What to Eat at the State Fair of Texas – 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards – The Winners Rated

September 2, 2014
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SFOT Blue Bonnets

Monday morning I headed down to the Tower Building at the State Fair of Texas to watch the Big Tex Choice Awards for the new fried food concoctions which will be offered this year at the State Fair.

SFOT - Food Entry Shot

Eight finalists competed for the right to the “Best Taste Award” and the “Most Creative Award”. And the winners were – Best Taste: Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil and for Most Creative: Funnel Cake Ale. 

So here’s my rating of each based on my particular palate. I am rating the two desserts separate from the rest.

MAIN ENTREES

Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil:  This tasty treat deserved to win. I loved it. Baby gulf shrimp, diced red potatoes, onion, lemon, seasoning are formed around a large shrimp, dusted with Fish Fry, fried golden brown and served with remoulade sauce.  Very flavorful and the ingredients mixed well together. Created by Clint Probst

Chicken Fried Loaded Baked Potato:  If you like twice-baked potatoes, you will really love this one. Creamy potato, butter, bacon and cheddar cheese mixed together and coated with a tasty batter and fried crispy on the outside. Served with a ranch dressing sauce.  This one had a nice flavor and did have that twice-baked taste on the inside – the crust around it was really good but not like chicken fried crust, which in my opinion, was good. Created by Butch Benavides

Fried Sriracha Balls:  I loved this one as well – it would have been up there right beneath the fried shrimp boil.  Shredded chicken, corn, green chilies, tomatoes, and Sriracha hot sauce formed into balls, coated with crispy tortilla chips and flash fried.  This one was pretty spicy – in a good way – and served with extra Sriracha sauce which some said was really hot and spicy.  Either way, yummy.  Created by Mark Zable

Deep Fried Breakfast for Dinner:  This one was my least favorite mainly because it seemed like what I eat for breakfast only all mixed up and fried. The flour tortilla was stuffed with eight breakfast items – scrambled eggs, breakfast sausage, bacon, potatoes, ham, onion, cheddar cheese and gooey cinnamon roll bits – deep fried and served with three sauces – country gravy, salsa and/or queso.  It was tasty but not as original as the other finalists. Created by Edna Sutton and Tom Grace

Twisted Texas Tacos:  I was skeptical on how unique a taco could be, but this one was terrific and also one of my favorites.  This taco starts with a beef brisket double dipped in BBQ spiced buttermilk batter and deep fried , then served in a warm flour tortilla, layered with a Mexican cheese blend, crispy fried okra, and a sweet and crunchy tri-color slaw, topped with zesty poblano and sweet pepper corn. The sauce served with the taco was also yummy – creamy country gravy mixed with spicy Texas chili. This finalist was very original and delicious.  Created by Christi Erpillo.

Funnel Cake Ale:  Yes, this is really an ale drink with a sweetness to it based on the original funnel cake. I actually liked it as I like beer, and this ale was light and sweet. It did win Most Creative and deservedly so. Created by Justin Martinez

DESSERTS

Although none of the desserts won the big prizes, they are both in the running for my dessert faves. Don’t ask the calorie or fat count! I will definitely eat these again during the Fair:

Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet:  What’s not to like – a blueberry muffin using scone-style batter stuffed with cream cheese, blueberries and white chocolate bits, then baked and deep fried, then topped off with whipped cream, white chocolate morsels, powdered sugar, blueberries, and blueberry glaze. This was to die for.  Created by Isaac Rousso

Fried Sweet Texas:  Fresh pie dough filled with pecan pie, peach cobbler, and buttermilk pie, then deep fried until crust is golden brown and flaky, served with Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream. This one tasted sort of like a fried pie – totally yummy.  Created by Justin Martinez

SFOT - Blue Bonnets

So that’s the lineup. This year’s State Fair of Texas runs from Friday, September 26 – Sunday, October 19, 2014. Hope you go to the fair, try all these unique creations and have fun!

– Valerie Freeman, Imprimis Group CEO