State Fair News

State Fair of Texas reveals Big Tex Awards finalists with new drinks

State Fair of Texas Dubai fries

SFOT

The fried food finalists are here: The State Fair of Texas has revealed the finalists for the 21st Annual Big Tex Choice Awards presented by Karbach Brewing Company, with new twists for 2025.

The Big Tex Choice Awards is the State Fair's annual competition of concessionaires submitting new festival creations.

This year, the State Fair has changed the formula by adding a new category called Sippers, dedicated to beverages — putting the number of finalists at 15 instead of the 10 that have been the standard since this annual competition was launched in 2005.

The addition of beverages further formalizes the contest's categories of Savory, Sweet, and now Sipper, with five finalists for each. (In earlier years, there was not such a defined line on how many finalists were savory or sweet.) There will also be an award for "Most Creative."

The finalists were chosen from 76 entries, which were then narrowed down to 30 semi-finalists, each evaluated on four criteria: uniqueness, creativity, presentation, and taste. Winners will be crowned on Thursday, August 21.

Regardless of who wins, all semifinalist creations will be sold at the Fair this year.

The State Fair of Texas will run from September 26 to October 19. Find tickets and other information online.

SAVORY

Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels, Glen & Sherri Kusak
Brisket is blended with beer cheese made from cheddar, wrapped in pretzel dough, sprinkled with salt, and baked. They're easy to carry and made for munching as you wander the fairgrounds.

Crab & Mozzarella Arancini, Stefan T. Nedwetzky
Rice ball made of crab, rice, mozzarella cheese, onion, red bell pepper, lemon, black pepper, garlic, coriander, and basil, served with marinara.

Deep Fried Deli Tacos, Brent & Juan Reaves
New York deli meets Dallas taqueria: Pastrami, mashed potatoes, cheese in a corn tortilla, fried and served with a spicy green sauce.

Vietnamese Crunch Dog, The Le Family
Asian twist on corn dog, coated in a crispy mix of panko and bánh mì crumbs, with sriracha mayo and pickled veggies.

Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders, Kendall Williams
Cajun-seasoned Wagyu patty with cheddar and bacon sandwiched between two fried, panko-crusted deviled egg halves, with ketchup-inspired sauce.

SWEET

Candy Lemon Sour Face, Chef Heather J. Perkins
Sweet-and-sour candy-coated lemon.

Chill & Thrill Delight, Tony & Terry Bednar
A twist on Colombia’s famous Salpicon de Frutas featuring a cup of diced mango, pineapple, watermelon, grapes, cantaloupe, and strawberries, soaked in watermelon juice with a splash of lime, topped with shaved mango sorbet.

Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake, Stephen El Gidi
Served in a cup, featuring Belgian chocolate, pistachio spread, kataifi, tahini, chunks of New York-style cheesecake, drizzled with chocolate, pistachio cream, and crushed pistachios.

Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries, Isaac & Joey Rousso
Funnel cake strips drizzled with chocolate, topped with pistachio cream and knafeh pastry.

Tex’s Toast á la Mode, Michelle & Jayse Edwards
French toast topped with vanilla ice cream, caramel, real maple syrup, and cinnamon cereal crunch for that extra pop.

SIPPER

Coconut Quadruple, Binh Tran & My Vo
Whole fresh, young coconut with a coconut slushy topped with soft-serve coconut ice cream and a sprinkling of coconut flakes.

Cookie Chaos Milkshake, Brad Weiss
Cookie butter milkshake with snickerdoodle chunks, Oreo cookies, Golden Oreo cookies, cookie butter cookie dough, Biscoff cookie, and cookie butter drizzle, with a rim coated in crushed Biscoff cookie pieces.

Hot Honeycomb Lemonade Shake Up, Tom Grace
Lemonade Shake Up with fresh-squeezed lemons, sugar, water, and a good shake has already been been a fair classic, now with honey and fresh jalapeños, rimmed with chamoy and Tajin and topped with a skewer of honeycomb, and optional shot of alcohol.

Nevins Dirty Red Bull Tex-arita, Josey Nevins Mayes & Tami Jo Nevins Mayes
"Dirty Tex-arita" cocktail contains sweet cream liquor, Blue Razz Pop Rocks, Watermelon Red Bull margarita, andBlueberry Red Bull margarita, topped with Pop Rocks, blueberries, and watermelon.

Poppin' Boba Rita, Justin Martinez
Frozen fresh lime juice margarita with wine-infused poppin’ boba pearls in mango or strawberry flavor. Make it "dirty" with a swirl of cold foam, coconut syrup, and a Tajin rim.

These 15 finalists will battle for the four titles on Thursday, August 21, at 2 pm. The Big Tex Choice Awards event is closed to the public but viewers can follow along online on the @StateFairofTX Instagram or Facebook.

festivals state-fair

Supermarket News

Cult grocer Trader Joe's plots 3 new locations for Dallas-Fort Worth

In massive supermarket news, Trader Joe's, the cult grocery chain from California, is expanding in North Texas with plans to open a trio of new locations across Dallas-Fort Worth. One alone would be cause for celebration, never mind three.

The potential new stores include two in Collin County and one in Fort Worth, as follows:

Plano, at 5900 Preston Rd.
Wylie, at 2710 E. FM 544 #110
North Fort Worth, at 9052 North City Dr., just south of North Tarrant Parkway

The chain has filed plans with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation to begin construction at these sites. That alone is not a confirmation, since companies sometimes file plans that do not come to fruition.

But Trader Joe's spokesperson Nakia Rohde has confirmed that the company plans to open three new stores in these cities, although no timeline has been defined. Because the stores are still to be built, the exact addresses could change, too.

Construction on all three stores is currently slated to be complete by June 2027. Plano and Fort Worth are set to break ground in December 2026, while the Wylie store will do so in March 2027. The three stores will average 12,500 square feet, according to the filings.

The Plano store will be advantageously located across from an H-E-B — the DFW area's second — which opened in 2022. Located at the corner of Spring Creek Parkway, this will be Plano's second Trader Joe's. The first opened back in September 2012 at 2400 Preston Rd., just two miles south at Park Boulevard.

The Wylie store will be a block west of Wylie High School and a Kroger Marketplace, and two miles east of a constellation of markets that includes an Aldi, Sprouts, Target, and a recently opened H-E-B store in Murphy.

The Fort Worth store will be across from Target and Costco, in an area loaded with restaurants, just west of a Portillo's, which opened in 2023. It will be the second Trader Joe's in Fort Worth; the first opened at 2701 Hulen St. in June 2012.

There are currently 26 locations of Trader Joe's in Texas — six in the Dallas area and the one in Fort Worth.

collin county openings supermarkets