Big Tex Fried Foods

Lobster poshes up State Fair of Texas 2015 Big Tex Choice Awards

The finalists have been revealed in the 2015 Big Tex Choice Awards, the annual, over-the-top food contest at the State Fair of Texas. This year, alligator, lobster, and buffalo make their debut.

There were 51 entries in the first round, and that has been narrowed down to eight finalists. A panel of judges — Dallas Mavericks’ Devin Harris, Big Game Sunday co-host Drew Pearson, TV host Dan Rodo, chef John Tesar, and Dallas city council member Tiffinni Young — will pick the winners on August 30, along with one non-celebrity chosen via random drawing.

The following finalists will compete for the titles of Best Tasting and Most Creative:

Chicken Fried Lobster with Champagne Gravy by Abel Gonzales
This is a first for the Big Tex Choice Awards: lobster. An entire lobster tail is breaded, deep fried, and served with a sauce combining lemon butter and champagne gravy. It has the lavishness of a lobster dinner and the fried factor of a traditional fair food.

Cowboy Corn Crunch by Isaac Rousso
The Cowboy Corn Crunch blends savory and spice, with sweet corn, minced jalapeño, cream cheese, and a hint of smoky bacon. The tot is fried to a golden brown and served in a unique palm leaf cone.

Deep Fried Alligator’s Egg Nest by Cassy Jones
Alligator makes its Big Tex Choice Awards debut. This dish blends alligator meat with Monterey Jack cheese, chopped jalapeños, onions, and garlic. The mixture is rolled in bread crumbs, fried to a golden brown, and served atop a nest of shoestring potatoes and drizzled with a chipotle sauce.

Fernie’s Holy Moly Carrot Cake Roly by Christi Erpillo
Golden-baked bread swirled with cinnamon is flattened and filled with moist carrot cake, raisins, and julienned carrots. It's rolled with a light coating of cream cheese then breaded in a mixture of panko, graham crackers, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Drizzled with cream cheese frosting and dusted with powdered sugar, it is served with caramel and a caramel macchiato cream sauce.

Fried Beer-Battered Buffalo by James Barrera
Buffalo meat is another first on list this year. Lean, mesquite-smoked ground buffalo is rolled in Pequin chili pepper. The meat is crusted in crushed Corn Nuts and dipped in a batter made from Shiner Bock beer. Lightly dusted with bacon bits and served with a chipotle cream sauce.

Lone Star Pork Handle by Justin Martinez
Bone-in pork chop is marinated, then dipped in batter made with Lone Star Beer. The seasoned pork chop is smothered in toasted bread crumbs and deep fried until brown, then finished off with a coat of bourbon barbecue glaze. The bone serves as a handle.

Pretzel-Crusted Pollo Queso by Allan Weiss
Shredded chicken is combined with cream cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, cilantro, and Sriracha sauce. It is then rolled into a ball, crusted with a crispy pretzel breading, then deep fried. It is served with a jalapeño ranch dipping sauce.

Smoky Bacon Margarita by Isaac Rousso
This alcoholic drink takes the smokiness of bacon and infuses it into the citrus flavor of a frozen lime margarita. Finished off with bacon crumbles, it is served in a collectible souvenir cup.

Chicken-fried lobster poshes up the fried food contest.

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Wings News

San Diego sports bar Dirty Birds brings best wings to Plano opening

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Dirty Birds

There's a restaurant doing award-winning wings that just flew in from California. Called Dirty Birds Sports Bar & Grill, it's a small chain with five locations in San Diego, making its Texas debut at 4021 Preston Rd. B618 in Plano.

Dirty Birds first opened its doors in San Diego in 2008 and soon became a staple that earned national praise for its wings. Everyone who makes wings thinks theirs are the best, but Dirty Birds has won awards such as "best wings in the U.S." by Yahoo Sports and TheDailyMeal.com.

Wings are their centerpiece, and can be ordered with an unprecedented 37 sauces, ranging from standards like lemon pepper, teriyaki, and BBQ, to unique variations like maple chipotle BBQ and "dirty blue" — a blend of hot sauce and blue cheese dressing.

That said, they're not just a wing joint, but more of a sports bar-restaurant in which wings are the centerpiece on a broader menu that also includes salads, burgers, sliders, and sandwiches, often featuring chicken such as a blackened chicken club and a Nashville hot chicken sandwich.

There are classic bar-food snacks but with a subtle upscale twist: "crispy" fried pickles, chicken tenders, mac & cheese balls, and fried green beans with a cucumber wasabi ranch.

They also have a full bar with craft beer, and a welcoming, local atmosphere.

The team bringing Dirty Birds to DFW includes Adam Salazar (The Mitchell, Ye Olde Scarlet Pumpernickel Tavern) and Chris O'Mara, who has experience in both the hospitality and lending industries.

"Our wings — I'd put them up against anyone's," O'Mara says. "They're very big and meaty, and they're also made differently. I don't want to give away our technique but it involves cooking them in two stages so that when you get them, they're nice and crisp on the outside and juicy inside."

One signature for the Plano location is that their beers are served at 29 degrees, a popular benchmark at places like Twin Peaks, and a temperature that is deemed "very cold." AI says that the benefits of serving beer at a cold temperature include more satisfied customers, more sales, and an increase in profitability by up to 35 percent, because keeping it that cold reduces wasteful foaming.

They'll have 16 beers on tap, plus two big walk-in coolers with everything from High Life to craft beers. The restaurant has 18 TVs and also features football jerseys on display, since some football players have been known to frequent Dirty Birds. There is no patio currently, although a small space on the exterior could become a patio in the future.

O'Mara says he's been tickled to find that the brand has some local recognition.

"You have this little sports bar in San Diego, but one of their locations is near a military base, so a lot of people know about Dirty Birds," O'Mara says.