lotta that. One of Dallas's finer traditions -- just the right sh ... More >>

Vegans Rejoice: Texas State Veggie Fair Fried Food Competition

Sylvia ElzafonFried vegan Bob Armstrong queso won Texas State Veggie Fair's Most Creative title in 2010.​The State Fair of Texas offers a millionty delicious fried food options, but if you're vegan, food-wise you're pretty much limited to sniffing second-hand funnel cake fumes.Well, fuck all that. ... More >>

Fried Chicken Skin and Fried Cake Balls?!? Thanks, Eat Crispies.

Eat CrispiesFried chicken skin from Eat Crispies. Mmm. Skin.​Meet fried chicken skin, brought to your State Fair of Texas by Eat Crispies. It's just chicken skin, battered and fried for your face. Eat Crispies owner Phuong Le says, "The fried chicken skin was what caught the attention of ... More >>

More Than Fair Display

City to Spend Some Fair Park Marketing Money to Keep TicketCity Bowl Through 2018 Game

​The Cotton Bowl Classic, of course, is no longer played at the Cotton Bowl -- hasn't been for two years, when the bowl game decamped for Arlington, thus making it a very unhappy New Year 'round Fair Park at kickoff time. Then came along the TicketCity Bowl -- Texas Tech vs. Northwestern to start ... More >>

For Those Who've Never Visited Uptown's Greenwood Cemetery, An Amazing Tour

Feels like since-forever ago we posted Jun Kang's extraordinary State Fair of Texas short film. But, no -- ain't even been 24 hours. Shortly after, a good friend of the show suggested we take a look at Jun's mini-feature on the Greenwood Cemetery, the entrance to which is at McKinney and Oak Grove A ... More >>

The Tacos of the State Fair of Texas

Hello there, crispy taco​Novel and atrocious fried foods aren't the only foodstuffs available at the State Fair of Texas. Among the alternatives are tacos, one of which threw me for a loop. To begin my hunt, I searched the State Fair's Food Finder web page for tacos. With the search results in han ... More >>

It's a Different Sort of Pop Rock

Fair's Cooking Contests Attract Young Top Chef Wannabes

Matronly home cooks clutching recipe cards inherited from their kitchen-wise grannies are no longer shoo-ins to win culinary contests at the State Fair of Texas. ​The number of young men competing in the various contests featuring Dr Pepper, Spam and Malt-o-Meal has been steadily increasing over ... More >>

Five State Fair Foods You Can't Find in Texas

Ok, maybe we don't want this.​It's the rare visitor who leaves the State Fair of Texas wishing there had been more deep-fried delicacies available, but there are a few fried and stick-impaled snacks missing from the fair's line-up. Here, a look at five popular sweet and savory items sold at state ... More >>

Cuban Sandwich Crisis: Taste of Cuba vs. Caribbean Cafe

Photos by Steven DoyleTaste of Cuba was the fairest of them all.​ Many people, when they consider Cuba, think of Fidel, Guantanamo Bay, the Bay of Pigs and cigars. City of Ate thinks sandwiches. Taking their cue from Caribbean, African and Spanish cuisine, Cubans have developed a flavor of t ... More >>

Great Deep-Frying Minds Think Alike: Twisted Root Debuts Fried Pop Tarts

Sara KerensThis is how Isaac Rousso fries Pop-Tarts​Deep-fried Pop-Tarts are now available to eaters who don't want to splurge on a State Fair of Texas ticket -- if they're willing to settle for Chef Jason Boso's version of the treat. Boso, executive chef of Twisted Root Burger Co. and Cowboy ... More >>

The State Fair Eighty-Sixes Its Corny Dog Contest, But the Pros Are Coming for a Sandwich Race on Sunday

Patrick MichelsThird-ranked Pat Bertoletti claimed the world waffle eating title at the State Fair of Texas back in 2007. He's back eating sandwiches this Sunday afternoon.​It's tough to know just how to feel about this year's competitive eating lineup at the State Fair of Texas. On one hand, on t ... More >>

What Wine Does One Pair with a Corny Dog?

Photo by Chris Meesey​The State Fair of Texas makes it easy to find your way around Fair Park if you know how to use one of the handy free maps handed out at the entrance gate. If you wish to find the Go Texan Wine Garden, for example, merely mosey a ways down the Esplanade, turn left at Inter ... More >>

Watermelon With Feta Salad, We Are So Over You Now

Photo by Robert BostickBut if it tastes good, we can still like it, right?​It's probably a few months too soon to name the most clichéd dish of 2010, but I'm early voting for watermelon with feta salad. The colorful salad showed up at restaurants across town this summer, gracing the salad pa ... More >>

The 2010 Big Tex Choice Awards Fries Up A New Batch of Artery-Clogging Eats, Beckoning State Fair-goers To Come And Get Their Grease On.

Huzzah! Renaissance Festival Recommends Healthier Fare

This dude definitely needs to lay off the fried foods.​An event designed to celebrate tightly corseted wenches and bloodthirsty jousters isn't exactly synonymous with restraint, but organizers of this year's Texas Renaissance Festival are promoting the fair's healthy snacks. The festival, bil ... More >>

Fried Beer Takes the Prize at State Fair

Photo by Hanna RaskinFried beer​"You can't go wrong with chocolate!," a satisfied volunteer crowed upon exiting the Big Tex Choice Awards. Except, it seems, at the State Fair of Texas, where savory resoundingly trumped sweet at this morning's awards ceremony. Fried beer claimed the "most crea ... More >>

Honest food at Potager and a roll of the dice at The Mercury

Sara Kerens​This week's Dallas food bloggers learned to trust empty parking lots, took Mary into their own Bloody hands, and found peace on Earth at Potager Café and the Dallas Islamic Center. More Dallas restaurants have Gone Texan, and don't expect to find wines from any other place e ... More >>

A Look Back at a Time When State Fair-Goers Wore Ties to the Midway and Shot the Chute

​Back in June, upon the occasion of the release of City Archivist John Slate's Historic Dallas Parks, I mentioned yet another history book was forthcoming from Arcadia Publishing: Willis Winters's Fair Park. At the time there was no release date set, only "closer to the State Fair of Texas," but a ... More >>

State Fair of Texas Files Application to Build Giant Greenhouse, Growing Area at Fair Park

Something like this Rough Brothers-designed greenhouse is what the State Fair of Texas has in mind.​Earlier this afternoon, I noticed on the Landmark Committee's Fair Park Task Force meeting agenda for Wednesday a most intriguing note: Someone has applied for a Certificate of Appropriateness to bu ... More >>

Today's Quality of Life Update: How to Report Dead Street Lights, and TX-OU Tow Warnings

Zazzle​Amazing the things you learn from city council briefings. Like this: Oncor has a Web site that allows you to report street-light outages by address or pole numbers. It's been operational since August, but the council's Quality of Life Committee is getting a briefing on the subject today. Th ... More >>

If You're Not an Oprah Winfrey Fan, You May Want to Skip the State Fair of Texas Monday

​Specifically, you'll want to stay away from the Chevrolet Main Stage at 10 a.m., when Oprah Winfrey will begin taping her State Fair of Texas special that'll also include a performance by Martina McBride. Winfrey's production company just sent the details for her appearance, if you have further q ... More >>

Midway or All the Way? Yet Again, State Fair Officials Promise Year-Round Attractions.

From the Fair Park Comprehensive Development Plan, dated October 2003"Provide year-round midway features: ferris wheel, carousel, roller coaster, sky ride and observation tower." So says Page 22 of 2003's Fair Park Comprehensive Plan, which offered myriad suggestions for turning Fair Park into a yea ... More >>

OK, Now This Is Schadenfreude: Towing Company Gets Its License Revoked

Dallas, We Have a New Corn Dog Eating Champion. So Proud.

Blackjack Pizza

On Your Mark … Get Set … Goal?

Batter Worlds

How to Get Into the Baseball Hall of Fame

The Fair Can Be So Unfair

Something Rotten

Fair Play

This Week's Day-By-Day Picks

Dog Gone

Have a ball with the Corndog Festival

Buzz

Learning experience

A fair question

Can you find any art at the State Fair of Texas?

Night & Day

October 8 - 14, 1998

Events for the week