State Fair Brew

Craft beer makes an entrance at State Fair of Texas 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards

The lineup for the 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards, just announced by the State Fair of Texas, has a foodstuff not previously seen in the pantheon of entries from years past: a beverage. More than that, it's a beer.

There it lies among the fried Sriracha balls and deep-fried blueberry muffins: Funnel cake ale.

The creator is Justin Martinez, who won last year's award for most creative with his Fried Thanksgiving Dinner. He's also the only contestant with two entries this year; in addition to the ale, he also submitted the concoction called Fried Sweet Texas, a pie dough filled with pecan pie, peach cobbler and creamy buttermilk pie.

To craft his beery entry, he collaborated with Dallas-based Community Beer Company. "I had a vision to make a good-quality beer exclusively for the State Fair," he says. "We were lucky enough to team up with brewmaster Jamie Fulton and created a beer that fulfilled our vision."

Martinez was cognizant of how popular craft beer has become. But he knew he wanted a State Fair flavor profile, which is how they hatched the funnel cake idea. "We came up with something that had doughiness, toastiness, sweetness, like a funnel cake, with notes of vanilla," he says. "We started the process six months ago and had many trials."

Brewmaster Fulton says that he began with a refreshing wheated English-style summer ale, not too high in alcohol at 4 percent ABV, and then worked from there.

"They were wanting something reminiscent of flavors that people would associate with going to the fair," he says. "The beer I had made was bready. We're using these expensive English malts that have a rich, grainy breadiness. Brewer Aric Hulsey had the idea of aging it on some vanilla bean which, combined with that breadiness, created this taste reminiscent of a funnel cake. The result was awesome. We had it at the brewery, but I had to take it off draft because we were draining the keg. It’s that good."

Martinez says his favorite touch is the dusting of powdered sugar over the rim of the glass — "like the classic funnel cake," he says.

He checked the rules and there was nothing that said he could not submit a beverage. "The committee said that there was nowhere in there that said it has to be fried, and that helped with our entry," he says. "I've had a few beers that had that doughiness in the flavor and sensed it could happen."

Fair spokeswoman Karissa Schuler says that they were tickled to see Martinez push the contest in a new direction. "It was clever and creative of Justin," she says. "The fried thing has become a tradition – but this opens up a whole new category."

Is Big Tex a quaffer?

Photo by Marc Lee

Is Big Tex a quaffer?

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Hummus News

New Mediterranean restaurant in McKinney spotlights Greek and Lebanese

Ilio's

Chicken shawarma plate at Ilio's Greek & Lebanese

A new Mediterranean restaurant starring two cuisines has debuted in McKinney: Called Ilio’s Greek & Lebanese Restaurant, it's now open at 210 N. Custer Rd. #130, with a collection of Middle Eastern favorites like gyros, shawarma, kebabs, hummus, falafel, and pita wraps.

The restaurant, which opened in mid-May in a center on the newer west side of McKinney, is from a pair of restauraunt veterans, Anas Abu-Ziad, nicknamed "Ziad," and Talal Hammad, who owned a similarly-themed and similarly-named concept in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Managing the front of the house is Ziad's affable wife Jessica Gardener, whose doting customer service has quickly made her a diner favorite.

"The idea with combining Greek and Lebanese was to make the restaurant inviting to everyone," Gardener says.

Baton Rouge has a reputation for good Greek and Lebanese food, even boasting a few restaurants that feature "Greek & Lebanese" as part of their name. Those two cuisines are slightly less common in Dallas, where the Middle-Eastern restaurant scene has been dominated mostly by Turkish and Syrian places.

Ilio's, which was the ancient Greek name for the city of Troy and is a popular moniker for Greek restaurants across the U.S., specializes in sizzling grilled kebobs, which are available in chicken, beef, shrimp, and kafta, the Lebanese favorite consisting of ground meat — often a combination of beef and lamb, with spices, onions, and herbs — molded into a long cylinder.

Greek dishes include dolmas (stuffed grape leaves with rice), spinach pie, and lamb shank — all dishes that can appear on many Middle Eastern menus but are most closely allied with Greek cuisine. That includes moussaka, the homey casserole dish made with eggplant, meat sauce, and bechamel — although Ilio's version is deconstructed, which is easier for restaurants to execute than the traditional layered version favored by home cooks.

Hummus comes in three options: traditional, Mediterranean, and Sultan, topped with chunks of meat. Other Mediterranean classic dishes include chicken shawarma, gyro plates, falafel, and fried halloumi cheese.

Most dishes come in under $15 and the restaurant is also BYOB.

There are extra-healthy dishes including salads, lentil soup, and pita wraps, made with pita that's a little softer and less doughy than many pitas in town. And there's also a fusion twist that's very Texas: a "Greek quesadilla" with your choice of grilled meat stacked between pita bread.

greek cuisine lebanese cuisine mckinney mediterranean restaurant middle eastern favorites openings