Kevin Brown
Audio By Carbonatix
The Big Tex Choice Awards started in 2005 with a simple goal: create bold and unique foods for fairgoers each year. Then fry ’em up.
This annual event, which culminates in three final winners – best sweet, savory and overall – attracts throngs of people who sometimes wait in line for hours and spend more than a reasonable amount of money on said foods. But what even is reasonable? Or money?
Just after midnight, the folks at the State Fair announced the 2025 finalists for the Big Tex Choice Awards. The contest kicked off in June with a record-breaking 76 entries from 50 different concessionaires. (To submit a food, you must have been a concessionaire at the Fair for at least one year.) They whittled the field down to 30 semifinalists. In mid-August, there will be another round of judging and the finalists will be chosen.
All foods are based on three main factors: fairgoer appeal, creativity and taste. Here’s a quick breakdown of the 30 semifinalists, all with exactly six-word descriptions. One hint: Dubai chocolate has arrived.
Brisket and Brew Stuffed Pretzels: brisket, sharp cheddar beer cheese, pretzel
Candy Lemon Sour Face: sweet, sour, tart, candy-coated lemon
Chill & Thrill Delight: Colombian-inspired sweet and tangy drink
Churro Cheesecake Jalapeño Popper: jalapeno and cheesecake filling with churros
Coconut Quadruple: tropical slushy and ice cream, coconut
Colada Limonada: frozen lemonade, creamy coconut, mini-umbrella
Cookie Chaos Milkshake: cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies, unapologetic
Crab & Mozzarella Arancini: crab, mozzarella, lemon, black pepper, fried
Decadent Dubai Chocolate Dream: pistachio kataifi, chocolate, strawberries, ice cream
Deep Fried Deli Tacos: pastrami, mashed taters, cheese, tortilla, fried
Dirty Red Bull® Tex-arita: Too much Red Bull. Clam down.
Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake: Belgian chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi, cheesecake
Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries: funnel cake marries Dubai chocolate. Congrats.
El Cono Loco: Tex-Mex chicken spaghetti, queso, bread cone
Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up: real honeycomb jalapeno lemonade with booze
Meat Lovers Crunchy Calzone: tortilla stuffed with cheese, meats, fried
Pop-Elotes: like loaded elotes, but as popcorn
Poppin’ Boba Rita: wine-infused boba pearls, mango margarita
Pop Rocks® Margarita: no one should drink Pop Rocks
Russell’s Key Lime Pie Bombs: Key lime pie dipped and fried
Texa-misu: tiramisu and espresso, frozen “cremespresso.” Yum.
Texas Smoked Brisket Crepe: brisket in a crepe with cheese
Texas Water: This needs a new name. Tropical.
Tex’s Toast á la Mode: French toast, ice cream, caramel, cinnamon
Ube Rice-Cream Crunch: Filipino ube, rice, puff and pop
Vietnamese Crunch Dog: Asian corn dog, banh mi crumbs
Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders: six-word name does the trick
What on Earth is This?: UFO-shaped smash burger, onion rings
Yabba Dabba Doo: Sprite, fruit, Skittles, Lemonheads, dirty soda
