As we approach the upcoming Red River Showdown between the Texas Longhorns and the Oklahoma Sooners, undoubtedly many parkgoers will make the pilgrimage to the fairgrounds to see the big game in Cotton Bowl Stadium. While they are there, they will no doubt enjoy state fair staples such as pretzels, cotton candy, and deep-fried butter on a stick. This year, however, six savory food dishes have been chosen as the fair’s very best savory award dishes. These dishes articulate the best of the best of fair food, and it seems only fitting that the Roundup gives you the thick and skinny before the big game this weekend.
Texas Fried Burnt-End Bombs
WHERE: Bert’s
PRICE: 22 Tickets
This concoction of meat and potatoes harkens back to one of last year’s savory finalists, the Texas Barbeque Shotgun Shells. The dish itself is two spherical balls, with a flaky potato/cheese exterior and a brisket center. The brisket is very tender, teetering on have too much juiciness, as it will get all over your hands and create a sticky mess. The potatoes wrapped around the brisket are a combination of mashed and shredded potatoes. They are cooked quite well and do not distract from the brisket in a meaningful manner. However, one issue with this dish is the cheese: There is simply not enough. Had I not told you about the cheese being in the dish, you likely wouldn’t have even noticed it had you gone to try one of these deep-fried treats yourself. Due to the lack of cheese, the dish can feel almost monotonous at times, making you feel as if you are simply having a mediocre barbeque platter rather than a fair treat. Overall, the dish is alright, though I do not think it is worth the 22 dollars that are asked for.
RATING: 5.6/10
Dominican Fritura Dog
WHERE: Trio on the Green/Footlong Corn Dog
PRICE: 16 Tickets
This delectable treat excels at combining both the unique flavor profile of Dominican salami and the classic fair food staple, the Corn Dog. Though much smaller than I originally expected it to be, this dish still shines and numerous areas and definitely earns its spot as the best Savory Dish. Firstly, the exterior. The Corndog Shell is a nice golden-brown consistency that pairs perfectly with the sauce, cheese, and salami. The salami is cooked to absolute perfection and makes the dish worth the price on its own. The cheese provides an amazing pairing to the salami, giving a punch of flavor that stops the salami from being too overpowering. Lastly the sauce- a distinct pink color- is absolutely astounding. It provides a great kick of semi-sweet flavor that pushes this dish into the upper echelon of fair food. This has become one of my favorite fair dishes of all time.
RATING: 9.5/10
Drowning Taquitos
WHERE: Tony’s Taco Shop
PRICE: 20 Tickets
Definitely one of the “healthier” options on the list. The Drowning Taquitos feature three corn tortilla taquitos stuffed with shredded chicken and cheese that are then put in a cup filled with guacamole and sour cream. The shredded chicken is cooked quite well, and while I prefer flour tortillas, the texture of the corn tortilla paired really well with the sour cream and guacamole. The guacamole was very bland and dull. While the dish is pretty good, it lacks that extra punch to put it in the upper tier of fair food. One issue is that while it looks like a lot of food, after you finish the taquitos, there is a bunch of sour cream and guacamole left over. I feel like if the restaurant gave you some tortilla chips to finish off the remaining sour cream and guac, this would feel like a more complete dish. However, it is still a very solid dish on its own.
RATING: 7.7/10
Hot Chick-in-Pancake Poppers
WHERE: Palmer’s Hot Chicken
PRICE: 15 Tickets
While a good idea on paper (Nashville Hot Chicken stuffed in pancake batter) this idea fails to live up to expectations in execution. First, the good: For the cost, this is some of the most food you can get at the fair. For just 15 dollars, you get three reasonably sized balls of hot chicken and pancake batter. Also, the chicken lives up to the Nashville Hot standard. It delivers a nice kick of spice without drawing too much attention away from the rest of the dish. However, there are some pretty big complaints with this dish. Firstly, while I did give props to the dish for not having the spice be overpowering, I still think that it could be improved if they added more pancake batter. As it stands currently, the balls sort of just fall apart on their own, which is very annoying. The added pancake batter could provide much needed structural integrity to the dish. Second, it doesn’t make sense that no kind of syrup or honey is provided to dip the poppers in. When you eat pancakes, you use syrup/honey, so why not here? The dish is very dry as it stands, and a side cup of maple syrup could give the dish a nice bit of sweetness that could compliment the spicy chicken perfectly. This dish has a good foundation, but there is lots of room for improvement.
RATING: 5.4/10
Hippie Chips
WHERE: Bailey’s
PRICE: 12 Tickets
Last and certainly least, we have the Hippie Chips. This was by far the most disappointing savory dish the fair had to offer. The dish is a bag of Wavy Lay’s with blue cheese, green onions, bacon, and ranch dressing on top. Nothing about this dish is remarkable or memorable in any way. The chips are generic store-bought chips, and they are extremely salty for seemingly no reason. The bacon was bland and a little burnt. The blue cheese was sticky and dull, and the green onions were little more than a fancy garnish. The ranch dressing was quite flavorless and disappointing. One of the only redeeming qualities of this dish is the price-to-food ratio. It’s a lot of food for just 12 dollars, but even then, I still consider it overpriced for the finished product. It’s a very poorly thought-out dish, in my opinion, and I seriously question why it was selected as one of the savory finalists.
RATING: 2.2/10
That’s a wrap for the savory! Overall, it was a strong year for all of the savory nominees. The Dominican Fritura Dog’s victory was well deserved, and many of the other competitors were strong candidates as well. Next year’s batch of contestants will have the tough task of being an encore to this lineup of savory delights. Remember, the fair ends October 20th, so go try some the savory dishes while you still can.
