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    State Fair Fried Food Finalists

    Check out the outrageous finalists in the 2016 State Fair of Texas fried food awards

    Teresa Gubbins
    Aug 17, 2016 | 5:48 am

    The State Fair of Texas has revealed the eight finalists for its 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards, more commonly known as the fried food awards. High-five to fried Jell-O! You made it.

    Fried Jell-O is probably the most outrageous among the finalists, but it has plenty of competition. The list also includes hot pockets, food on a stick, and something called injectable balls.

    Each year, State Fair concessionaires devise boundary-busting foods for a chance to compete for the winning titles of Best Taste and Most Creative. This year’s winners will be announced with much hoopla on August 28.

    These eight finalists were culled from a larger list, released in July, that included lots of things on sticks and loads of bacon: bacon-wrapped churros, bacon-wrapped pork belly on a stick, bacon-wrapped tater dog, bacon burger dogs on a stick, a "Bacontilla," and Dorito bacon fried cheese stick. Only the bacon burger dog slider on a stick emerged from the bacon field.

    Pineapple was a popular ingredient, as well, with three entries: Caribbean pineapple "Korn-a-Copia," fried "Pinatacolupa," deep fried Hawaiian hoops, and an entry called "Pina-A lot-Ta." One pineapple made it through.

    These are the eight finalists for the 2016 Big Tex Choice Awards:

    Caribbean Pineapple Korn-a-Copia
    Marinated grilled chicken and shrimp are served over a bed of yellow Caribbean fried rice and topped with a tropical salsa and pineapple rum glaze. Served in a pineapple half shell.

    Deep Fried Bacon Burger Dog Slider on a Stick
    A miniature ground beef patty is stuffed with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon, and a hot dog on a Hawaiian roll, then placed on a skewer topped with a pickle, dipped in a tempura batter, and deep fried. Served on a bed of shoestring fries with ranch dipping sauce.

    Deep Fried Pulled Pork Funyun Dings
    A Funyun is stuffed with pulled pork, pepper Jack cheese, pineapple slices, and bacon, then dipped in a batter and deep fried. Served with sweet barbecue sauce.

    Fernie’s Down Home Chicken Pot Pie Pocket with Mac ’n’Cheese Dip
    Shredded chicken, potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn in a white sauce is ladled into pastry dough, then folded Hot Pocket-style, and fried. Served with a side of mac-and-cheese-inspired dip.

    Fried Jell-O
    Cherry Jell-O in a panko-crusted breading, flash-fried, and dusted with powdered sugar. Served with whipped cream and a cherry.

    Injectable Great Balls of BBQ
    Beef brisket and bock barbecue sauce is molded into balls, rolled in seasoned breadcrumbs and fried. Served on a bed of coleslaw, each order comes with its own pipette of bock barbecue sauce to be injected into the brisket balls.

    Southern Fried Chicken & Dumplins
    Shredded chicken is mixed with seasoning, dough, and gravy; rolled into balls; coated with breadcrumbs; and deep fried. Served with fried biscuit bites and a side of gravy.

    State Fair Cookie Fries
    Looks like a classic crinkle-cut fry but offered in traditional cookie flavors like chocolate chip or sprinkles. Served with choice of strawberry or milk chocolate sauce.

    Fried Jell-O.

    State Fair of Texas fried Jell-O
    Photo by Jason Hays
    Fried Jell-O.
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    Restaurant News Roundup

    This Dallas restaurant news remains upbeat despite a few closures

    Teresa Gubbins
    Nov 17, 2025 | 5:51 pm
    pumpkin pie Kona Grill
    Kona Grill
    Pumpkin cocktail and pumpkin pie at Kona Grill

    This roundup of Dallas restaurant news has competing themes: There are the seasonal holiday releases one expects at this time of the year, but there are also a sprinkling of closures that have occurred within recent days. But chin up, there's an opening or two to balance things out.

    Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

    H-Mart, the Korean supermarket, opened its first location in Dallas, at 2534 Royal Ln. in Koreatown. The chain has more than 72 stores including six in Texas, with two in DFW, in Carrollton and Plano, and another opening soon in Haltom City. The Dallas store is not as large as the Carrolton store but has a nice food court. The parking situation is rumored to be a nightmare.

    Outback Steakhouse closed its location in Plano at 1509 N. Central Expy. on October 26; it had been there for more than 30 years. Fans of the signature Bloomin' Onion fried appetizer can still find satisfaction at 50 locations in Texas and 16 in the DFW area including two that opened recently in Allen and Prosper, joining locations in Addison, Arlington, Burleson, Denton, DeSoto, Euless, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Hurst, Irving, Lewisville, and Mesquite.

    Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs in Frisco has closed. The restaurant opened in 2022 at 15922 Eldorado Pkwy. #700, with authentic Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches that made it a beloved destination for the local Chicago-loving community. But the location proved to be a challenge. Owners Rick and Jamye Henry say they may consider reopening at a different address down the road.

    Ferris Wheelers BBQ, the restaurant and live performance space in Dallas' Design District, has closed after eight years and will become a new concept managed by Spune Productions, the local music promotion and event company. It opened in 2017 with an emphasis on its barbecue menu, then forged a partnership with Spune to ramp up the live music side in 2023.

    Lazi Cow, a bubble tea shop concept founded in California, opened a location in Denton at 21800 Bricker Rd. in early November with a menu of boba tea, coffee, frozen drinks, bowls, and Japanese taiyaki pastries. This is their third DFW location, following Frisco which opened in 2024, and Colleyville, which opened in August 2025.

    The Last Point is a new sports bar from Kelcher Entertainment Group opening at 4578 Belt Line Rd., in the former Addison Point, an Addison sports bar that first opened in 1977. Carrying on the legacies of The Midway Point and Addison Point, the Last Point offers 21 large-screen TVs and 3/4-pound burgers.

    Kona Grill, the Asian-American restaurant at NorthPark Center, has brought back its pumpkin menu with two cocktails — Pumpkin Spice Margarita with tequila and reàl pumpkin purée, and a Pumpkin Mocha Martini with vodka, pumpkin spice rumchata, nitro-infused espresso, and crème de cacao. There's also food: Pumpkin Bisque withshrimp; lobster & mushroom ravioli with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms; and pumpkin pie with honeycomb crumbs. Go real matchy-matchy like the influencers do and order the whole thing.

    La Rue Doughnuts, the acclaimed doughnut shop at Trinity Groves, has changed its hours: They are now open on Mondays which bring them to seven days a week. Simultaneously, they've shortened their hours on weekends and will no longer remain open until 8 pm. New hours: Monday-Friday 7 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm.

    il Bracco, the Italian restaurant in the Park Cities, has new seasonal dishes including a burrata salad with figs, grapes, walnuts, arugula and fennel; Amalfi tuna salad with citrus, cucumber, arugula, and pistachios; Marsala trumpets with trompetti noodles, mushrooms, garlic, and Marsala; crab cappelletti, available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; cioppino fisherman’s stew; wild mushrooms with garlic and thyme; white beans with Italian sausage and sage; and cauliflower with pistachio, mint, currants, and Reggiano.

    Bobbie’s Airway Grill, the popular Preston Hollow restaurant, has new seasonal dishes including smoked salmon dip; blackened trout with jalapeño coleslaw; redfish topped with crab in a lemon butter sauce with savoy spinach; stone crab claws, an off-menu feature available through spring; and rotating soups including chicken tortilla Monday-Wednesday, potato leek on Thursday-Friday, and Texas Red Chili on weekends.

    Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer has conjured up the Something Bad CrazyShake, an over-the-top chocolate peppermint milkshake with mint green frosting, crushed Oreos, chocolate cake, a whimsical pretzel broomstick, finished with a playful witch hat — available November 20-30 at Black Tap locations in New York City, Dallas, and Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

    Taziki’s Mediterranean Café has a new limited-time Turkish Meatballs, inspired by founder Keith Richards’ recent trip to Turkey and the authentic chargrilling techniques he experienced, available through January 25. Rather than simmering in sauce, these lamb meatballs are chargrilled to order and can be ordered with rustic tomato sauce, in a pita gyro, or as a salad topper.

    Torchy’s Tacos taco of the month for November is the Space Cowboy, featuring fried chicken, red chile sauce, cilantro lime rice, avocado slice, cotija cheese, and cilantro, in a flour tortilla. They also have a Drink of the Month: a limited-time margarita called the “Out of Office" with habanero-infused blanco tequila, Tajín rim, and two serrano pepper coins for garnish.

    Maple Leaf Diner is offering whole pies during the holiday season in three varieties: pecan, chocolate pecan, and pumpkin, priced from $27 to $31.

    Cinnaholic has two limited-edition flavors for the season: cinnamon roll decorated with Christmas cookie frosting, topped with cookie bites; and cinnamon cookies with chocolate chips, pretzels, marshmallows, oreos, and holiday sprinkles.

    BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is launching two seasonal flavors of its signature Pizookie cookie, available while supplies last: The Dubai Chocolate Pizookie with Ghirardelli chocolate, pistachio sauce, and kataifi in a crackable chocolate shell; and the Monkey Bread Pizookie featuring cinnamon pull-apart bread with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle — returning after a two-year absence. They also have two seasonal cocktails: The Dubai Chocolate Espresso Martini with Monin pistachio and nitro-Infused espresso, drizzled with pistachio sauce and rimmed with chocolate fudge and kataifi; and the Holiday Lights Lucky Ducky with tequila, rum, vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, sweet & sour, pineapple juice, Starry, hard candies, and light-up cubes.

    Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a new edible blue shimmer sugar topping that adds sparkle to any smoothie or bowl for free. Guests should request "Mermaid-style" on their orders.

    DQ Texas restaurants have a new Peppermint Bark Blizzard Treat combining white and milk chocolatey layers, peppermint candy cane pieces, and soft serve.

    Yogurtland has two seasonal items: a special Peppermint Mocha frozen yogurt with chocolatey coffee and peppermint in side-by-side dispensers which you are suggested to swirl; and the Ginger Bread Man Cookie topping featuring a spiced crunch.

    Jamba, ordinarily known for its healthy juice smoothies, has a new Frozen Hot Chocolate topped with Nutella and coconut whip, available through January 12. They also have new bites including chicken empanadas, and herbed mozzarella bites with marinara sauce. The chain has 22 locations across DFW and 47 across Texas.

    Wingstop has a special Fiery Lime flavored wing, born from the flavor profile of a spicy margarita with lime and chili.

    Sprinkles the cupcake chain is opening its "Holiday Boutique" with limited-edition treats that include a Spiced Cranberry Vanilla cupcake: a vanilla cake filled with spiced cranberry compote, topped with cream cheese frosting, and finished with freeze-dried cranberries. Available through November 27.

    The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas has named Jacopo Nardini as its new Director of Food & Beverage. Nardini brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience having held senior food and beverage leadership roles at prestigious Forbes Five-Star resorts across Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. Most recently, Nardini served as Director of Restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.

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