Of course, in my role as greatest radio journalist in Texas, I take very seriously the issue of the best tasting foods at the state fair. As such, my supervisor recently ordered me to taste this year’s Big Tex Choice Award finalists.
“This is getting serious,” I thought to myself. “I should taste each dish thoughtfully… no. I must taste each dish thoughtfully to adequately explain to the listener which items have been deep fried to perfection compared to just being deep fried.”
Some of the families were there for the first time; others go every year. They all compete against each other, but they’ll also collaborate and bounce ideas of each other. Perhaps the Big Tex Choice Awards can sum up the ideal American experience: We all succeed when we celebrate each other’s new ideas.
This year, we’ll start with the savory dishes:
OX’cellent Soul Roll, Kerston & Shawn Thorns
“Savory beef oxtails are slowly simmered for hours until rendered tender, juicy, and full of flavor. Then, tasty chunks of potatoes are added to savory smoked gouda and mozzarella paired with rich butter, celery, bell peppers, and sweet onions. The hearty beef mixture is rolled into a light and flaky, crispy spring roll, and then deep fried. Served with our piping hot, crispy, and tender southern hush puppies and garlic chili sauce. Come take a bite of this classic Southern staple with a twist.”
A lot of these items focus on “walkability,” so you can pick up a dish and wander around with it while you eat. Shawn Thorns explains the smoked gouda and mozzarella act as a binding agent to help keep the unit together. Cheese can also bring us together.
Deep Fried Pho, Michelle Le
“Bringing a southern flare to this popular traditional Vietnamese comfort food that is both rich and savory. Deep Fired Pho is handcrafted, rolled up, and deep-fried Texas style! This unique combination creates a perfect balance between flavorful and refreshing. With every bite, you get a harmonious and succulent mouthful of noodles, slices of beef, fresh herbs, bean sprouts, and a taste of aromatic pho broth that has been slowly simmered for hours. To tie this experience together, it is served with a side of pho broth for dipping, lime, jalapeños, cilantro, hoisin sauce, and sriracha for a spicy, fiery kick!”
Even though pho is all the rage, it’s possible I didn’t know what pho, technically, is. But listen, if you deep fry something to a golden brown, I’m gonna try it.
The Les know how seriously I take insouciance. They’ve kicked it up a notch by adding some succulence in there with it.
Loaded Fries Pizza, Tom Grace
“Daily, fresh-made pizza dough is classically hand-tossed and stretched onto a giant 16″ pizza screen. After ladling on a healthy amount of Texas’ favorite condiment, house-made buttermilk ranch dressing, the pie is covered with a layer of freshly shredded mozzarella. Then a pile of yummy, crunchy, salted French fries is added, and in comes a smothering blanket of cheddar cheese! Finally, nothing tops off cheddar fries better than a ton of crunchy chopped bacon. This bakes, and out comes your loaded fries…ON A PIZZA topped with some fresh chopped chives. Dive into this tangy, cheesy, crunchy, satisfying, one-of-a-kind pizza pie.”
This dish, which I’m sure is Keto-friendly, makes a strong point. The line about bacon could be used to make a large number of items sound more appetizing:
“Nothing tops off a political debate better than a ton of crunchy chopped bacon.”
“Nothing tops off a court summons better than a ton of crunchy chopped bacon.”
Find me someone who says they wouldn’t sort of enjoy a trip to a circuit court after reading that, and I’ll show you someone who isn’t being completely honest with you.
Turkey Ribs! Abel Gonzales
“A new twist on holiday classics. Take the best part of turkey you never knew you loved, gently fry it, and serve it with stuffing seasoned fries, homemade giblet gravy, and a secret salsa recipe. You can also order it Texas Style with BBQ sauce fries, jalapeños, and pickles! You’ll crave it come the holidays, but you’ll only get it during the great State Fair of Texas!”
Here I learned turkey ribs are actually its shoulder, but the turkey shoulder is, in fact, delicious. Especially when it’s gently fried to a golden brown. The tater makes another appearance, disguising itself as stuffing.
Deep Fried Cheesy Crab Tater Bites, Isaac Rousso
“This delicious dish starts with a blend of minced crab meat, shredded potato, cheese, and spices that are formed into tater bites. As they go in the fryer, they become golden brown, and you can smell the seasonings coming together with the crab meat. A cheesy Cajun sauce is simultaneously made, which starts off with the holy trinity: onions, bell peppers, and celery. These ingredients are sautéed perfectly with melty American cheese and a secret Cajun spice mix. As it all comes together, crawfish are added to enhance the flavor experience. These delicious golden tater bites are ladled with rich, silky, cheesy crawfish sauce on top, making sure each bite is topped with Cajun gold.”
The tater takes center stage at this year’s State Fair of Texas. Isaac Rousso is a regular at the Big Tex Choice Awards. He’s also of the opinion that you’re never in the off-season, saying they spent all year finding the right herbs and spices to combine here.
A representative from the fair also took a picture of me talking to Rousso. He used good judgment in not texting me a picture of me hovering over his table eating his food.
On to the sweet finalists:
Biscoff® Delight , Stephen El Gidi
“Immerse yourself in the realm of a classic New York-style cheesecake coated with Belgian chocolate. Each bite reveals the symphony of an outer layer adorned with crushed Biscoff® cookies, offering a delightful crunch. To elevate this edible artwork, a drizzle of Lotus Biscoff® spread cascades gracefully, imparting a caramelized touch. Finally, a crowning glory is bestowed upon this culinary marvel with a perfectly placed Biscoff® cookie that entices you to embrace pure indulgence.”
Discussing this with El Gidi, he details the symphony. As I shoved a piece of cheesecake into mouth for the sake of journalism, he explained the insouciance: The crunch of the Biscoff cookie is offset by the smoothness of the cheesecake, showing our elected officials that crunchy and soft can also find a way to work together for the common good.
Fernie’s Fried Cherry Pie in the Sky, Christi Erpillo & Johnna McKee
“We cannot tell a lie—this is the best rendition of America’s favorite pie! A pie tart mold is lined with flakey, buttery pastry dough, then layered with tender, crumbly shortbread cookies, juicy and tart sweet cherries, a layer of blended shortbread cookies and finally topped with more light, airy pastry, and hand-crimped forming the cutest pie. After a quick dip in the fryer, the luscious dessert is topped with a butter almond shortbread crumble, giving you all the taste of your favorite cherry cobbler and tangy cherry pie! Presented with the iconic pairing of Blue Bell ® vanilla ice cream drizzled with cherry preserves, clouds of whipped cream, and garnished with sugared dark sweet cherries! This divine dessert is cherries from heaven!”
“Look at those cherries staring at me, judging me,” I thought to myself. I continued to eat. To do otherwise would have been insulting to the two different ingredients that involved crumbling.
Bourbon Banana Caramel Sopapillas, Cody & Lauren Hays
“Hot and delicious traditional sopapillas topped with vanilla-caramel-infused bananas, sweet bourbon syrup, crushed candied pecans, sweetened mascarpone cheese, crumbled Nilla Wafers, and dusted with powdered sugar.”
My life is richer since I moved to Texas and learned of the sopapilla. Now, it’s been combined with bananas infused all sorts of flavors. The Hays join others in saying they wanted a dish that was walkable, but not one that would only throw a bunch of flavors together. They wanted each to stand on its own. Barring all that highfalutin’ language, the worlds of crunchy and soft are colliding.
Sweet Encanto, Tony & Terry Bednar
“Sweet Encanto is the ultimate sweet delight that is sure to satisfy even the sweetest tooth. A round waffle is lightly sweetened with caramel dulce de leche that is swirled perfectly on a wafer. A specialty cream with slices of strawberry, kiwi, peach, and shredded coconut is added. Then this is topped with raspberry jam and drizzled with sweetened condensed milk. Take advantage of this amazing opportunity to indulge in the best flavors of Latin America and taste the magic of Sweet Encanto!”
Listen, gang, we’ve talked about walkability and succulence. Sweet Encanto calls attention to another important attribute of fair food: shareability. Don’t like strawberry? There’s some peach in there. Don’t like peach? Take the kiwi! Don’t like fruit of any kind because you’re at the State Fair of Texas, not a doggone Weight Watchers meeting? Enjoy a tortilla topped with carmelized milk!
Trail-Ade, Ruth Hauntz
“If the Texas heat is bringing you down, Trail-Ade is the perfect remedy! This delightful blend of summer fruits, crisp cucumbers, and fresh mint blended with homemade lemonade is the ideal elixir to cure what’s ailing you. Trail-Ade is a fruity, refreshing, nonalcoholic cocktail served in a souvenir cowboy boot cup to be enjoyed anywhere: after a trail ride, in a saloon, and especially while strolling through the State Fair of Texas fairgrounds. As Big Tex would say, “These boots were made for walkin’!” Trail-Ade, it’s boot sipp’n good.”
Ruth Hauntz would be well within her rights to say she’s too old for this [expletive]. But she doesn’t.
Listen, North Texas, we’re all sick of the hotness, but without this summer, we wouldn’t have had the marriage of lemonade to cucumbers.
Juan and Brent said part of Trail-Ade’s origin story comes from the fact they had boots left over from a couple years ago. Let this be a lesson to youngsters about how you can turn a negative into a positive if you don’t give up.
And that’s the goal of #ScaiaBlog: Don’t let an obstacle keep you from your goal. When I was talking to Rousso, for instance, I spilled Biscoff Delight on my shirt. But heroically, I continued the interview!
