I’ll cut to the chase: I’ve ~never~ been to the State Fair of Texas.
I have lived in Texas over 20 years, and I’m technically a Yankee. (I got here as fast as I could!) But what I am above all is claustrophobic. That means elevators are bad and I avoid big crowds, especially when it’s warm outside. Bad enough so that if I’m forced, I can get to the passing-out stage.
Bonus Fun Stuff:Movie House & Eatery Delivers .
I am usually in search of an air conditioned, low-key, mostly solitary adventure! (Introverts unite!) It also means that I’ve watched years go by without trying the Fair food. Back in 2006, I did pay a co-worker to bring me back a deep fried Twinkie. After her long day at the Fair, let’s just say it’s better to eat this sooner rather than later.
And then… thanks to getting the word out to you Funzies, I am in a constant state of “HOLY CRAP! THIS AWESOME THING IS HAPPENING!” And, I got to go to this: The 2015 Big Tex Choice Awards at Fair Park, now in its 11th year. This could be the answer to every introvert’s pining call: how do I get to try the deep-fried Fair food without going outside of my comfort zone??
So I ordered tickets: $100 each. I tell myself I’m helping fund scholarships for high schools in the Fair Park vicinity and not just stuffing my face.
We had several sets of directions and still had to ask two groundskeepers to direct us at the gate. Driving through the Fairgrounds when there are no people is freaking creepy, ya’ll. It was like a 5-mile-an-hour procession to a clown’s funeral. But we finally found the Tower Building.
New this year was the opportunity for attendees to put their names in the hat to be a GUEST JUDGE. I admit, I really wanted this, and I was feeling lucky. I toss my ticket in after giving it a good-luck hug.
We find a seat somewhere toward the center. There are hanging flags displaying winners of years past. Deep fried Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Praline Something Something. Deep Fried Peaches & Cream (I’d so eat this). Too many to write them all down, but they were successfully making us hungry.
We dig through our swag bags while we waited.
A grownup sippy cup with Big Tex’s head on it. It’s so silly, it’s perfect. Inside is a one-day pass to the Fair and…a pencil? Whatever. But there was also a nice boxed coffee to-go mug with Michelin (a sponsor of the event) on the side. In five years I went from never needing a to-go mug to never having enough of these around. How did that happen?! But I digress.
Michelin gets their minute or so of commercial time. Someone introduces the emcee Donovan Lewis of SportsRadio, then he starts introducing other people. The echo made it a bit hard to hear. Plus I’m waiting for them to pull the Guest Judge Ticket! Come on, already! THE GOLDEN TICKET!! IT’S ALMOST TIME! Yes! The tickets have 18 numbers, did I win or not?? … and then he called the ticket number OF SOMEONE ELSE!!
This is terrible for all of us. My hopes were super high. I couldn’t catch her name, but Guest Judge was Every Texas Mom, tan and smiling. We could have been friends except that she TOOK MY JUDGING SEAT! DANG IT.
I’ll leave out the detailed mumbo jumbo of judges and creators because who cares at that point. In a nutshell: It was Chef John Tesar, a local chef celebrity; Drew Pearson, a retired football player with razor wit; a YouTube celebrity who had a cool hat, someone named Tiffany, some other guy, and the Guest Judge who everyone hates. She was a cool cucumber, I’ll give her that. She didn’t seem nervous AT ALL. I would have been so nervous that I’d have made a complete butt out of myself and grabbed the microphone and laughed real loud and smiled with stuff in my teeth.
And I would have been AWESOME.
I got over it. Eventually. So we sat through the judges enjoying themselves, eating MY fried food.
An hour goes by then they started cooking for 500. You can walk into a lot of fast food places and get a greasy experience but this made everyone excited. It fills the hall. People are smiling and wiggling in anticipation. The room went from impatient to giddy (ok, maybe that was just me). This, my friends, was the smell of DEEP-FRIED NOSTALGIA.
And then (finally) the judging is over and we are dismissed to the line for The Tasting. There are easily 500 people in there, but the line moved pretty swiftly. The vendors must have teams of seasoned pros. We took some pictures with a guy in a Big Tex costume who I will now affectionately call Little Big Tex. I find Big Tex kind of disturbing, and Little Big Tex was too. Just sayin’.
We get our cute trays with a flyer that gives us pics of the Finalists. Nice touch actually; it made me feel important and welcome. Each vendor had a booth, each booth had a pic and a “model” of the entry with their award (a deep-fry basket plaque ha – so cutefully cheesy!) and everyone was like a kid at Christmas.
So I present to you:
- Pretzel Crusted Pollo Queso (with sauce you squeeze on)
- Deep Fried Alligator’s Egg Nest (with fries and a cup of dipping sauce)
- Fried Beer-Battered Buffalo (cup of dipping sauce)
- Smoky Bacon Margarita
- Cowboy Corn Crunch
- Chicken Fried Lobster with Champagne Gravy (w/ side of corn relish and fries)
- Lone Star Pork Handle
Hey, there’s one missing! Yes. They ran out of Best Taste Winner Fernie’s Holy Moly Carrot Cake Roly right as I got there. Not kidding. I actually felt like the little girl who Santa forgot. The creator and her team were apologetic and did some inventory to see if there was any way to drum up ingredients, but there was not. It still makes me sad. So close!! But I soldiered on. I’m not bitter hardly at all.
So my two cents:
A couple things surprised me. I figured I’d love the Pollo Queso, but it was too cream-cheesy rich with a soft center and the spice overpowered the chicken. It had a nice crispy crust, though.
I thought I would dislike the Alligator but it was my second fave – hearty and savory but not too spicy. They reminded me a bit of my grandmother’s Thanksgiving stuffing.
The Cowboy Corn Crunch were too spicy for me (I’m kind of a wuss), but were Renee’s favorite. Think corn nuggets from a place like Chicken Express but not as batter-heavy.
My personal favorite: Chicken Fried Lobster with Champagne Gravy
I know how it sounds: OF COURSE THE LOBSTER. I really am not a huge lobster fan but this was far and away the winner in my book. The gravy was light and yummy, the batter on the lobstah complementary and not heavy; the meat tender and not rubbery (how they pulled it off with this kind of “foodie speed-dating” soiree, I’ll never know).
I ate every bit of that corn relish, too.
The creator seemed in good spirits. “Hashtag FryKing!” he said, as he handed us our gondolas of goodness.
Neither of us cared for the Buffalo – too many onions and they tasted like batter-dipped meatballs. BUT with a dip/ketchup this would be a nifty way to get a mini-burger taste and still walk around.
Most Creative Winner: The Smoky Margarita was virgin (family event) and I kind of liked it. It was neon green and it reminded me of a slush drink. Not thirst quenching, but it was a good sweet to all that savory. It comes in a souvenir cup. Fake bacon all the way, though.
The Lone Star Pork Handle is just a sample, but based on the model, you’d get a really nice chunk of meat at the Fair. It’s good. More of an oven-baked coating than battered. I’d eat this again.
BIG TEX CHOICE AWARDS EVENT FIRST-TIMER-TURNED-PRO TIP
ARRIVE EARLY: There are two “camps” of foodies here. Those who come as early as possible, ready to walk in at 1:30p and get to the seats up front, close to the judging. They get the attention of the emcee, who hands out food that the judges don’t finish. They got to be first of the eager crowd to sample, and maybe get on camera too (it is a media circus)!
ARRIVE LATE: In the other camp are those who come LATER, as the judging ENDS about 3:40p. I wondered why so many people were late. They avoided everything but the deliciousness by coming in right as the crowds lined up for food. They also knew where to go and were poised at the curtains, thus being first in line.
I’m on to you people.
The creators/vendors take this contest super seriously, and the Finalist dishes reach cult status. We were happy to get caught up in it, and I got a taste of what people love most about the Fair. Literally. And I can’t wait until next year!
I guess I still haven’t been to the Texas State Fair, technically, but The Big Tex Choice Awards definitely count as the next best thing. This is their 11th year — have you ever been? What was your experience?
Here’s your chance to WIN 4 tickets to 2015 Texas State Fair!
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I love LOVE LOVE the State fair. I hate the midway. Bleh! but, every other part is like a unique shopping extravaganza. Plus there’s a wine corner. Who wouldn’t want a wine corner? Last year we found Turkey legs wrapped in bacon and smoked. Will definitely be having that again this year. Plus I feel required to get a fletchers corn dog! It will be the baby’s first time to see the back yard circus, and I am SO EXCITED! (Can ya tell?)
Great to hear you’re loving it! Do you go every year? We are loving the bacon obsession that’s taken over the nation right now. While I (Andi) have yet to go to the Fair itself, the BTCA was a great way to try the decadence. I’d say 5 out of 8 of the items had bacon in it somewhere.
We have a big state fair that comes around here every fall and it’s super fun! My kids love going every year.
I run extremely hot, so this is perfect for me! I love fair food, but I hate melting in the heat. That’s so awesome.
I have never been to a state fair, but they sound like so much fun!! Such a bummer though your ticket didn’t win and the carrot cake was all gone!
Everything looks super tasty! I so wish I could have went 🙂
That state fair looks fantastic, everything looks so fun and very yummy too! 😀
We love going to fairs because it’s super fun. We also love the food.
I’ve never been to a State fair so I can’t put my two cents in! lol! Looks like fun though
Wow this actually sounds like a lot of fun. I think there are a couple smaller fairs around here but nothing like this one.
Sounds like a great time. Glad you stepped out of your comfort zone! The chicken fried lobster sounds amazing.
Wow look at all that food! A friend of mine is heading down there soon and was telling me all about the state fair. I need to get to something like this asap. THAT FOOD!
It was pretty great, I won’t lie. Not all of it I’d get if I had to wait in line and pay top dollar, but it was still a gun experience without the crush of fair crowds and lines.
I have never been to the Texas state fair but I have seen pics and it looks amazing!! I saw Big Tex was going up the other day (on Instagram) and I bet you can’t wait!!
Ieee probably won’t go to the actual fair now that I’ve tried the food. I’ll just go to the food awards from now on. 🙂
Nice to meet you, Ricci. Hope you get to visit DFW sometime.
I’m much like you. Give me the AC in the hot summer months!! But when it’s state fair time, I’ve just gotta get out and enjoy all that it offers. Especially the FOOD. But Texas…everything is bigger in TX so I assume that the state fair is just an insane event!
Hi, Jenni!
It’s a well-oiled machine in North Texas, that’s for sure. The worst part is probably the traffic it causes along I-30, but people go. They go like crazy, and I started to fell like an outcast for not at least saying I tried the dang food. 🙂
This sounds like it would be so much fun. I would love to try the Chicken Fried Lobster with Champagne Gravy . To bad they ran out of the cake.
I tried to sound light-hearted in my post, but I was P-O’d about them running out. Those tickets weren’t cheap, and to not get to try the Winner really hacked me off.
Won’t stop me from going next year though. Doh. lol Great to hear from you, Ann!
It took you a long time to experience the joy of fair food! 🙂 I’m not as adventurous as you though, and haven’t tried more than chili fries and an occasional deep fried desert. Alligator? Not so sure I’d try that!
It did take me a while, and that’s why I was pretty thrilled about the BTCA – an indoor, air-conditioned option with seating and crowd control lol.
I’ve had alligator before and it was kind of chewy and fried and these balls (lol, sorry) were not necessarily exotic tasting, so it may not have been much gator meat to them.
Yeah, every time I talk to someone about it, it usually goes like this: “I tried this ____ once but it was like a million dollars!” so you either spend like crazy or budget for it. Maybe if you really go for the vibe, you just eat before you leave.
Lynn, seriously, it was incredible. We also had all these signs up from previous years’ award-winners and they were making us hungry. Have you ever made a lobster dish? Like bisque or whatnot?
Hey, thanks for coming by, Winifred.
Yeah, I think that’s why they won Most Creative, because the idea is novelty. Texas is made of margaritas and tacos.
And, I am SO jelly that you got to go to this event. But girl, what are you doing? You NEED to go to the fair! haha. Its so much fun!! 😀
Haha! I know, I KNOW!! But… the crowds! They keep touching meeee. The BTCA was perfect for social anxiety weirdos like me. 🙂
The event sounds fun but my experiences with crowds are the same as yours. I would have had to talk myself into it. I can go to Bush Gardens all day though LOL it’s a weird thing.