Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Texas Tidbits : Award Winning State Fair of Texas Food!

Big Tex*
In seventeen short days, the first of over three million Texans and visitors from around the world will open the 2010 State Fair of Texas at the historic Fair Grounds in Dallas. The State Fair of Texas is, of course, the largest of the State Fairs in the US. Just like any other big time fair, the State Fair of Texas has all the usual attractions that fair goers have come to expect - roller coasters, the Zipper, the Texas Star Ferris Wheel (the biggest in the world, of course) and THE college football game of the year at the Cotton Bowl - those fine, outstanding young citizen scholar-athletes from the University of Texas and those dirty old rotten egg-suckin' dawgs from the University of Texas at Norman, or as it's properly known, Oklahoma University. Other than the Big game (Hook 'em Horns!), one of the main attractions of the State Fair is the food - fried food specifically. Wikipedia informs us "The fair has been known for years for Fletcher's brand corny dogs. Recent years have seen the introduction of new unusual deep-fried items, including deep-fried Oreo cookies; deep-fried Twinkies; deep-fried pork ribs; fried cheesecake; deep-fried butter; deep-fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwiches; and most recently a batter-based fried Coke. New foods in 2008 included chicken fried bacon and fried banana splits. The State Fair of Texas chose "Ignite Your Senses!" as the 2008 theme" This year's big winners are fried beer and Texas Deep Fried Frito Pie . I am all over both of those! This type of Texas Fine Dining is the stuff that makes me proud to be from The Sacred Soil. This year's State Fair of Texas opens on September 24 and runs through October 17, so you've got plenty of time to make plans to attend. The fried beer is waiting for you, but remember : No eating and driving!

*Photo from fanpop.com
Hat tip to Kim Henning on Facebook

8 comments:

  1. Hey Toby - I think every year they outdo themselves on what to fry up next.

    I just remember riding the school bus when we were like jrs or seniors maybe to the fair and coming home in the evening. I think we went w/ FHA or something. Miss those "fair day" holidays --- since have worked in districts where that holiday is not celebrated... boo!

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  2. Oh of course too - Oprah made the TX State Fair somewhat more famous last year when she filmed a show there. She sampled all that glorious fried food, wore a big ten gallon stetson cowboy hat, and boots!

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  3. LOL @ Oprah in a 10 Gallon hat! Boo,indeed, on those school districts that don't do the Fair thing. I remember in the early grades, we used to get FREE Fair tickets and a day off from school!

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  4. It used to be common for the districts, @ least in Dallas County, to have a Fair Day - came around usually late Sept or early Oct. That meant day off school, fair tickets, and sometimes we even went. Although most of the time, it was just a school holiday when you stayed at home. As I found out in later years, working in non-Dallas County school districts -- who shall be nameless, they don't celebrate that hallowed holiday of Fair Day, and usually don't get the free tickets. What is the world coming to? No Fair Day -- so we have to sneak off and take a sick day to go to the fair.

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  5. I agree, Anonymous. It just doesn't seem right to not have a Fair Day. Thanks for the comment!

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  6. Hang on there Toby.
    I'm UTgrad/TAMU grad school grad, but a life long Crimson and Cream blood pumping OU Sooner fan.

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  7. The Aggies I can deal with. OU, not so much. :)

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  8. Growing up in ETex, I didn't even know where Austin was. It might as well have been on the moon.
    Listened to OU football every Saturday afternoon and LSU that night.
    The guys I played football against and with didn't go to UT, they went just about everywhere but there. When UT-Ark played in the big shootout in '69, two guys from my home town were on the UA team, as well as a bunch of others that I played against.
    James Street, the UT QB, he was from Longview, another reason not to like him. We beat him at everything and laughed when we heard he was the UT QB.
    Besides, real football colors are red and white. That orange...bleccch, I'd rather look at the diaper leavings of strained peas.
    LOL!

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