Fair food at Dallas, Texas
Just when you thought pizza couldn’t get any unhealthier, they gone deep-fried it. Not that it seems out of place at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. Deep-frying the food is pretty much mandatory at the food stalls, which could give you a coronary from just reading the menu. Deep-fried cookie dough, deep-fried salsa and even deep-fried beer are all on offer.
The fair’s annual food awards recognise the art that is dunking something perfectly edible into a huge vat of oil until it tastes just like batter and grease. This year the best taste award went to the buffalo chicken in a flapjack while the most creative gong was given to fried bubblegum, which narrowly beat the deep fried pineapple upside down cake.
“Oh, it’s just fair food”, people tell us. “You only eat it once a year”, they insist. It seems reasonable until you glance at their waistline and make the obvious assumption that they must come to the fair every day of its three week run.
Trying to avoid the grease, I choose to go out of the frying pan and into the fire with my meal – an entire turkey leg. Drumstick grasped in my hands, fat dribbling down my arms, I feel like a caveman as I rip into the salty flesh. When man first discovered fire, how was he to know it would one day be used in such a way by obese Americans?
The Texas State Fair in Dallas
The State Fair of Texas is the biggest in the United States with more than 2.5 million visitors each year. Men saunter through the stalls with ten gallon hats while their children waddle after them with what look like ten gallon sodas; teenage couples eat huge bowls of ice cream as they wait for rides; while the young guys, hoping to be in a couple, try to impress the girls with their abilities at the sideshow games.
In the centre of the massive showground, the country’s largest ferris wheel stands at 65 metres. Around it, other rides induce fear, screams, and presumably a second viewing of some of those deep-fried treats. The sideshow operators lure in customers to bowl for glory, bang rubber chickens into pans (probably to later be dumped into boiling oil) and shoot at a variety of targets (because who would want to restrict anyone’s right to bear arms).
At one end of the complex we find a mechanical bull to ride, at another end we find disappointment because Pat Benatar has cancelled her concert due to injury, and in another corner we find the highlight of the day – the pig racing.
If y’all ain’t seen pig racing before, then y’all missing out. Four little hogs get dressed up in racing silks, let out of the cage, and then rush around a track to the plate of Oreo biscuits at the other end. It’s a bit like horse racing but without the gambling, the glamour or the dignity. The poor little things are even given names like ‘Arnold Schwarzenhoggor’ and ‘Sylvester Staloin’.
The annual fair is about more than just rides and a potential grease-induced heart attack. It’s meant as an event that brings the community together and lifts the spirits. Most local schools and businesses even give people a day off just so they can go there. Texas has the second biggest economy in the US but it’s still suffering from its own problems with an unemployment rate at nearly 10 per cent, no local as president for three years, and an influx of Qantas planes since the airline moved its hub to Dallas.
The alleys that radiate from the ferris wheel are supposed to also radiate a sense of warmth and well-being through those who walk along them. And that, to use an Aussie phrase, is fair dinkum.
* Click here for other stories from the Deep South road trip
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Turtle, like the name suggests, likes to take things slowly. Luckily that's one of the best ways to see the world - and that's exactly what he's doing at the moment.
This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.
4 Responses
I didn’t go to the fair this year, but I went last year. Yes, as a teacher, I was given 2 free tickets, and the day off. That’s probably the only way I’d attend. You haven’t painted the Texas State Fair in a very positive light, but I must admit that, after attending state fairs in a number of other states (mostly in the south, yes!) it left me most disappointed. Since you talked about food, one thing I WILL say is that they allow food to be brought in from off-grounds, and that is what I did. There was a nice covered pavilion in which to eat, after washing hands. I brought sandwiches, iced tea, and water (which was a good thing, as I recall a bottle of water was $8 and I refused to buy any concessions at the fair). The exhibits were somewhat interesting, but also a disappointment, since they only showcased the winners and even they were difficult to sort out. The livestock exhibits were also a disappointment, but I can understand why it was necessary to do as they did (feature only a few types/breeds per day) because the classes are large. All in all, I did not get to see what I wanted to see, and I overpaid for parking $20. At least I got a lot of exercise, but there wasn’t much else to be said for it. Those with different tastes might appreciate it much more of course. I’m just “spoiled” by so many other state fairs that DO offer a lot more of what I usually attend to see and experience.
California traveler recently posted..Please excuse our mess!
That’s really interesting to hear. I don’t have much to compare it to, unfortunately. I had a great time there, but it was the food that really stood out for me!
I actually LOVE pineapple upside down cake, and I might have been tempted to try it. Once in a lifetime is probably enough, LOL.
I did try a fried Snickers bar at a Florida state fair about 12 years ago. Once was enough for that too, LOL. But Texas doesn’t have a corner on deep-fried fair food. I think they have a lot MORE of it though, since there is a food contest that goes on every year at the Texas fair.
BTW, I think the whole idea of fried butter is disgusting.
California traveler recently posted..The 10 most amazing places on earth
Anything fried sounds pretty revolting to me. But it’s still fun to try it once!