15 September 26 - OctOber 2, 2024 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents Deep Fried Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich This was the OG Big Tex Choice Award winner in 2005. Fried Jesus, Able Gonzalez, puts childhood in a paper boat and sprinkles it with powdered sugar. A regular ol’ peanut butter and jelly sandwich gets a pancake- batter bath, then is deep fried and served in triangles (no squares here). Find this on Nimitz Drive. Deep Fried Pho This was a Big Tex Choice Award winner in 2023 and the stand was flanked by long lines all season. Perhaps this year it’ll be easier to get your hands on this “bowl of pho” with noodles and thinly sliced beef swaddled in a tortilla served with a side of the essential broth, along with the requisite cilantro and jalapenos.This stand, Eat Crispies, is located on The Midway. Hidden Gems Lupita’s Gorditas For more than 25 years, Lupita Valerio has served up home-cooked gorditas, street ta- cos, tortas and nachos from a small stand on the Midway. But it’s the traditional Mexican soups served on the weekends that make her small but mighty food stand one-of-a- kind. Alongside the regular menu, on Satur- day she serves pozole, a hearty stew of hominy, meat and spices. On Sunday she has menudo, a rustic soup of simmered tripe, hominy and red chiles. If you want to try these, we suggest you hit her stand early. The soups usually sell out by 11 a.m. each day. Lupita’s Gorditas is on the Midway. Patty Melt Katie Maher has been cooking outstanding fair food since 1998. According to Melanie Linnear, senior vice president of conces- sions at the fair, Maher was the first food vendor to introduce the deep-fried Twinkie at the State Fair of Texas. But it’s her melt-in-your-mouth patty melt that has everyone lining up. Each patty melt is made to order, hot and fresh. Pair with Maher’s fresh-cut fries for a real treat. Katie’s Café is in the Fun Way area. Bailey’s Black Eyed Pea Soup Rose Mary Deschenes and her husband Tom have been running their booth at the fair for 35 years. Over that time, their black-eyed pea soup has gained a cult following. But many fairgo- ers still don’t know about this warm and comforting dish topped with fresh chopped onion and jalapeños and served with a side of cornbread. Don’t sleep on the chance to have one of the few vegetarian and gluten-free options at the fair. Baileys is in the Tower Building. Stuffed Wings The Young family have been fair vendors since 2015. Here, they take fried chicken wings to the next level. Jumbo chicken wing flats are deboned and stuffed with a rice mixture, then generously seasoned and deep-fried until golden brown. The crispy stuffed wing drips in their signature sweet sauce. Pair a wing with an order of garlic fries (spicy or plain) and a mango iced tea to wash it all down. Stuffed Wings is in the Tower Building. Must-Try New Foods Texapolitan Pizza Stephan Nedwetzky brought his brick-oven baked pizzas to the fair in 2022. He has a res- taurant by the same name in Van Alstyne where he leans on his barbecue acumen for pizza toppings such as spicy smoked sausage, pulled pork and brisket. It’s a beautiful, richly flavored mashup of Texas-style barbecue and Neapolitan-style pizza. This year go for the Holy Cheeseus, a signature event with seven cheeses topped with a bit of cracked pepper and hot honey. A brisket-topped pie will do as well. Texapolitan Pizza is on Grand Avenue, close to Big Tex. Beso de Angel This kiss from an angel is a sugary fritter taco filled with a “family se- cret” sweet crema, strawberry preserves, whipped cream, cajeta (caramel) and sweet condensed milk. Each is topped off with fresh strawber- ries. We’ll take seven. Find these at Tony’s Taco Shop in the Tower Building and on Lone- star Boulevard. Caramel Macchiato Fritters Cake balls stuffed with caramel are dipped in a beignet batter and fried, then topped with whipped cream, caramel and white chocolate drizzle. Then (THEN!) they in- ject espresso into each fritter. There are three to an order. Find these at Crazy Ottos & Gulf Coast Grill locations on First Avenue and Big Tex Circle. Waffle Stix The Zable family brought Belgian waffles to the fair 60 years ago. This year they’re intro- ducing Waffle Stix served warm, dipped in Belgian chocolate (milk, white or dark) then rolled in toppings such as crunchy salted caramel pearls, chocolate shavings, mini M&M’s, marshmallows, sprinkles or choco- late shavings. Find this at Waffle Works in the Tower Building. LAY’S Potato Chip Drink Yes, you can drink your chips at the fair. So here, a mango and citrus juices are laced with hot honey, jalapeno syrup and strawberry drizzle. Then a layer of cool sweet foam is added, all of which is crowned with a large handful of LAY’S Sweet and Spicy Honey Po- tato Chips. Oddly, this sounds good. Located in the Tower Building at Milton’s Milton’s Giant Amish Doughnut Amish doughnuts are yeast-based cake-like doughnuts. The ingredients here aren’t what makes this special, it’s the sheer size. This is a doughnut Homer Simpson would marry. You could wear the sourdough-based treat as a bracelet. After being fried up, it’s dipped in a vanilla glaze. Find these at Mil- ton’s Amish Doughnuts on Grand Avenue. The Joe Celebrating its 75th year at the State Fair, Nevins Concessions has introduced five new smashed burgers all named after own- ers. Top billing goes to The Joe made with two smashed patties, a slice of American cheese (of course), bacon, fried jalapeno caps and an egg, sunny side up. Find these at Nevins on Gateway. Standing on Business Last but not least, the crew at Smokey John’s has put everything at the fair into one dish. As for the name, per the description from Smokey John’s, “standing on business, you lack nothing.” So, a sugar cone bowl is filled with salted caramel ice cream, topped with a dark chocolate cookie from Cookie Society (the best cookies in this city), topped with a piece of deep-fried sweet potato pie, then drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauce. But wait. you’ll also get a few french fries and a fried chicken wing with it. Stand on that business. This will live and breathe at Smokey John’s on Funway, Nimitz Drive and Cotton Bowl Plaza. State Fair of Texas Turkey legs are a delicious fair staple. State Fair of Texas Beso de Angel
