It's arguably the best thing about August in Texas — the State Fair of Texas food finalists are announced. And to make it even sweeter, this year's competition includes drinks.
The contest is divided into three categories: savory, sweet and "sippers." The Big Tex Choice Awards on Thursday, Aug. 21, will pick the best from each category and name one entry Most Creative.
Let's dig in.
Savory
Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels: smoked brisket and cheese baked inside pretzel dough
Crab & Mozzarella Arancini: deep-fried balls of Maryland blue crab, white rice and mozzarella cheese coated in breadcrumbs
Deep Fried Deli Tacos: deep fried tacos stuffed with pastrami, mashed potatoes, cheese and chives
Vietnamese Crunch Dog: marinated meat, battered and coated in panko and bahn mi crumbs and deep fried
Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders: Cajun-seasoned beef patty with cheese and bacon sandwiched between two deep-fried deviled egg halves
Sweet
Candy Lemon Sour Face: a candy-coated lemon
Chill & Thrill Delight: diced mango, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries soaked in watermelon and lime juice and topped with shaved mango sorbet
Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake: chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi and tahini topped with New York-style cheesecake and drizzled with chocolate, pistachio cream and crushed pistachios
Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries: funnel cake strips drizzled with Belgian chocolate, pistachio cream and knafeh pastry
Tex’s Toast á la Mode: French toast topped with Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and drizzled with caramel and maple syrup and sprinkled with cinnamon cereal crunch
Sippers
Coconut Quadruple: coconut slushy topped with coconut ice cream and coconut sprinkles served in a fresh coconut
Cookie Chaos Milkshake: cookie butter milkshake with pieces of snickerdoodle, Golden and classic Oreo cookies, topped with whipped cream and cookie butter dough and a Biscoff cookie
Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up: the State Fair's Lemonade Shake Up but with fresh jalapenos, rimmed with chamoy and Tajin and topped with a piece of honeycomb
Nevins Dirty Red Bull® Tex-arita: a cocktail featuring cream liquor with Blue Razz Pop Rocks, layered with Watermelon Red Bull margarita, Blueberry Red Bull margarita and topped with Pop Rocks
Poppin' Boba Rita: a frozen lime juice margarita infused with mango and strawberry boba pearls. Coconut syrup, cold foam and Tajin rim are optional
The State Fair of Texas begins Friday, Sept. 26 and wraps up Sunday, Oct. 19. Find more information at bigtex.com.
