State Fair Fare

State Fair of Texas reveals 4 winners of 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards

Berry Me in Matcha cheesecake, winner for Most Creative at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.

Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas

After a lengthy session on August 18 involving about 30 celebrity judges, the State Fair of Texas has officially unveiled the winners of its 22nd annual Big Tex Choice Awards.

The judges (including CultureMap's Alex Bentley) tasted and evaluated sample sizes of 15 finalists, five each from the categories of "Savory," "Sweet," and "Sipper." Each of the winners were evaluated on four criteria: Taste, Value for the Price, Presentation, and Creativity.

Without further delay, here are the big winners, with photos, descriptions, and prices of each creation to help you make your Fair food plan:

Best Taste - Savory: Burger Chop Tater Tacos by Tom Grace

Burger Chop Tater Tacos, winner of the Savory category at the 2026 Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas

The tacos feature a shell of cheddar cheese and tater tots that are mashed together and fried. It is then filled with a fresh burger patty chopped and combined with sautéed onions and jalapeños, and topped by buffalo buttermilk ranch coleslaw and garlic parmesan buffalo sauce.

The Burger Chop Tater Tacos will be available for $16 for fairgoers.

Best Taste - Sweet: Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog by Beck Fletcher

Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog, winner of the Sweet category at the 2026 Big Tex Choice AwardsPhoto courtesy of State Fair of Texas

The Fletcher’s Chocolate Corny Dog consists of milk chocolate fudge hand dipped in Fletcher’s famous Original Corny Dog batter and deep fried until golden perfection. It is topped with a drizzle of yellow vanilla icing (meant to mimic mustard) and served with raspberry compote (meant to mimic ketchup).

The Fletcher's Chocolate Corny Dog will be the deal among the winners, priced at only $7.

Best Taste - Sipper: Tropical Coco Fresca by Fruteria Cano

Tropical Coca Fresca, winner of the Sippers category at the 2026 Big Tex Choice AwardsPhoto courtesy of State Fair of Texas

The Tropical Coco Fresca is a layered pineapple-watermelon agua fresca with chamoy lava Tajin rim, paired with a scoop of icy coconut snow that melts into a creamy tropical explosion of flavors. The drink will go for $12.

Most Creative: Berry Me in Matcha by Stephen El Gidi (pictured, above).

The sweet treat features a New York-style cheesecake hand-dipped in Belgian white chocolate, rolled in crushed matcha cookies, drizzled with white chocolate and sweet strawberry jam, and finished with a fresh strawberry slice on top.

Priced at a relatively expensive $15, it may be the sweet indulgence that fairgoers choose to share.

The State Fair of Texas will run September 25-October 18, giving people plenty of time to try out these winners and the multitude of other food options the event has to offer.

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100 cheap chops

Dallas steakhouse doubles down on famous 79-cent pork chop deal

Perry's Steakhouse/Facebook

Only 100 chops are available.

One of Dallas' most unique dining promotions is back and bigger this year. Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille will revive its 79-cent pork shop special at lunch on Friday, October 2.

Available at all three Dallas-Fort Worth locations, the lunch-cut pork chop price is "a nod to 1979, the year Perry’s began as a modest butcher shop in Texas," Perry's corporate chef Dan Delorensi says in an Instagram post. He says that the "Flashback Friday" tradition is growing this year, doubling the number of diners who can take part in the event. Plus, the steakhouse has added a pork chop alternative: a caramelized prime rib steak sandwich at the same retro price.

"It's our way of thanking guests for 47 incredible years of support," Delorensi adds.

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The offer is simple. Beginning at 10:30 am, each Perry’s will issue 100 cards for 79-cent lunch-cut pork chops and 100 for caramelized prime rib steak sandwiches to the first 200 people in line. Diners must be at least 21, only people who are standing in line are eligible — no holding spots for friends — and cards must be redeemed by noon.

After all 200 cards are claimed, Perry’s will serve its full lunch menu. The pork chop will then be available at its regular price of $24.

The lunch cut is not quite as large as the chops on the dinner menu. Perry’s owner Chris Perry has told CultureMap that the prodigious size of the dinner menu’s signature seven-fingers high pork chop was part of his marketing strategy. Having to take home leftovers kept the restaurant’s brand in its customers’ minds, he said.

Perry's Steakhouse caramelized prime rib sandwich Perry's will also sell 100 caramelized prime rib sandwiches for 79 cents.Courtesy of Perry's Steakhouse & Grille

“When I first started my business, my plan was to get my name in your fridge,” Perry said in 2019. “It was my only marketing plan that I could really afford. Couldn't afford billboards, and social media wasn’t around [yet].”

Anyone who wants to take advantage of the promotion should line up early. Perry’s never has much trouble finding a couple hundred people who appreciate the value of its offer.

The 79-cent promotion is a nod to 1979, the year Perry’s first opened as a modest, family-owned butcher shop in Houston.

The first DFW Perry's opened in Uptown Dallas at 2000 McKinney Ave. in 2010, a second opened in Frisco in 2014, and the Grapevine location opened in 2017.

Perry’s Steakhouse now has three Dallas-Fort Worth locations: 2100 Olive St., Ste. 100, Dallas; 2440 Parkwood Blvd., Frisco; and 2400 W. State Highway 114, Grapevine.

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