State Fair Food Winners

Craft beer scores righteous win at State Fair of Texas 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards

After a timely critique by a panel of first-time judges, the State Fair of Texas has announced the winners of the 2014 Big Tex Choice Awards, and its outcome will not surprise craft beer fans one bit: Funnel cake ale won first prize for Most Creative.

Justin Martinez created the brew in a collaboration with Dallas brewery Community Beer Company. Hoo-rah craft beer.

Winner for Best Taste went to the fried Gulf shrimp boil, created by competitor Clint Probst.

This year's contest saw a number of groundbreaking moves, with judges culled from the top tier of foodie blogger circles: Top Chef contestant Tiffany Derry, BBQ Snob and Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn, Dallas lifestyle blogger Cynthia Smoot, and 1310 The Ticket personality Donovan Lewis. The emcee was also a newbie: Hawkeye from 96.3 KSCS.

The judging panel also included for the first time a regular-person judge, one Tim Bennett, who won the "Why I Should Be a Judge Contest" by submitting a video (seen here), which was screened during the contest's opening ceremonies. Also for the first time, people were allowed to buy tickets to attend the judging; approximately 300 people were in attendance.

And last but not least, it was the first time a beer was submitted as an entry. Beer has made an appearance previously, in 2010, when an entry called fried beer won for Most Creative. That was a novelty item with beer enclosed in a ravioli-type snack that was fried.

The judges were served the funnel cake ale first, with much tittering accompanying the idea of a beer being served at 10:20 am. Next came the chicken-fried baked potato; the combination of bacon and cheese enticed the judges.

That was followed by fried Gulf shrimp boil, which earned lots of instantaneous raves, and "breakfast for dinner," a kooky melange of breakfast items inside a tortilla.

From there it was on to the sweet: Texas bluebonnet, a sweet muffin-scone with blueberries and cream cheese, and fried sweet Texas, with pie crust, pecan and buttermilk pies, and peach cobbler.

Wisely, they saved hot and spicy for the finish, with Texas tacos followed by fried Sriracha balls. No one's palate could recover from that combination of chicken, chilies and Sriracha.

To fill the time while the judges judged, they announced two people's choice awards, with first and second prizes going to fried bacon cinnamon roll and fried peaches and cream.

This year's finalists hit on big foodie trends such as tacos, craft beer and Sriracha sauce. The State Fair's official descriptions are as follows:

Chicken Fried Loaded Baked Potato
The inside of a baked potato, mixed with butter, bacon and cheddar cheese, gets a spicy battered coating to create a combination of fried crispy crust and creamy loaded baked potato. Served with a ranch dipping sauce.

Deep Fried "Breakfast for Dinner"
A 10-inch flour tortilla stuffed with eight breakfast items — scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, ham, onion, cheddar cheese and gooey cinnamon roll bits — is deep fried and served with creamy country gravy, salsa and a pico-queso dip.

Deep Fried Texas Bluebonnet
A blueberry muffin scone-style batter, stuffed with cream cheese, blueberries and white chocolate chips, is baked and deep fried. Topped with whipped cream, white chocolate chips, powdered sugar, blueberries and blueberry glaze.

Fried Gulf Shrimp Boil
Baby Gulf shrimp, diced red potatoes and onion are rolled into a ball around a cocktail shrimp, dusted with fish fry and fried. Served with remoulade sauce.

Fried Sriracha Balls
A mixture of shredded chicken, corn, green chilies, tomatoes and Sriracha gets rolled into balls, coated with tortilla chips and fried.

Fried Sweet Texas
Pie dough, pecan pie, peach cobbler and buttermilk pie are all deep fried, then served with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream.

Original State Fair Brew – Funnel Cake Ale
English-style summer ale with flavors of toast, sweetness and vanilla — all flavors you find in a funnel cake.

Twisted Texas Tacos
Beef brisket coated in a barbecue-spiced buttermilk batter and deep fried is served in a flour tortilla, with Mexican cheese, okra and tri-color slaw. It comes with a side of chili and country gravy.

Behold funnelcake ale, winner of the State Fair of Texas Big Tex choice awards.

State Fair of Texas, Community Brewing, ale

Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas

Behold funnelcake ale, winner of the State Fair of Texas Big Tex choice awards.

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Matcha News

Cool new Dallas shop Roché Coffee brews decadent lattes and matchas

Photo courtesy of Roché Coffee

Matcha drinks at Roche Coffee.

A coffee shop with an authentic, decadent twist is perking up North Dallas: Called Roché Coffee, it's an indie shop that specializes in Vietnamese coffee and matcha drinks, located at 17062 Preston Rd. #130, in the same shopping center as Cris and John's and Deli News.

Roche was founded by Kendall Luu, a native of Vietnam with an entrepreneurial streak who wanted to share the unique tradition of coffee as it's enjoyed in her homeland. In addition to Vietnamese coffee, the shop's other foundation is matcha, the Japanese green tea drink that's become a major trend across the U.S.

Luu began Roche first as a pop-up, before graduating to this brick & mortar location, where it opened with great fanfare in mid-October.

The menu is broken into three main categories: Vietnamese coffee, flavored lattes, and matcha drinks.

Vietnamese coffee
Vietnamese coffee refers both to the coffee beans and style of roasting, as well as Vietnamese coffee drinks.

Beans: As Roche notes on its website, Vietnam is one of the world's largest coffee producers, and most of it is robusta beans, which are bolder and more bitter, with about twice the caffeine of arabica (the beans used by most popular coffee chains). Vietnamese robusta beans are generally roasted dark, for a rich, chocolatey, full-bodied cup.
Drinks: Vietnamese coffee is also a beverage, which combines coffee with sweetened condensed milk. It's made using a small metal filter, called a phin, which results in a concentrated, intense brew.

"At Roché, we source our robusta beans directly from Vietnam and brew them slowly, drop by drop, through a traditional metal phin," Luu says. "We stir in sweetened condensed milk and keep the brew at full strength so the deep, bold flavor of the coffee still comes through the sweetness."

DFW has a few places doing Vietnamese coffee but it's still a somewhat unfilled niche.

"That's the tradition I wanted to bring to Dallas, from the patience it takes to brew a cup to that first sip that tastes like home," Luu says.

They approach matcha with the same fastidiousness, sourcing ceremonial-grade matcha directly from Japan and whisking it by hand for every order.

Menu
They make their coffee-based lattes with either traditional espresso or, for a twist, with Vietnamese coffee. Both lattes and matchas come in decadent flavors such as banana matcha topped with a thick layer of foam and slices of banana; or the Biscoff matcha, layered with Biscoff spread, cookie crumbles, and a Biscoff cookie.

They also offer the Einspänner Latte, a buzzy layered drink that first emerged in Korean cafes, featuring espresso, cold milk, ice, and Viennese whipped cream; the cream cunningly serves as an insulator to separate hot from cold.

Prices average $8, but the shop is as much a dessert experience as a drink stop.

Their flavors embody the hottest trends including tiramisu, Starbucks' seasonal flavor for the fall, which they make with espresso, tiramisu syrup, mascarpone cream, and a ladyfinger cookie garnish. They call it "your favorite dessert for your coffee break."

They also offer pastries such as croissants, muffins, and poptarts from acclaimed Dallas bakery La Casita Bakeshop.

The shop is bright and tastefully appointed, with a sleek white interior and touches of Starbucks-style deep green. Furniture is curvy and modern, evoking Eero Saarinen.

Aesthetics are an important part of the experience, Luu says.

"We measure each ingredient carefully and give just as much attention to how the drink looks, from the first pour to the finishing touches," she says. "I want that care to come through the moment we place the cup in someone's hands, before they even take their first sip."

coffee openings