We’re still several weeks out from millions of folks descending upon the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, but the organization is already preparing to host some wild eats as demonstrated by the annual Big Tex Choice Awards, the fair’s food competition. The awards recently announced this year’s 15 finalists, revealing a lineup of surreal food and drink items that could rival Frankenstein’s monster with how they are pieced together from various cuisines and existing dishes.
The Big Tex Choice Awards have three categories – savory and sweet for foods and sipper for drinkable items. Each category features five finalists submitted by Texas makers, whose task is to come up with the most creative, fair-worthy foods they can imagine. Unfortunately, that often means cooking up, or rather frying up, some of the most decadent, monstrous bites known to humankind. On the plus side, Karbach Brewing Company is presenting the awards, so the competition’s finalists all have beer pairings recommended by the sponsor.
Savory finalists:
- Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels
- Crab & Mozzarella Arancini
- Deep Fried Deli Tacos
- Vietnamese Crunch Dog
- Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders
Sweet finalists:
- Candy Lemon Sour Face
- Chill & Thrill Delight
- Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake
- Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries
- Tex’s Toast á la Mode
Sipper finalists:
- Coconut Quadruple
- Cookie Chaos Milkshake
- Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up
- Nevins Dirty Red Bull Tex-Arita
- Poppin’ Boba Rita
Many of these front-running creations are guaranteed to make some festivalgoers very happy while others appear to be gunning solely for world record number of calories in one dish. The Vietnamese Crunch Dog, submitted by the Le family, stands out for its straightforward design and use of Asian flavors, and a couple of the sippers appear highly drinkable, like the slush-filled Coconut Quadruple or the wine-based Poppin’ Boba Rita. However, the Dirty Red Bull Tex-Arita might have some folks turned up to 11, and it seems ill-advised to devour more than one of the sweet finalists in a 24-hour period, unless you enjoy stomachaches and dental visits.
How long is the Texas State Fair?
The State Fair of Texas is returning to Dallas from September 26 to October 19, and tickets are available on the organization’s website. Visitors can expect amusement rides, interactive attractions, live musical performances and even a petting zoo with some of the cutest animals in Texas. Find the State Fair’s grounds east of downtown Dallas, just across Highway I-30 from the Deep Ellum entertainment district…