The 2024 Big Tex Choice Awards… We Have The Winners

When it comes to serving up the best fair food in the United States of America, nobody does it better than the State Fair of Texas... period. Not better, not bigger, and certainly not tastier, proven once again this week as the winners of the 2024 Big Tex Choice Awards have been announced. What are the hottest NEW foods at the fair this year? Here they are... 

The 20th Annual Big Tex Choice Awards is officially in the books but more importantly ready to be served to you and I when the Fair opens in a few weeks. After tasting all 10 foods and evaluating each time, the all-star panel of judges tallied their scores and made some pretty hard decisions.

Are You Ready?

The winners are:

• “Best Taste – Savory” goes to the Dominican Fritura Dog by Justin Martinez
• “Best Taste – Sweet” goes to Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick by Isaac Rousso
• "Most Creative" - goes to Texas Sugar Rush Pickles, Heather Perkins

See descriptions below:

Dominican Fritura Dog, Justin Martinez

This savory dish brings an explosion of flavor that starts with fritura cheese and Dominican salami. Taking classic Fair food up a notch, this dish is then double deep fried with their famous corn dog batter! Split open and topped with garlic plantain chips, top-secret Dominican sauce, and cilantro, the Dominican Fritura Dog will bring you the best of salty and sweet with an explosion of Dominican flavor. “Hopefully, we’re opening another avenue for people at the State Fair to try something they don’t normally try. That’s what the State Fair is about,” said Justin Martinez, creator of the Dominican Fritura Dog.

Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick, Isaac Rousso

This masterful combination of sweet and savory flavors comes to life with the Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick—a thick, 12-inch piece of bacon cooked to perfection with a cotton candy glaze on top. The bacon is spun inside a cotton candy machine and torched to caramelize the center and lock in that sweet flavor.

Texas Sugar Rush Pickles, Heather Perkins

These cotton-candy-flavored pickle slices are coated in three cereal varieties—Lucky Charms™, Froot Loops®, and Cap’n Crunch® —and then layered in cotton candy, cotton candy sugar crystals, and powdered sugar before being drizzled with strawberry sundae syrup. As if that wasn’t enough, these dressed-up pickles are served with a helping of vanilla ice cream, adding a perfectly cool touch to this crazy concoction!

The Judges:

The panel of celebrity judges for 2024 consisted of Brad Batson – Co-Founder, Karbach Brewing Company; Leslie Brenner — Food and Beverage Personality; Calvin Golden — Franchise Expert & Business Consultant; Donovan Lewis — 96.7SportsRadio/1310 The Ticket Host; Nikky Phinyawatana — Founder of Asian Mint Restaurant Group and ChefNikky.com.

The 2024 State Fair of Texas will open on Friday, September 27, and will run through Sunday, October 20. Ticket information is available at BigTex.com/Tickets.

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