Jordan Maddox
Audio By Carbonatix
Back in June, the folks at the State Fair of Texas, who know a lot about fried foods, chose 30 semi-finalists for the Big Tex Choice Awards, the annual awards that crown the best of the best. These creative fried masterpieces were judged on four food elements: uniqueness, creativity, presentation and taste.
Today, in the wee hours of dawn, 15 finalists were announced. From these, three winners will be chosen in late August; one each for savory and sweet, and then an overall winner. These are a big deal because these food items are always the most sought-after at the fairgrounds, with long lines and high expectations. It’s sort of like watching a competitive cooking show play out in front of you. If the winning concessionaire works it right, they also stand to make a lot of moolah.
Dubai chocolate is everyhwere these days, including atop funnel cakes at the State Fair of Texas
State Fair of Texas
Vegas books are open, so we hear. Pick your winners and see what happens on Aug. 21. The State Fair will run from Sept. 26 through Oct. 19, and you can already purchase season passes and FLEX tickets.
When we first introduced the semifinalists last month, we gave them each a six-word review, which we’re sticking with here, along with the concessionaires who created the item.
These little bundles of joy are stuffed with brisket.
State Fair of Texas
SAVORY FINALISTS
Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels (Glen & Sherri Kusak): brisket, sharp cheddar beer cheese, pretzel
Crab & Mozzarella Arancini (Stefan T. Nedwetzky): crab, mozzarella, lemon, black pepper, fried
Deep Fried Deli Tacos (Brent & Juan Reaves): pastrami, mashed taters, cheese, tortilla, fried
Vietnamese Crunch Dog (The Le Family): Asian corn dog, banh mi crumbs
Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders (Kendall Williams): six-word name does the trick
Why aren’t we all using Texas toast for French toast?
State Fair of Texas
SWEET FINALISTS
Candy Lemon Sour Face (Chef Heather J. Perkins): sweet, sour, tart, candy-coated lemon
Chill & Thrill Delight (Tony and Terry Bednar): Colombian-inspired sweet and tangy drink
Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake (Stephen El Gidi): Belgian chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi, cheesecake
Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries (Isaac and Joey Rousso): funnel cake marries Dubai chocolate. Congrats.
Tex’s Toast á la Mode (Michelle and Jayse Edwards): French toast, ice cream, caramel, cinnamon
SIPPER FINALISTS
Coconut Quadruple (Binh Tran and My Vo): tropical slushy and ice cream, coconut
Cookie Chaos Milkshake (Brad Weiss): cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies, unapologetic
Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up (Tom Grace): real honeycomb, jalapeno lemonade with booze
Nevins Dirty Red Bull Tex-arita (Josey Nevins Mayes and Tami Jo Nevins Mayes): Too much Red Bull. Clam down.
Poppin’ Boba Rita (Justin Martinez): wine-infused boba pearls, mango margarita
