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    Fried Food News

    Dallas restaurants fill the State Fair of Texas gap with new fried foods

    Teresa Gubbins
    Aug 3, 2020 | 9:58 am
    Abel Gonzales state fair fried food
    Hey now, fried foods via Abel Gonzales.
    Abel Gonzales

    One of the most painful tolls taken by the coronavirus in Dallas has been the cancellation of the 2020 State Fair of Texas — but local restaurants are doing their best to take the sting out.

    They're doing this via menus that summon the annual Big Tex Choice Awards, aka "fried food" awards, which have become a fun if slightly fading annual tradition in which State Fair vendors submit dishes of sometimes dubious value to compete for titles.

    None of that will happen in 2020, but here are some places you can get your State Fair-style corny dogs, funnel cakes, and more.

    Norma's Cafe
    The Dallas diner-ish restaurant chain has released a new State Fair-themed menu that it hopes will give customers a taste of the Midway.

    "Texans may not be able to ride the Ferris wheel or hear Big Tex say 'Howdy Folks' this year, but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy a taste of their favorite Fair Park treats," says Norma’s Cafe owner Ed Murph in a release.

    The menu launched on August 1 and features fried favorites such as:

    • mini corn dogs
    • funnel cake fries
    • chili cheese tots
    • funnel cakes
    • chicken fried steak
    • deep-fried Oreo churros
    • bacon mac and cheeseburgers
    • sausage on a stick
    • Belgium waffles

    Cocina Italiano
    Abel Gonzales, AKA the State Fair fried food king, has won numerous awards in the annual Big Tex competition, and is set to fulfill your Fair food fix. Gonzales is a longtime State Fair vendor and repeat winner who rose to fame in 2010 with his fried butter, which won the prize for most creative.

    In 2019, he opened Cocina Italiano, a casual lunch spot and catering kitchen serving Italian food at 7101 Harry Hines Blvd.

    The items are currently available for catering, but Gonzales will start doing Saturday "fair" food items to go along with their weekly Saturday pickup/delivery packs they introduced after COVID-19. The Saturday packs can be anything from fajita to lasagna to smoked brisket. As Fair time nears, they'll rotate in weekly fried treats.

    Offering include:

    • 

Fried PBJ & B: Peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich battered and fried, quartered, and topped with jelly
    • 

Fried Cookie Dough: Original recipe of cookie dough deep-fried and topped with chocolate syrup
    • 

Fried Jambalaya: Jambalaya with sausage, chicken, and shrimp, deep fried and topped with spicy sauce, served with onion rings
    • 

Fried Butter: Topped with honey, cinnamon, and sugar
    • 

Fried Lobster: Lobster tail, breaded and deep fried, served with Champagne gravy, French fries, and Texas caviar
    • Fried Coke
    • Fried Pizza 


    Call 214-868-8125 to order.

    Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs
    If any one foodstuff embodies the State Fair of Texas, it is this cornmeal-crusted hot dog on a stick. Getting your Fletcher's is at the top of pretty much every fairgoer's list.

    Not to worry, the Fletcher family has come to the rescue with a series of pop-ups at restaurants across Dallas-Fort Worth, and the ones they've already hosted have drawn lines. Here's the lineup for the next few weeks, thoughtfully spread across the DFW area:

    • August 7, 4-8 pm - Lakewood Growler
    • August 8, 12-7 pm - Honey's Shaved Ice, Rockwall
    • August 11, 3-7 pm - Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Dallas
    • August 15, 12-7 pm - Atwoods Ranch, Waxahachie
    • August 29, 4-8 pm - HTeaO, Plano
    • September 1, 3-8 pm - Tupps Brewery, McKinney
    • September 3, 3-7 pm - The Squire Shop, Fort Worth

    Maple Leaf Diner
    North Dallas restaurant known for Canadian specialties such as poutine is doing its own ode to Big Tex: Maple Leaf is serving Fried Oreos and a new Chicken Fried Bacon Burger. The dishes are available Friday-Sunday from 3 pm to close, and for a limited time only: through the end of Fair season, IE late October.

    Big Al's Smokehouse BBQ
    Family-owned and operated BBQ restaurant and caterer is doing smoked turkey legs for $9. Order online or call 214-350-2649; available for curbside pick-up or delivery within 3 miles of the restaurant.

    Turkey Leg Paradise
    The turkey legs at this small restaurant in the South Side district became a viral sensation ater a video posted on Twitter showed a customer shaking one of owner Corey Bradley Jr.'s turkey legs until the meat fell off the bone.He does eight flavors, sarting at $13, plus four that are "smothered."

    Frank Seoul
    The specialty at this chain from Korea is a corny dog, but with a twist on the good old American Fletcher's Original Corny Dogs. Rather than corn meal, Korean-style hot dogs are coated in a batter made of regular flour, rice flour, or a combination of both, with a final coat of panko crumbs before they get deep-fried. In addition to the classic Seoul dog, there's a hot dog with cheese, an all-cheese version no hot dog, and the wild-looking Potato Dog, coated in diced fried potatoes and stuffed with choice of hot dog or cheese.

    state-fair
    news/restaurants-bars

    What Just Opened

    Crazy wave of Dallas restaurants and bars have all just opened

    Teresa Gubbins
    Dec 4, 2025 | 4:57 pm
    1519 Main St.
    Courtesy
    1519 Main St.

    The Dallas hospitality scene almost never sleeps and right now it's pulling an all-nighter, with a big slate of fresh openings, all of which have debuted within the past days, give or take.

    Everyone's hustling to get their doors open in time for the holidays, and these establishments have all made it happen: From a cosmopolitan new lounge in downtown Dallas to a modern Asian restaurant in Plano to a bountiful AYCE Chinese seafood spot in Richardson, there's something here to pique everyone's interest and appetite.

    1519 Main
    Spectacular lounge is now open in downtown Dallas at 1519 Main St., in a nearly century-old building across from the Joule Dallas hotel where it's serving up stellar drinks in a space that's both cosmopolitan and low-key. The bar is from Hospitality Alliance, the company led by restaurant wunderkind Kevin Lillis, who helped create the original AT&T Discovery District. It's a stunning space with many original features like the rose-and-cream marble floors from the 1920s and the brick walls with signage from prior businesses in the space that dating back decades. The menu has cocktails from Brian Van Flandern, who oversaw the program at Per Se, The Carlyle Hotel, The Plaza Hotel, and Palm Court restaurant, and also has a homage menu featuring recipes from some of the most impactful but now closed cocktail lounges in the country. They're open Thursday-Saturday from 5 pm-12 am.

    Centrale Italia
    New concept from veteran restaurateur Patrick Colombo (Cru Wine Bar, Princi Italia) opened in November at Preston Hollow Village at Walnut Hill Lane and US-75 with a menu of wood-fired dishes, Neapolitan style pizza, pastas, and gelato made in-house. They're debuting brunch on Sunday December 7 and lunch on Monday December 8, with a menu that includes spicy meatball sub, chicken parm on toasted ciabatta, and a parmesan garlic cheeseburger with Wagyu beef and arugula. Salads include Little Gem Caesar, chopped salad with salami, prosciutto, and soppressata, and an Italian Cobb salad with chicken, Romaine, radicchio, avocado, beets, prosciutto, eggs, and Campari tomato in a creamy gorgonzola.

    Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
    Restaurant in Richardson which just opened in the former Maxim's space is an all-you-can-eat sushi/seafood buffet featuring a daily rotating menu with 300-plus items from various Asian cuisines. There are oysters, crab legs, lobster, sushi bar, ramen bar, dumplings bar, skewers bar, noodles, stir-fries, and Chinese dishes both Cantonese and Sichuan, such as spicy boiled beef and kung pao chicken. Plus dim sum and desserts such as precision-cut layer cakes and a chocolate fondue station where you can dip strawberries and other fruit. (The lobster and crab are available at dinner and weekends only, not at lunch.) The price is $20 at lunch, $30 at dinner on weeknighs, and $35 all weekend long.

    Jashan
    Indian ambitious new Indian restaurant with a one-of-a-kind menu offering has opened at Plano's Legacy North with a chef team who are bringing flavors from cities and regions across India, from Dehli's fried potato tikkis to pepper chicken from the south. For those seeking something truly unique, Jahsan also offer a Dil Se menu — an omakase-style tasting, available in 7- or 13-course versions, featuring a procession of these flavors, letting guests discover the stories of these cities in one visit.

    La Stella Italian Steakhouse
    Stupendous Italian restaurant just opened at a storied North Dallas address at 14655 Dallas Pkwy. in the former Lawry's space, where it stands as a bigger, grander spinoff of its sibling La Stella Cucina, the Italian restaurant in Dallas' Design District. The menu is an expanded version of the original: combining Italian seafood and a chophouse, plus an accompanying music lounge for live entertainment.

    LuLu Modern Chinese
    Glamorous new Asian restaurant just opened in Plano at 3310 Dallas Pkwy. #121, with a goal is to bring an authentic and modern Chinese American dining experience. The menu features classics like Peking duck, xiao long bao (soup dumplings), and seafood executed with spices and recipes from various regions of China — from Shanghai to the Pan Asian continent. The 4,300-square-foot space features a subtle lounge theme — a place you can dine or grab tequila shots over a soundtrack of '90s hip-hop and pop, plus craft cocktails, and a serious collection of sake and wine — but not what you'd typically find at a Chinese restaurant.

    Mendocino Farms
    California chain known for creative sandwiches, salads, soups, and other healthy fare, has opened its newest DFW-area location — the sixth — at NorthPark Center, joining Addison, downtown Dallas, Plano, Preston Hollow, and Dallas' West Village. With its casual but upscale menu, featuring staples such as the Chicken & Hummus Crunch Wrap — as well as seasonal offerings like the November to Remember sandwich with turkey, mozzarella, mushroom & turkey sausage stuffing, spicy cranberry chutney, and Romaine on toasted cranberry walnut wheat bread — NorthPark seems like a perfect fit.

    Old Ferry Donut
    Doughnut shop chain from Korea entered the U.S. in 2023, with five locations in California. Now they've made their Texas debut in Carrollton at 2225 Old Denton Rd. #215, Their doughnuts are unique: They have a slightly chewier, more bready texture than the fluffy texture of a Krispy Kreme, and are a little less sweet than traditional American doughnuts. Many of their doughnuts have fillings, made from premium ingredients. The menu includes old-school flavors such as Boston Cream, Original Glaze, and Cinnamon Sugar — but also new-school flavors like White Chocolate Sesame, Earl Gray, and Matcha Cream.

    Roots Chicken Shak
    Fried chicken restaurant concept from celebrity chef Tiffany Derry, just opened a location at 3748 Belt Line Rd. #118, in a former Einstein's Bagels on the southeast corner of Marsh Lane. There are chicken wings, tenders, nuggets, and sandwiches on sweet potato buns. Derry opened the first Roots Chicken Shack at Plano's Legacy Food Hall in 2017, but the Addison location is owned by franchisees.

    Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice
    Halal BBQ spot which originated in Pilot Point is in soft opening mode at a new second location in Plano at 3201 Alma Dr., just west of US-75, where they'll be open from 11 am–3 pm or sell out. There's likely to be a line, because BBQ places like to have a line, but the Yearby's in Pilot Point also earned a slot on Texas Monthly’s 50 Best list for 2025.

    openings
    news/restaurants-bars
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