The State Fair of Texas is back! We’ve previously mentioned the State Fair of TX here, and after spending a sunny Sunday at the fair again over this past weekend, and tasting some of the new yummy treats, I wanted to share what you should eat at the State Fair of TX this year and what you should skip. For me, the whole point of the State Fair of TX is to try all of the increasingly creative fried foods.
It is mandatory to eat a Fletcher’s corny dog. Specifically, from the stand right in front of Big Tex. Grab your corny dog, squirt on your condiment of choice, and selfie with Big Tex.
The fried frito pie was pretty good. Crushed fritos made up the outer batter surrounding the cheesy chili inside.
The cookie fries were the thing I was most excited to try. It won the Big Tex Choice Award for “Most Creative” this year. I tried the sprinkle cookie fries with chocolate dipping sauce. They were good, but I have to admit they could have been better. The actual cookie fry didn’t have a lot of flavor on its own. I preferred it dipped in the chocolate.
The other new item I was intrigued by was the Big Tex Choice Award winner for “Best Taste”- fried Jell-O. It did have great flavor, but the texture of the Jell-O was a little off putting. The act of frying the Jell-O broke it down and made a chunky gooey consistency.
New to the State Fair of Texas this year is the new Trio on the Green which brings a new concept of “bites and flights”. Serving trios of appetizers and drinks and located under three oak trees outside the Coliseum, this shady destination serves everything in threes, from sliders and fries to flights of beer and wine.
I loved this area and could have spent all afternoon there. After trying some flights of wine, I wanted to hang out and try some of the “bites”, but Mark Cuban showed up creating a bit of a crowd surge. He was there to promote the edible cola, which apparently is from a company he invested in on Shark Tank.
The edible soda I tried is a blueberry flavored cup with cotton candy flavored soda. It’s definitely an interesting concept. The soda was good and was not as sweet as I was expecting a cotton candy flavored soda to be. The cup is best described as a thick fruit roll up. It is pliable, sticky, and when bitten into very chewy.
A fair food staple, tator twisters. This was a particularly perfect batch- crispy, not soggy.
The wine garden is another great spot to grab a table and taste some great Texas made wines.
Chicken fried bacon aka a heart attack waiting to happen. But hey, when in Rome 🙂
The store inside the Go Texan Pavilion is a great place to stock up on a variety of Texas made food products. Most prices are actually lower than what you find in grocery stores.
The last treat of the day ended up being my favorite. The Dr. Pepper Chocolate Chip Ice Cream was heavenly. It had a strong Dr. Pepper flavor and the texture of the chocolate chips took it to another level. The good news is, this ice cream is not exclusive to the fair, and can be purchased year round at Howdy Homemade.
It was a great day spent at the fair trying lots of yummy things. Did you go to the State Fair of Texas over opening weekend? What did you try? Or if you haven’t made it yet but plan to go, what are you most excited to taste? Tweet us and let us know!
-Ash xx
