02-07-2025
Dubai Chocolate Is Already the Big Winner at the State Fair of Texas
It's almost that time of year again when the new foods at the State Fair of Texas become a full-time obsession. The Fair dropped a long list of semi-finalists today, and we went through it to pick out the items Eater Dallas thinks will and should make it to the finals, based on the description alone.
This year, the list has the usual Fair foods, loaded with bacon, brisket, chocolate, and tacos. There are not one but three Dubai chocolate items, loads of takes on Mexican food, and more than the typical number of drinks, with a whopping seven making it to the semifinals (dear lord, do not let the Red Bull margarita make it past this point). But there is one item we're immediately kicking out of the running for best in show based on the name alone: Texas Water. It sounds like pineapple- or lime-flavored Crystal Light that is meant to be added to water and pale ale beers, which is unnecessary.
These are the 10 items we predict will make it to the finals for 2025 (or that will be devastatingly overlooked).
It doesn't take a genius to see that mashing up a classic fair food like funnel cake with Dubai chocolate flavors would be a smash hit. This dish reconfigures the funnel cake into strips, coats them with melting Belgian chocolate, and then tops them with pistachio cream and ribbons of kanafeh pastry. It is a simple and elegant way to take the essence of Dubai chocolate and slap it on top of the State Fair staple. We do hope they add some powdered sugar to the final product, however.
This is obviously fair bait, and we're taking it. Someone decided to make a cannoli and stuff it with bacon jam, which is our kryptonite, that is slow-cooked in brown sugar, maple syrup, and spices. That gets layered in with ricotta cheese and chunks of milk chocolate. The shell is drizzled with warm Belgian chocolate on top. Dream food.
It is way past time someone brought the Vietnamese corn dog to the fair. This version of it finds the corn dog prepared as usual, with the outer batter coated in Panko and bánh mì crumbs before being fried. Add some Sriracha mayo and consume with bright pops of acidity from the pickled vegetables served alongside.
Chosen entirely because we love coconut. To create this drink, a coconut is filled with coconut-flavored slushie and topped with coconut-flavored soft serve and a sprinkle of coconut flakes. It's obviously perfect, but if it makes the finals, it is going to come down to personal opinions. (We're hoping the gauntlet of judges also loves coconut.)
Chosen entirely because of our devotion to Key lime pie in all of its forms. This iteration builds on a crust of crushed graham crackers and Nilla Wafters, which is a fun twist. What's the deal with the 'bomb' part? That's where the Key lime pie mix and crust dust are rolled up into bite-sized bits, then topped with pancake batter and fried. The final step is a squirt of Chantilly cream, a shake of powdered sugar, and a lime-jelly candy on top.
This feels like a no-brainer for the fair. Brisket gets mixed into silky beer cheese made from sharp cheddar and an unnamed heavy beer, wrapped in pretzel dough, sprinkled with sea salt, and baked. Unless the beer cheese is really bad, this will be a solid bite with some spicy mustard.
Ube makes it to the State Fair in this dish, which combines ube-flavored ice cream with puffed rice and a finishing dollop of Cool Whip and a cherry. This is a simple Filipino ice cream dish with refreshing flavors that deserves a chance on the stage at the fair.
This dish sounds like it could be great, if executed well. Tex-Mex-style chicken spaghetti gets loaded down with Hatch chiles, queso, and shredded Monterey Jack. That's all stuffed into a garlic and parmesan-covered bread cone. Then, it is unnecessarily topped with pico, sour cream, and avocado, but we'll take the reprieve from the chiles.
Just give us this one, okay? We need a cocktail rimmed with Pop Rocks. Smartly, this is a frozen margarita, which we also need (deserve?) to decompress after making our way around the fairgrounds to eat all this food.
There's nothing particularly Texan about this, but it's a cute name. The dish's description claims to combine 'two Italian classics: tiramisu and espresso,' but that means nothing because tiramisu already has espresso in it. Whatever, it's tiramisu with an added layer of Quadratini wafer cookies that get topped with something called 'cremespresso' and whipped cream. We want it, and a lot of Lactaid.
