Every year, The (great) State Fair of Texas hosts a press event before dawn to announce the finalists of their Big Tex Choice Awards food competition. Journalists are ready with posts that will go live moments after the announcement. Camera crews from local news sources jockey for position. Influencers beg for selfies with Little Tex, a live, in-person mascot-person walking around dressed as an unblinking Big Tex. There are mic checks. There are bright lights. There is a lot of perfume and hairspray in the air. And if you think this deep-fried-hot-dog-and-pony show is ridiculous, you can leave Texas RTFN.
Here in Texas, we don’t just announce finalists for a mostly-fried-food competition—before that, we announce semifinalists. It’s like the James Beard Awards PR team got super drunk and said, “Why are we focusing on scouring the country for innovators in the culinary field when we had innovators in the carnival field RIGHT HERE ALL ALONG??”
These are the people who looked at a hot dog and said, “No. You are not enough.” These are the people who woke up one day, threw pancake batter in a fryer, hit it with some powdered sugar on top, and said, “You’re welcome.” If you have a favorite food, they’ve fried it. Twice.
The people of The Big Tex Choice Awards are outstanding in their concessionaire field. And once a year, we must honor them.
Your 2023 Big Tex Choice Awards finalists were selected from a field of 36 semi-finalists by an internal panel of very important judges. In a few weeks, this group of 10 will fight for trophies in the categories of Best Sweet, Best Savory, and Most Creative.
I walked into the press event on the wrong side of the curtain, so I saw some of the finalists backstage before they were announced. This also means I saw their food waiting to be tasted, sitting on tables for quite some time. There was nary a fryer in sight. I spent the entire drumroll of the presentation doing Good Will Hunting safe food temperature math in my head, wondering which foods would be slowly becoming my enemies backstage. Would the fried cheesecake be a friend or foe? Would I risk trying the deep-fried cheesy crab tater bites? Yes. Yes, I must. It was my duty as a very serious journalist to do so.
Let’s take our insides on a ride. Here are your 10 finalists for the 2023 Big Tex Choice Awards, and my thoughts on which ones deserve your digestive real estate:
Savory
Deep Fried Cheesy Crab Tater Bites
Food: You take minced crab meat, shredded potato, cheese, and spices, roll that up into a ball and fry it. Top it with “cheesy crawfish sauce,” and you’re set.
Vendor: Isaac Rousso has been a finalist at the Big Tex Choice Awards eight times. You probably remember him from Deep Fried Halloween, Deep Fried Cookie Fries, and Deep Fried Pop Tarts.
Thoughts: These little guys reminded me of the Tater Kegs at White Rock Alehouse. If you like crab and crawfish, these would pair nicely with the fair’s finest chugged beer.
Deep Fried Pho
Food: You take a traditional Vietnamese comfort food and you fry it. Roll up noodles, beef, fresh herbs, and bean sprouts and fry them up. Each roll-up comes with a side of broth for dipping, lime, jalapeños, cilantro, hoisin sauce, and sriracha.
Vendor: Michelle Le is making her debut as a finalist, but she’s been at the fair since 2011. The most popular items at her booth are Deep Fried Chicken Skin, Fried Oreos, and Fried Snickers.
Thoughts: This was easily my favorite of the day. Maybe everyone else should take note and include sriracha in their dishes. Don’t skip this one. If it doesn’t win Best Savory and Most Creative this year, someone messed up.
Loaded Fries Pizza
Food: You take loaded French fries and as the Olsen Twins would say, “Put it on a pizza!”
Vendor: Tom Grace has been a finalist at the BTCA five times. He won Best Savory and Most Creative with his Funnel Cake Bacon Queso Burger in 2017.
Thoughts: When your friend gets too drunk at the fair, this is what you shove in their face to bring them back to life. Grace suggested that it’s also a great breakfast food, and I wouldn’t disagree one bit.
OX’cellent Soul Roll
Food: “Tasty chunks of meat” and crumbled homestyle cornbread are paired with butter, celery, and sweet onions. Roll the beef mixture into a light and flaky, crispy spring roll, and then, #FRYIT.
Vendor: Kerston and Shawn Thorns run Pearlie’s Southern Kitchen, and this is their first time making it into the finals at the BTCA. They are going into their fourth season at the fair and have been recognized on The Kelly Clarkson Show for their deep-fried potato salad.
Thoughts: You can easily walk and chastise your child at the fair while you eat this, which is really the true test of a fair food item.
Turkey Ribs!
Food: Fried turkey meat, served with stuffing-seasoned fries, homemade giblet gravy, and secret salsa. Or order it Texas-style: BBQ sauce, fries, jalapeños, and pickles.
Vendor: Abel Gonzales is Fried Jesus. He won the competition with Fried PB&J, Fried Coke, Fried Butter, Fried Cookie Dough, and Fried Jambalaya. He hasn’t been in the finals of this competition since 2015. Likely, he was hiding under a rock and now (obviously), He is Fried-Risen.
Thoughts: It’s important to note that the exclamation point in the name of this item is part of the name of the item. I didn’t add it. For that alone, this item should win some kind of award. It’s chicken-fried turkey with gravy and fries. It’s like the McRib but offered for an even shorter limited time. I’d go with the gravy version over the Texas-style version.
Sweet
Biscoff® Delight
Food: Take cheesecake, roll it in one of those Biscoff cookies you get on a Southwest flight, drizzle it with rich Belgian chocolate, and put it on a stick.
Vendor: Stephen El Gidi is a first-time entrant and first-time finalist in the BTCA. But—hold on—way to bury the lede, Steve: He’s a two-time Olympic competitor, swimming in both the Beijing and London Olympics. He represented his home country, Libya, during the events, and was also the country’s flagbearer during the 2012 opening ceremony.
Thoughts: Each vendor writes their own description of their food entry, and this one was my favorite: “Finally, a crowning glory is bestowed upon this culinary marvel with a perfectly placed Biscoff® cookie that entices you to embrace pure indulgence.” I mean—BESTOWED?? I hope you’re enticed to embrace pure indulgence, y’all. I enjoyed this bite, and I think next year he should offer bite-sized pieces like the samples we got and serve them like Dibs. Might make it a little more portable. But, a giant cheesecake slice on a stick is also very Instagrammable. #influenceralert.
Bourbon Banana Caramel Sopapillas
Food: Traditional sopapillas are topped with vanilla-caramel-infused bananas, sweet bourbon syrup, crushed candied pecans, sweetened mascarpone cheese, crumbled Nilla Wafers, and dusted with powdered sugar.
Vendor: Cody and Lauren Hays are returning as finalists for the third time, and have been finalists in the past with Deep Fried Banana Pudding and Deep Fried Rocky Road.
Thoughts: If you’re Texan, you can’t pass up a sopapilla at the end of a meal. The Hays Family is debuting a new booth this year that will focus on sopapillas, and this is one of their favorites. This one’s a real contender for Best Sweet.
Fernie’s Fried Cherry Pie in the Sky
Food: Hey, you guys. Let’s fry a tiny cherry pie. Not like a pie pocket, but like a tiny, cute little pie. And then, we’ll serve it with Blue Bell Ice Cream.
Vendor: Christi Erpillo and Johnna McKee are not vendors you want to see if you’re a Big Tex Choice Awards Finalist: They’re too good. You know them from Deep Fried Peaches, Deep Fried Mac & Cheese, Fried Toffee Coffee Crunch Cake and so many more. They’ve been in the finals 15 times in 19 years of the competition.
Thoughts: It’s fried cherry pie. With ice cream. What are the questions here? Of course, you need to eat it, and of course, it could win.
Sweet Encanto
Food: This Latin American-inspired dish is not fried. We repeat: It is not fried. A thin waffle is topped with dulce de leche, cream, strawberries, kiwis, peaches, and shredded coconut. Finally, it’s drizzled with raspberry jam and their homemade condensed milk (a closely guarded family recipe).
Vendor: Tony and Terry Bednar have been fair vendors since 2021, and this is their first time in the BTCA finals.
Thoughts: This item is super delicate and is a nice addition to the sea of heavy fair foods. Although, admittedly, it is unusual to see a real fruit that hasn’t been fried. It feels like once you enter the fairgrounds, all foods just magically turn into fried versions of themselves. Not sure how these got past security.
Trail-Ade
Food: This non-alcoholic beverage is a blend of summer fruits, cucumber, mint, and homemade lemonade.
Vendor: Ruth Hauntz is a six-time finalist in the Big Tex Choice Awards, and is known for being the most likable person on the planet, as well as the inventor of Fried Jell-O. With help from Brent and Juan Reaves (of Big Red Chicken Bread and The Ultimate Brookie Monster fame), their teams have made the finals 10 times in the 19 years of the BTCA.
Thoughts: Kids will love this drink, and it’s also nice as a non-alcoholic option for your mocktail friends. Statistically speaking, beverages tend to do well in the finals, particularly in the Most Creative category. Should the State Fair of Texas In-Charge People add a beverage competition that’s separate from the food competition? Absolutely. It’s too hard to judge these against the foods in the competition. I don’t see this one winning this year, with cherry pie and cheesecake in the mix, but you really should throw some tickets at it. Pair this with a corny dog, and you’re set.
Winners of the 2023 Big Tex Choice Awards will be crowned Sunday, August 27. The State Fair of Texas opens September 29 and runs through October 22. Set your alarms and hide your bathroom scales.
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