More State Fair Food

State Fair of Texas adds 37 buzzy food concessions to 2024 lineup

Milton's Amish doughnuts are one of the buzzy newcomers to the 2024 State Fair of Texas.

SFOT

The State Fair of Texas will introduce a lucky 13 new food concessions for the 2024 event: According to a release, the 13 will include six new food vendors and seven new food stands.

Some of these newcomers are familar brand names like Rita's Italian Ice. Others are concepts from State Fair veterans like Nevins Concessions. Some are just plain newbies.

These new food options are in addition to the finalists and winners from the recent Big Tex Awards, the annual concession competition wherein a strip of bacon wrapped in cotton candy won first prize.

There's also a new seating area for 2024: Called the Cavalcade, it's located on Gateway, with a live DJ, a wall showcasing vintage movies, and a neon Big Tex selfie stand. Dishes include candied pork belly bacon bites, funnel cake with brisket or spicy chicken, bacon-wrapped turkey legs, and a cool down sundae. Also: drones and a biergarten.

The 2024 State Fair of Texas begins on Friday, September 27, and runs through Sunday, October 20.

New concessions

Rita's Italian Ice. The chain will debut a new signature menu item: the Cool Combo, layering Italian ice with vanilla frozen custard, available in five flavors: blue raspberry, cotton candy, mango, mango-strawberry, and sugar-free dragon fruit. Located on Grand Avenue.

Korean Corn Dogs. Korean twist on the state fair staple will include the Hot Cheetos Korean Corn Dog, with half hot dog and half mozzarella cheese, battered with wheat and rice flour, coated with panko breadcrumbs, and fried, then coated with spicy mayo and Hot Cheetos crumbs. Located on Coliseum Drive.

Crepes and Co. Crepe stand will serve a new Fried Apple Cinnamon Crepe, filled with Biscoff cookie butter spread and caramelized apple cinnamon, topped with caramelized apples, and served with Biscoff mousse, whipped cream, and a Biscoff cookie. Located in the Tower Building.

So Eggciting Deviled Eggs. Their signature creation is Texas BBQ Rib Deviled Eggs, in which deviled eggs are topped with coleslaw and barbecue rib meat tossed in a beer barbecue sauce. Located in the Tower Building.

Smith Spot BBQ. Signature dish, "The Nephew," is inspired by owner Terrance Smith’s nephew and combines a glazed doughnut topped with brisket, mozzarella cheese, honey, and powdered sugar. Located in the Tower Building.

The Dumpling Experience. Dumplings in three varieties: pork & vegetable, chicken & vegetable, and edamame, grilled and topped with green onion and cilantro, and choice of sauce from ponzu lime, Thai chili, sriracha, barbecue, and reaper barbecue. Located in the Funway.

State Fair of Texas new vendors for 2024 handy map and list.SFOT

Beso De Angel. Fritter taco base with sweet crema, strawberry preserves, whipped cream, cajeta caramel, condensed milk, and sliced strawberry. Located at Tony’s Taco Shop in the Tower Building and on Lonestar Boulevard.

Bluebonnet Bliss by Dippin’ Dots. Vanilla Ice Cream Dippin’ Dots mixed with fan-favorite Cherry ‘n Blue Razz Icee flavor. This flavorful duo was created just for the Fair. Located at Dippin’ Dots Ice Cream throughout the fairgrounds.

Caramel Macchiato Fritters. Creamy coffee cake balls dipped in beignet batter and fried, with whipped cream, caramel, white chocolate drizzle, served with a shot of espresso. Located at both Crazy Ottos and Gulf Coast Grill Locations on First Ave. and Big Tex Circle.

Cookie Butter Nachos. Fried flour tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon sugar, with cookie butter cheesecake filling, cream cheese icing, caramel sauce, and crushed Biscoff cookies. Located at both Crazy Ottos and Gulf Coast Grill Locations on First Ave. and Big Tex Circle.

Cheeseception. This is a sandwich inside of a sandwich with mushrooms, arugula, and prosciutto in between classic grilled cheese. Located at Stay Cheesy in the Tower Building.

Cheesy Berry. Strawberries in pink cream layered with cheesecake pieces and a milky cookie. Located at Fruteria Cano throughout the fairgrounds.

Churro Crumble Cheesecake. New York-style cheesecake coated in Belgian milk chocolate, rolled in crushed churro crumbles, topped with dulce de leche sauce. Located at Drizzle Cheesecakes in the Tower Building.

Crookies. Croissant is filled — and topped — with cookie dough, baked, and drizzled with syrup. Located at Stiffler’s Moms Cookie Factory on Funway.

Deep Fried Tablitas. Fried battered short ribs with dipping sauces and a fried jalapeño. Located at Texas Holy Fried Ribs and Fusion BBQ in the Tower Building.

Dickle’s Triple Meat Big Back Snack. Five layer dish with elote street corn, brisket mac & cheese, biscuit, pork belly burnt ends, loaded nacho beef brisket sausage, with deep-fried crinkle-cut maple waffle-flavored potato slices. Located at Dickel’s Smokehouse at Big Tex Circle and First Avenue.

Fernie’s Fruit Quenchers. Jarritos Mexican soda and club soda, in choice of pineapple jalapeño, rosemary mandarin, or grapefruit basil. Available spiked with Champagne, prosecco, or wine-based vodka. Located at The Dock on Nimitz Drive.

Fernie’s GOAT Funnel Cake. A Fernie’s funnel cake with Blue Bell vanilla ice cream, Cherry Dr Pepper syrup, and an El Fenix praline. Located at The Dock and Fernie’s Funnel Cake Factory at Grand Area.

Sandoitchi Fried Matcha. Matcha in two ways. Fried Mochi Matcha Ice Cream, and Fried Matcha Sando, featuring deep-fried Japanese milk bread filled with matcha Chantilly cream, strawberries and matcha biscuit sticks. Located at Sandoitchi in the Tower Building.

Hammy Pimento Meltdown. Grilled pimento cheese sandwich with black forest ham. Located at Highland Park Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain in the Tower Building.

Holy Cheeseus. White pie with a seven-cheese blend, garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil, whipped ricotta and mascarpone blend, black pepper, and Stefan’s hot honey. Located at Texapolitan Pizza on Lonestar Boulevard.

Island Rumble. Mac & cheese topped with jerk chicken in a pineapple rum jerk marinade, garnished with pineapple pico salsa and jerk crema. Located at Mac Loaded on Nimitz Drive.

It's Bananas…B-A-N-A-N-A-S. Banana shake with banana pudding on top, plus whipped cream, Nilla wafers, chocolate-covered bananas, and caramel drizzle. Located at Highland Park Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain in the Tower Building.

Lay's Potato Chip Drink. Potato chips blended with mango and citrus juices, hot honey, jalapeño infused syrup, strawberry drizzle, foam, and Spicy Honey Potato Chips. Located at Milton’s at Front Gate, Tower Building, and Lonestar Boulevard.

Macaron Ice Cream Tower. Macaron tower features six flavors – lemon joy, red raspberry, triple chocolate, vanilla bean, creamy caramel, and pistachio, on top of soft-serve vanilla ice cream. Located at Pound Cake Experts in the Tower Building.

Oktoberfest Pizza. Pizza with mustard-infused white cream sauce, mozzarella & cheddar cheese, sliced German sausage, fried German potatoes, sautéed onion, green pepper, and sauerkraut. Located at Pizza by the GIANT Slice in the Tower Building, MLK Blvd., and First Avenue.

Pork Belly Ceviche Tamales. Corn tamal topped with fried pork belly, fried yuca, plantains, pico de gallo, jalapeño glaze, and micro greens. Located at Milagro Taco Cantina on Lonestar Boulevard.

Pulled Pork Arancini. Crispy rice balls with risotto, scamorza cheese, and pulled pork. Located at EATALY in Cotton Bowl Plaza.

Standing on Business. Salted caramel ice cream in a waffle cone bowl topped with a spicy dark chocolate cookie, fried sweet potato pie, chocolate and caramel sauce, whipped cream, French fries, and a chicken wing. Located at Smokey John’s Bar-B-Que on Funway, Nimitz Drive, and Cotton Bowl Plaza.

Very Berry Coconut Parfairy. Lemon pound cake with blueberry compote, coconut cream custard, vanilla yogurt, whipped cream, blueberry, pineapple, and shaved coconut. Located at Doc’s Street Grill on MLK Boulevard.

Whole Bundt of Kisses. Deep fried 7UP Bundt cake filled with Belgian chocolate, with crumbled chocolate chip cookies and miniature kisses, a regular Hershey's, whipped cream, and edible silver glitter. Located at Southside Steaks and Cakes in Cotton Bowl Plaza .

New 2024 State Fair of Texas Food Stands

Smashed by Nevins Concessions. Five smashburgers including their signature, The Joe, a two-patty smash burger with American cheese, bacon, fried jalapeño caps, and a fried egg. Located on Gateway.

Waffle Works. Serving Waffle Stix, a waffle on-a-stick dipped in Belgian milk, white, or dark chocolate, then rolled in choice of candy toppings like salted caramel pearls, chocolate chips, M&M's Minis, marshmallows, and candy sprinkles. They also serve chicken & waffles, strawberries with Belgian chocolate, and bacon mac & cheese egg rolls. Located in the Tower Building.

Milton’s Amish Doughnuts. Texas-sized sourdough doughnuts dipped in vanilla glaze. A viewing window shows the doughnut-making process. Located on Grand Avenue.

Dole Soft Serve. Cool and spicy Tajin Twist Sundae comes with choice of pineapple, strawberry, or swirl, topped with chili lime Tajin seasoning and Chamoy Mega sauce. Located on Coliseum Drive.

Kona Ice. Gourmet shaved ice in 10 most popular flavors, from Tiger’s Blood to Monster Mango, solo or in combinations. Located on First Avenue.

Johnz Deli. Signature pastrami sandwich prepared in the traditional New York Deli method with the flair of a Texas smokehouse, served on seedless rye bread with mustard, kosher pickle spear, and side of steak fries. Located in Cotton Bowl Plaza.

Pat’s Pizza & Subs. Featuring Mexican Street Corn Pizza: a charred crust topped with chipotle mayo, corn, chili powder, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Located on Coliseum Drive.

state-fair openings

Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom

Levant BBQ

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FORT WORTH, Texas (RNS) — At 9 am on a scorching Saturday in June, nearly 100 people were already lined up outside Goldee’s BBQ, a small, wooden-shack restaurant.

First in line was 30-year-old Thanh Huynh, who had been sitting in a lawn chair on the joint’s rustic porch since 6:30 am.

“I have, like, a whole list, and I’m going to spend lots of money here. It’ll be worth it,” he said, laughing while rattling off a long order of meats and sides from his phone’s Notes app as a sweet, smoky scent from nearby pits hung in the air.

Opened in 2020 by a group of his friends, the restaurant was named the No. 1 barbecue spot in the state by Texas Monthly a year later, and then won a Bib Gourmand award from the prestigious Michelin Guide, given for “great food at a great value.”

The restaurant serves classic Texas barbecue like craft pork belly, sausage, and ribs. But it also offers halal brisket, turkey, and lamb.

"Halal" means meat raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines. It refers to the method in which the animals are slaughtered, one that focuses on humane treatment, cleanliness, and acknowledging the value of life — similar in concept to kosher food in Judaism.

A growing number of halal places have opened around Fort Worth in recent years, and there are also non-halal restaurants that use halal beef, such as burger institution Kincaid's, the new Burger Vault in Keller, and the forthcoming Tick Tock Taco in Colleyville.

Growing Texas trend
At a time when Republican leaders are increasingly targeting the state’s growing Muslim communities, halal barbecue joints like Goldee’s are thriving in Texas. Across the state, Muslim pitmasters are gaining recognition for putting their own spin on one of Texas’ most iconic culinary traditions.

Goldee's Barbecue is an acclaimed BBQ joint in Fort Worth. Goldee's Barbecue/ Facebook

At least a dozen barbecue spots now serve halal meats, including Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice, run by Black Muslim couple CJ and Sabrina Henley, soon-to-be in Plano; and Levant Mediterranean BBQ, a restaurant with locations in Houston and Frisco and whose all-beef menu includes a brisket shawarma sandwich.

“Now there are so many options, and for us to have highly rated barbecue, it’s a blessing,” said Haris Ghaffar, who drove an hour from Celina and stood in 90-degree weather for nearly two hours with a friend for the halal options at Goldee’s.

Growing up in the 1990s, Ghaffar said a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich was one of the few halal meals he could eat while dining out. Back then, halal food was seen as serving a small community. Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that’s part of the American culinary mainstream, said James Beard Award‑winning food writer Farhan Mustafa, who wrote about the rise of American halal barbecue for Bon Appétit magazine in 2025.

“Halal food is American food,” said Mustafa, who is based in Seattle. “It belongs on your plate. It belongs in the casual chat. It belongs in hip hop tracks. It’s the most American thing there is.”

Mustafa said Muslims are part of a growing list of communities putting their stamp on Texas barbecue. “Whether they’re first, second or third-generation Muslims or Muslim Americans or just Americans, they’re bringing what they know and what excites them,” he said.

More than salt and pepper
Texas barbecue is typically defined by salt-and-pepper brisket and pork ribs, but this new crop of halal pitmasters are adding inventive twists, often based on their own family heritages.

Zain Shafi, a pitmaster and co-owner of Goldee’s, previously ran Sabar Barbecue, a food truck that offered Pakistani-infused halal dishes, such as brisket with rub that included spices like bay leaf and coriander.

Sabar was nominated for Best BBQ in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, and made the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Restaurants of 2025. The restaurant was also featured in a recently published BBQ book Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow. He closed Sabar in December 2025 after two years.

Sabar BBQ Sabar Barbecue offered a Pakistani twist on BBQ. Sabar Barbecue

Shafi brought tandoori smoked turkey to Goldee’s menu. And sourcing halal cuts, he said, was a natural choice because they are “the highest quality” meats.

Goldee’s chef and part owner Nupohn Inthanousay also blends his Laotian heritage, serving a smoked Lao “sai oua” sausage with sticky rice and a fiery, tangy dipping sauce.

At Kafi BBQ in Irving, owner Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi brings halal Wagyu beef and Iraqi spices to classic Texas barbecue, challenging what he said is the “traditional old guard of Texas barbecue.”

“My goal at Kafi BBQ is to make the best barbecue in Texas,” Abdul-Kafi said. “I have not been shy about that at all, and making the best barbecue in Texas does not necessarily have to include pork.”

A former Silicon Valley tech worker, he moved to Texas six years ago in search of a Muslim community. On weekends in his backyard, he smoked brisket for friends. By 2024, he bought a smoker and opened Kafi BBQ.

He said he spent months testing and perfecting recipes and finding local producers. Abdul-Kafi attributes his obsession with crafting a stand-out menu to the Islamic concept of “Ihsan”— an Arabic term meaning doing something with excellence for the sake of God.

On a Sunday afternoon this summer, the restaurant’s red booths were packed with diners, drawn to menu items like the 13-spice Wagyu brisket, pomegranate-glazed beef belly burnt ends and Iraqi-inspired spicy beef sausage.

“That sausage, I’d probably put it at the top sausage I’ve ever had, and we eat barbecue a lot. This place is unique,” said Jonathan Tate, a Fort Worth resident who came to Kafi BBQ with a friend after reading about it on a Facebook foodie group.

“I don’t necessarily have to have it halal, but it’s nice to know they took good care of the food, the meat,” his friend Jon Sklar said, before going back in line to order oxtail.

Meat at Kafi BBQ in Irving. Kafi BBQ

'We love barbecue'
Although political rhetoric against Muslims in Texas has become increasingly hostile — some GOP lawmakers even discussed a ban on halal food at a conference this month — pitmasters like Abdul-Kafi see the rise of halal barbecue as an effective counterargument.

“It’s an example of exactly the opposite of what the Islamophobes talk about, right?” he said. “They say, ‘oh, Muslims don’t integrate, they stay alone, they don’t help society and all this stuff.’ And it’s like, I’m sitting here contributing to the most well-known cuisine of Texas.”

One of the diners at Kafi BBQ, Houston native Muhammad Sohail, 23, said the restaurant reflects who he is — a proud Texan and Muslim. “This place is super important because I can see halal within the culture of Texas, which is my culture at this point,” Sohail said. “We love the food. We love meat. We’re Muslims and we love barbecue.”

After finishing a big lunch with 10 relatives, Areeba Ali, a Dallas native of Indian heritage, said the restaurant’s appeal cuts across communities, which she said is evidence that halal barbecue isn’t a niche but resonates broadly with Texans. “If you look around in the restaurant, you see everybody in there — it’s not just one demographic in there,” Ali said.

For Mustafa, that success is ultimately a testament to the resilience of Muslim American communities.

“No matter how much they try to erase us, our food is here to stay,” he said. “You will see the power of just good food and the fact that most people really seem to understand that this is just as American as anything else.”

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This story was written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. It also includes information from the CultureMap archives.

halal halal barbecue muslim communities pitmasters religion texas texas barbecue trends culinary traditions goldee's barbecue