16 September 21 - 27, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Fernie’s Funnel Cakes Wanda “Fernie” Winter started working at the fair in 1969 but it wasn’t until a trip to Branson, Missouri, in 1980 that she tried a funnel cake and brought it back to the fair, where it’s been a hit since. Fernie died two years ago but will always be the queen of funnel cakes. The family continues to hold court. They appeared on A&E series Deep Fried Dynasty in 2022 and divulged a sales goal of $750,000 for each fair season — that’s $30,000 a day. Fernie’s has five stands around the fairgrounds, but if you want to sit down, go to the Embarcadero Building. Deep-Fried Butter Abel Gonzales, “Fried Jesus,” broke the fried-food fourth wall with deep-fried but- ter in 2009. It’s since been copied and served across the globe, but here you get the original. A dollop of frozen butter (that’s key, the butter has to start frozen) is dipped in a butter batter, deep fried to a nice golden brown and topped with a light glaze. This golf ball-sized bite of warm dough is a touch crunchy and sweet on the outside and seeps warm butter when bitten into. You might need a defibrillator later, but it’s 100% worth it. Find this along Nim- itz and along the Midway. Turkey Leg from Smokey John’s The patriarch of this stand, “Smokey” John Reaves, started working at the fair in 1978. Since his death in 2010, his charismatic sons Brent and Juan have been running things. Their barbecue restaurant on Mockingbird Lane draws diners year-round, which lends to the authenticity of this smoked bird leg. El- evate this feast by having the leg dipped in their warm house-made barbecue sauce. Dip the whole thing in there. There are four loca- tions: the Midway, Cotton Bowl Plaza, the Tower Building and Nimitz. Deep-Fried Oreo Tami and Rick Stifflers run Newport Con- cessions. They had their first date at the State Fair more than 40 years ago. These days, they pass the time selling more than 75,000 deep-fried Oreos each year at the fair. The secret, they say, is the Double Stuf Oreo variety, which takes a bath in a thick batter before a swim in the fryer. This is a mouthful of First-Team All-American de- bauchery. Stand up and clap, people! Find Stiffler’s Sweet Spot along the Midway and Nimitz. Deep-Fried Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich This inaugural Big Tex Choice Award win- ner in 2005 was originally a deep-fried homage to the King of Rock and Roll, El- vis: a PB&J with banana, although the ba- nana no longer makes an appearance. (The banana has left the building.) Still, this snack is very “Love Me Tender,” with a side of late-life fluffy Elvis. Grape jelly and creamy peanut butter are slathered on white bread, which is rolled in pancake batter before being fried. Then it’s topped with more jelly and powdered sugar. This is another treat from Abel Gonzalez and his Vandelay Industries stand and can be found on Nimitz. Observer’s Big Tex Picks The Big Tex Awards is the answer to that question that comes around the bend every fall: “What are they going to fry next?” The Big Tex Choice Awards started in 2005, launching fried-food high-jinks into outer space. With these awards, fair concession- aires had a shiny goal. Getting a Big Tex Award is a game- changer. Not just anyone can throw their hat into the Big Tex Awards ring, though. Contestants must have been a vendor at the fair for at least one year, proving they’re able to meet the de- mand of more than 2 million fairgoers over 24 days straight, through heat, rain, cold or whatever else Texas spits out in the fall. Also, all entries must be new to the fair, meaning nothing can have been on a menu previously. The competition opens in early July with 36 semifinalists, which are then whittled down to 10 finalists: five savory and five sweet. The winners this year, as chosen by a panel of judges in August, were Bourbon Ba- nana Caramel Sopapillas for most creative, Deep Fried Pho for best savory and Biscoff Delight for best sweet. Those will be great and the lines will likely be long, so here are a few others to try. Fernie’s Fried Cherry Pie in the Sky This is our first stop at the fair this year. Tart cherries and shortbread cookies are deep- fried in a flakey crust and topped with almond butter shortbread crumbles, which is topped with vanilla Blue Bell and drizzled with cherry preserves and whipped cream, which is topped with powdered sugar and dark cher- ries. Find these at The Dock on Nimitz. Peanut Butter Paradise This is last year’s Big Tex Choice Award win- ner in the sweet category, but in our artery- clogged hearts, this wins everyday. The concessionaires own SouthSide Steaks and Cakes, just outside the fairgrounds, literally making them the home team. For Peanut But- ter Paradise they inject a honey bun with car- amel and dip it in funnel cake batter before hitting the fryer. It’s then topped with peanut butter, Reese’s peanut butter candy and one peanut butter cup, all of which melts a little from the heat of the fryer and — we mean this in the best way — it’s lethal. You can find these at Texas Cheesesteaks SouthSide Steaks and Cakes in the Cotton Bowl Plaza. Deep-Fried Cheesy Crab Tater Bites Minced crab meat is blended with potato, cheese and spices, fried to a golden brown and served with a cheesy Cajun sauce that has a base of onions, bell peppers and celery (think gumbo). A sprinkle of Cajun spices is added along with the final touch of crawfish. Find these in the Magnolia Beer Garden and at Cajun Cowboy near Big Tex. Observer Picks for New Fair Food Getting into the fair as a food concession- aire is almost as difficult as getting a driver’s license. Potential vendors have to show they can provide that “Howdy, Y’all” experience consistently. There are plenty of forms to fill out and hoops to jump through. Here are some rookie foods we’re excited to try. Eataly’s Fried Cacio e Pepe The giant Italian grocery store, Eataly, opened in Dallas in 2020 and it’s working its way deep into the heart of Texas. They’ll be serving up an Italian classic with a state fair twist: fried cacio e pepe. Pasta is tossed with a rich Pecorino Romano cheese and ground black pepper, then molded into a ball, deep- fried and served with a side of house-made marinara sauce. It looks like a huge pasta hockey puck (but yummy). Eataly’s booth is outside of Grand Place near First Avenue. Sandoitchi Sandos This pop-up is popping up at the fair this year. If you’re a fan of the Japanese milk bread sando, you’ll be glad to know nothing here is fried. Try their classic Strawberry Cream Sando: strawberries and chantilly cream between thick Japanese milk bread. Sandoitchi is in the Tower Building. Deep Fried Vietnamese Coffee Real Vietnamese coffee will make you hear color. It’s amazing. For this treat they infuse cake with the slow brewed coffee, which is rolled into a ball, battered and fried. Like al- most everything else here, it’s dusted with powdered sugar and served with condensed milk, which is key. Deep Fried Vietnamese Coffee is at Eat Crispies stand along the Midway. Fried Fireball Shots Why not? Fried Fireball comes with a shot of the malt-liquor version of the liquor (no hard booze at the fair) and a square of angel food cake. This devil and angel concoction is at the Pizza and Nacho stand along the Mid- way near the Cotton Bowl Plaza. Hacks for a Successful Fair Outing Yes, all of this is expensive. But, there are many tricks and tips. General admission is $15 to $25 depending on age, day and time. There are a variety of ways to get into the fair at a discounted price (see below). But there are also a few tricks for avoiding long lines and getting discounted food. Follow these steps in this order: 1. Insider Deals Each Monday the fair will release a special promo code that provides “fair insiders” special access to $10 tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Go to BigTex.com/Insider to sign up. 2. Purchase your coupons in advance online First: tickets and coupons are two different things. Tickets get you inside the gates; cou- pons are for food, rides and games. Each coupon is $1. Unused tickets cannot be re- deemed for money, but they never expire and can be used any year. It’s highly recom- mended to avoid the big wet blanket that is the coupon line and purchase coupons on- line beforehand. See BigTex.com. 3. Do Thrifty Thursdays On Thrifty Thursdays, participating food vendors offer a signature item at a reduced price. Get slightly smaller portions (al- though some serve regular sizes) at reduced prices. If you’re in it for the food, Thursdays are your Huckleberry. Also, you can couple Thrifty Thursday with a Big Tex Insider promo to save money on a ticket. 4. Go any day it rains Sure it’s wet, but you’re tough. The fair is no- toriously slow when it rains, but funnel cakes don’t sleep. Concessionaires still have sales goals to meet. They’ll be so happy to see you. If it rains during the fair, call in sick. The fair even has a doctor’s note for you on- line. See BigTex.com/doctorsnote. 5. Download the food map The fair posts an online food map each year (including the Big Tex winners). Download that map, figure out what gate you’ll be en- tering through and have a rough idea of where to find your must-haves. Find the map at BigTex.com/plan-your-visit/map. Other Discounts $10 Opening Day: Bring two jars of peanut butter for the North Texas Food Bank on Opening Day and get in for $10. Kid’s price after 5 p.m.: Want to hit the fair for dinner after work? Cool. Everyone gets in for the kid’s price after 5 p.m. every day. $5 for Five Cans on Wednesdays: Remember the State Fair of Texas is a giant nonprofit. On Wednesdays bring five cans of food for $5 entry. All canned donations go to the North Texas Food Bank. McDonald’s Coupons: Most North Texas Mc- Donald’s will give out coupons for $5 off week- days and $7 off weekends with any purchase. State Fair of Texas City of Ate from p15 Peanut Butter Paradise is back at the fair this year.
