State Fair Fried Foods

State Fair of Texas fries up another round of outrageous foods

Chicken-fried lobster at the State Fair of Texas

If you crave fried foods, then the State Fair of Texas is the place to be.

Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas

With opening day of the State Fair of Texas one week away, our thoughts turn, inevitably, to fried food. We know about the 2015 Big Tex Choice Awards, where carrot cake twist won for best-tasting entry, and the most creative prize went to a drink, the smoky bacon margarita.

Other entries included pretzel-crusted pollo queso, chicken-fried lobster tail, and fried beer-battered buffalo.

But the finalists for the Big Tex Awards are not the only new food items that will appear at the fair. According to a release, concessionaires spent the entire offseason concocting new foods to showcase. Check out some of this year's other new foods:

Coco-Rita. Fresh whole young coconut with a cut-off top. The juice is removed and replaced with a frozen strawberry margarita or pina colada margarita. It's "complemented" with a straw, umbrella, and spoon. The umbrella maybe, but is a straw really a complement? Located at CBP-1 stand.

Deep Fried Bacon Cheeseburger Basket. An "American" cheeseburger with "chunky" bacon, French fries, hand-battered onion rings, and "homemade" fry sauce, deep-fried in a flour tortilla, chimichanga style, served with several dipping sauces. Located at TB-25 stand.

Fried Tailgate Party. Fried treat loaded with tailgate foods — baby back ribs, pulled pork, chicken wings, grilled burger, cheese stuffed with jalapeno wrapped in bacon, grilled sausage — stuffed inside biscuit dough and deep fried. Served in your favorite teams' colored paper, stuck with toothpicks of their emblem. Located at MLK-1 and P-3 stands.

Fried East Texas Sausage and Pepper Jack Cheese on a Stick. Beer-battered sausage and cheddar cheese with a touch of jalapeños, fried on a stick. Yay for food on a stick. Located at FW-27 stand.

Fried Flan Cake. "Homemade" chocolate cake is baked over a creamy caramel flan before being battered and fried, then crowned with whipped cream and "a delightful caramel sauce that will make your mother proud." They don't know my mother. Located at G-45 stand.

Fried Kettle Corn. Described as "a classic fair food just begging to be deep fried." (Can you hear it saying, "Pwease pwease pwease fry me"?) "Homemade" kettle corn is formed into "old-fashioned" popcorn balls (the modern popcorn balls are so inferior), dipped in pancake batter, and fried. Each ball is topped with salted caramel sauce. Located at FW-19, G-6, and MLK-2 stands.

Laredo Dumpling. Ground beef seasoned with Mexican spices, wrapped in an Asian dumpling, and fried, then served with fresh pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa, or smooth creamy cheese sauce. Located at CBP-18 stand.

Limited Edition Oreos. Located at FW-9 and N-9 stands.

Red velvet: dipped in a red batter, fried, and drizzled with cream cheese icing.
Cookie dough: dipped in a chocolate batter, fried, and drizzled with chocolate syrup and chocolate chips.
Cotton candy: dipped in pink and blue batter, fried, and sprinkled with pink and blue candy sugar served with a side of cotton candy.

Machete. Handmade extra-long corn tortilla fried and stuffed with melted cheese and your choice of meat (pork, spicy chicken, or ground beef). Located at G-32 stand.

Milk Chocolate Bacon on a Stick. A quarter-pound of bacon threaded on a wooden skewer, deep fried, finished on the grill, and dipped in cacao milk chocolate. Located at TB-22 stand.

Pulled Pork Mash. Pulled pork combined with layers of mashed potatoes and a dill or banana pickle slice. Located at TB-3 stand.

Pumpkin Spice Doughnut Chip. Deep-fried crisp doughnut chip coated with pumpkin spiced glaze, served with ice cream smothered with cinnamon candied maple bacon. Located at M-19 stand.

S'more Beer. Ice cold cup trimmed with chocolate and graham cracker crumbs and filled with imperial milk stout beer with vanilla and a thick rich milk chocolate head. It's topped with a large marshmallow. Located at FW-9 and N-9 stands.

Texas Fried Bacon Jalapeño Bites. "Fresh crisp" jalapeños combined with apple-smoked bacon, cream cheese, spicy sausage, and aged Parmesan. It's all coated in jalapeño bread crumbs and fried. Served with a jalapeño lime ranch sauce. Located at FW-5 and TB-12 stands.

Texas Bull Horn. Beef and pork sausage infused with jalapeño and cheddar cheese, stuffed in a "360-degree" hand-cut potato shell and deep fried on a stick. Hot dog and fries in one hearty bite. Located at TB-8 stand.

Tropical Shrimp Kabob. Onion, pineapple, and shrimp grilled with the "perfect blend" of island spices and tropical glaze. Located at FW-5 and TB-12 stands.

state-fair

Blending cultures

Dallas Matcha Club brings community together over trendy green tea

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

Matcha

Members of a unique Dallas social club are bonding over the world's trendiest drink: matcha. The Dallas Matcha Club (DMC) aims to foster a community through a shared love of matcha, while supporting local businesses and making new friends.

Matcha is rapidly growing in popularity worldwide, with the global market projected to reach $6.35 billion by 2029. The tea has its origins in China, but it was developed and refined in Japan; tea leaves are ground into the green powder that's used for matcha lattes and smoothies, whose appeal has skyrocketed in recent years — especially among Gen-Z.

DMC Founder Aaliyah Iwamoto created the social club in October 2024 after moving to Texas from Hawaii.

“Since I'd just moved, I wanted to get to explore the city,” Iwamoto says. “I figured trying new cafes was the perfect way to do it ... I was hoping to meet new people."

Iwamoto, who is of Japanese heritage, says matcha had been a part of her life long before it became buzzy. Whenever she visits Japan, she brings back matcha tins from Nishio — and on a previous trip, even toured a matcha farm.

“When I first started [DMC], I didn't know that [matcha] was going to get as big as it did and have such a global impact,” Iwamoto says.

Now she is parlaying her love of matcha into a social experience with dozens of other matcha enthusiasts in North Texas.

On "matcha meetups," club members visit local coffee shops and matcha hot spots together, from downtown Dallas to Fort Worth to McKinney.

The group also hosts events at which members can gain new skills and hobbies. Matcha-specific activities have included classes where they've made chawans, or “matcha bowls,” as well as matcha-whisking workshops. They've also hosted more general-interest events such as paint and sips, Pilates classes, bracelet making, picnics, yoga sessions, and more.

Their most recent event was a Matcha Winter Market with La Maison Bleue Cafe, which included a Christmas toy drive for Children’s Health Plano.

The Dallas Matcha Club on one of their meetups.Photo courtesy of Dallas Matcha Club

While some events have drawn as many as 150 attendees, most see about 30 to 50 people. Members are a diverse group of primarily 20- and 30-somethings at various stages of life — from parents who come with their kids to college students.

“I feel like there's a good mix of people from all different places, too, not just Texas," Iwamoto says.

What makes matcha such a community connector is its ties to a culture, she says.

“'It’s not just a drink. There's a whole process that goes into making the matcha, and a whole process into making your latte at home,” Iwatmoto says. “People are learning about the different tools that you use to make matcha, which are all Japanese ... people are learning through enjoying matcha."

The club’s Instagram page, which has nearly 5,500 followers, proclaims, "Whether you’re an avid matcha lover or matcha newbie, the Dallas Matcha Club is the community for you!"

Iwamoto underscores that DMC is a welcoming group for anyone.

“Most of the people that attend like matcha, but there are some people who are new to it," she says. "There's also some people who just tag along with their friends and they're more of a coffee person. Anyone's welcome."

Anyone interested in joining the Dallas Matcha Club can follow their Instagram @dallasmatcha and fill out the membership form, which is linked in their Instagram bio. There is no fee to become a member of the DMC.

club matcha tea coffee

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