So, if you haven’t been fortunate enough to travel to the best city in Texas, Dallas (yes, I’m biased and proud), you have two more weekends to fully capitalize on your Dallas adventures by going to the iconic State Fair of Texas in the historic Fair Park. Last October, the city of Dallas suffered an agonizing loss when Big Tex burned down from an electrical fire. The 52-foot cowboy had been a symbol of the state fair since 1952, but don’t fret, he has been rebuilt in all his glory in time for this year’s fair, of which I had the great pleasure of attending last weekend. As a Dallas native, the state fair is an annual fall festivity for us, but, tradition aside, the real reason we all go to the fair is for the fried food, because who doesn’t like clogging their arteries? The range of fried food offered at the fair is very large. You can get classics like fried cookie dough and funnel cake, or you can venture toward the unknown and try fried Thanksgiving dinner or deep fried spaghetti and meatballs. Below is a list of fan favorites to try:
Fried Thanksgiving Dinner: It’s your favorite meal stuffed into a little ball and then fried: stuffing, diced turkey and creamed corn in a fried ball of deliciousness; served with cranberry dipping sauce and brown gravy.
Deep-Fried Cuban Roll: Basically an egg roll filled with Cuban sandwich (ingredients: pork shoulder, ham and Swiss cheese in a small roll. Served with mysterious Mojo sauce.
Loaded Avocado Crispy Fries: Yes. Just yes. Delicious avocado fried to perfection and loaded with Monterey Jack cheese, queso, bacon crumbles, cilantro and jalapeno slices.
Golden Fried Millionaire Pie: Imagine pineapple upside down cake and pecan pie coming together in fried matrimony.
Deep Fried Nutella: You can never go wrong with Nutella. Flaky crepe like outer-shell enveloping spoonfuls of Nutella covered with more Nutella, powdered sugar, strawberries and bananas.
Deep Fried Spaghetti and Meatballs: Pasta, marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese fried inside a cheddar biscuit.
The list of food goes on, and you should really attempt to sample as many different kinds of fried delicacies as you can in order to get the full fried-food fair experience. If the fried food isn’t enticing enough, there are also pig races, ostrich races (yes, these exist and, yes, I have had the pleasure of viewing them), petting zoos for your inner child, dog shows, BMX shows and, of course, classic midway games with giant plush toys for prizes. A state fair must-do is the Texas Star ferris wheel. It’s a symbol of Fair Park and gives you a great view of the fair and downtown Dallas. I recommend riding the Ferris wheel at night, as all the fair lights are lit up, providing a truly spectacular view. Trying to be frugal at the fair is hard, so plan on spending a lot of money and just go all-in and enjoy everything the fair has to offer.
