Fried Foods

Fried ranch tops list of State Fair of Texas 2018 Big Choice Awards

Who could forget the 2016 entry, fried Jell-O?

Photo by Jason Hays

The 2018 fried-food contest at the State Fair of Texas returns, and for the first time it has a sponsor.

We are talking about the Big Tex Choice Awards, the annual competition among State Fair concessionaires who submit innovative treats for a final taste-off that will take place August 26.

But this time, according to a press release, it's the "14th Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, presented by Vistaprint." Does the State Fair need a new revenue stream?

After a first round of judging, 31 semi-finalists have been named, who will compete for one of three winning titles: Best Taste–Sweet, Best Taste–Savory, and Most Creative.

Among the contestants are three entries with bacon; two with Kool-Aid; and one with lobster. There are at least two alcoholic beverages, including a savory corn dog ale and a sweet beermosa.

And finally, in the biggest fried condiment news since 2009's award-winning fried butter and 2014's fried Sriracha balls, there is deep fried ranch. You can blame that one on Jay Jerrier, owner of Dallas' Cane Rosso pizza chain, who has rightfully banished the presence of ranch in his restaurants, and thereby created an unbalance in the ranch dressing world.

Finalists for savory are as follows:

Corn Dog Ale
Deep Fried Bodacious Bacon Bombs
Deep Fried Chicken Tetrazzini Parmesana
Deep Fried Lobster Pops
Deep Fried Ranch
Deep Fried Shepherd's Pie
Deep Fried Skillet Potato Melt in a Boat
Fried Cup of Corn "Elotes"
Fried Kool-Aid Pickles
Hoppin' John Cake with Jackpot Sauce
King Crispy Coconut Crab Sliders
Pico Frito (Deep Fried Pico de Gallo)
Southern Fried Chicken Nachos
Texas Fried Hill Country
Texas Twang-kie

The finalists for sweet are as follows:

Bacon Brittle
Cherish Erbert Champagne
Cotton Candy Taco
Deep Fried M&M's
Deep Fried Raspberry Brie-ret
Frosty's Frozen Hot Chocolate
Fruity Dessert Nachos
Kool-Aid Pickle-Dilly Sangria
Orange Julia's Beermosa
Orange You Glad We Fried It?!
State Fair Fun-L Cake Ice Cream
Supra Stuffed Mini Sopapillas
Sweet Bakin' Bacon
Sweet Crispy Rice (Arroz con Leche)
Texas Thai Delight
The Roll Tide

The contest kicked off in mid-July with 49 entries submitted by 30 concessionaires. All competitors must have at least one year of experience as a concessionaire at the State Fair of Texas to enter the competition.

The semi-finalists were chosen by a panel of internal judges, and their identities were not revealed to the panel who judged merely by name and description, although contestants had the option to submit a photo. The press release says that the judges based their choices solely on which food name and description sounds "the most appealing to their personal palette." Surely they mean "palate," unless this is a color contest and not a food contest.

On the second round of preliminary judging, the panel tastes the entries. The 10 top entries will be announced in mid-August.

The final judging is a public event with "celebrity judges" on Sunday, August 26. Tickets this year, available online at BigTex.com, are $125, up from the $100 price of prior events. More money more money but all proceeds are donated to the State Fair of Texas scholarship program.

state-fair

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

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Hummus News

New Mediterranean restaurant in McKinney spotlights Greek and Lebanese