It’s that time of year again! The State Fair Of Texas! There is always SO many different, crazy, wild, interesting, deliciously-fried foods, along with some awesome vendors, great performances, and fun rides and games… And of course, the two best attractions of all…
The biggest ferris wheel in the country! And….
The biggest man in the Country! BIG TEX!
Although our beloved old Big Tex burnt to a crisp during the end of the 2012 fair season, Thomas and I are really coming to love the new guy. He’s sharply dressed and his “HOWDY FOLKS” is on point.
This year, Thomas was determined to take a silly picture with everything, and I mean everything we came in to contact with
Keep reading for tons of tips and do’s & don’ts do this years Fair!
DO #1
Our first purchase was this cup! It went for 20 coupons, which is equivalent to $10. I know, I know, that seems steep, but consider this: one drink costs 8 coupons, and those cups about 1/2 the size of this one. You can get refills in either cup, both are 4 coupons ($2) each, but when you’re getting double the drink, why wouldn’t you opt for this awesome cup? Also new this year, were all these awesome refill station. Maybe we never noticed them before, but I’m pretty sure they are new. They’re separate from the normal food stands, which provided no long waits for drinks, and at the drink refill stations, water bottles are only 2 coupons ($1) while they’re anywhere from 7-9 coupons at the normal food stands.
DONT #1
Do not get the fried milk and cookies. So gross from the minute we got it. It sounds appetizing, promising an oreo cookie with “milk.” It tasted like a bland meringue mix around a bland bland bland wanna be cookie, battered and deep fried. Seriously, the flavor was so awful, everyone around us was talking about how awful it was! Just get fried oreos instead, we all know those are the bomb.
DO #2
Deep fried Chicken and Waffles. Oh sweet momma. The gravy in this reminds me of my grandmas heavenly sausage gravy that she used to make for me, topped with mini chicken bites, all in a waffle cone. At first glance, I was a little disappointed, but once I started to indulge, I was hooked. This was easily one of the best things we had that day!
DONT #2
Deep fried bluebonnet. Well, it tastes like old, rotten, blueberries, it is quiet bland and the tastiest thing was the whip cream and white chocolate chips on top. Its boasts a blueberry scone type thing, stuffed with blueberry cream cheese, battered and deep fried. Well, it had no flavor, seriously, none. I kept trying to find the good in it, because I really wanted to enjoy this, but I just couldn’t. Skip it. Don’t bother.
DO #3 (if you’re really hungry)
Deep fried Spagetti and meatballs. The first bite was great, really, it was. But bite #2 wasn’t all that. I think it was just too much all rolled in to one. A massive meatball, surrounded by real spaghetti, topped with pasta sauce, parmesan cheese and basil (i think?), it really wasn’t all that bad. It was just, uh, too much?
DO #4
Roasted Corn! NOT buttered corn. HUGE difference.
DO #5
Roasted corn is obviously roasted, and buttered corn is a cob, that sits in a massive pail of butter all day long, waiting for you to die of clogged arteries from all of the lard you ingest with it. Just get the roasted corn, it’s good.
BIGGEST DO #6!
FLETCHERS CORNY DOG! Yes yes yes yes yes. The footlong corny dogs are good, but the Fletchers corny dogs are the best! No question, get one of these babies!
DO #7
Don’t skip out on water. It’s Texas, and it’s always hot. Seriously, I didn’t get enough water, and ended up with a nice little migraine. Not a good end to my day. And like I said above, it’s only two coupons at those awesome little stands, just do it.
DO #8
Fried Snickers. Do I even need to go on? No? Didn’t think so
DO #9
Deep fried meatloaf. I once hated meatloaf, but now, we aren’t such enemies… And I want to kick myself for not taking a picture of this delicious delicacy. Needless to say, you gotta try this stuff. It comes with a small side of gravy as well as ketchup. You just can’t go wrong!
DON’T #3
Do not, and I repeat, do not go on the day of any of the major football games… Grambling State/ Prarie View A&M OR Texas/OU. If you aren’t there for the football games, you’ll just be miserable. Now, us on the other hand, we’ll be there, in the big mess of it all come October 11th, @ 11am! HOOK ‘EM HORNS!
DO #10
Go on a day when they have someone performing. Granted, it’s not always all that great, and normally its small acts, but it gives you a break from stuffing your face, and dealing with smelly people. We saw Lucy Hale (Pretty Little Liars & New country artist)
DO #11
Just grab a map. Especially if you’re looking for a certain food, much like a certain someone that I was with was. I’ve never even touched a map at the fair, but this year, Thomas was determined to find a few certain foods and the map showed us just where to get them!
DO #12
Deep fried loaded mashed potatoes. If you don’t love mashed potatoes, Texas doesn’t love you. Just kidding, well sorta. I had low expectations for this- I just expected it to be like a french fry with some bacon and chives, oh man was I wrong. It was REALLY like mashed potatoes, inside of a fried shell. It was served with sour cream on the side. It was delicious.
DONT #4
I don’t know why I should even need to say this, but don’t go to the fair and get a hamburger, chicken sandwich, or chicken tenders. If you can get it all year long at your beloved fast food restaurant, why would you bother getting it at the fair? Get FAIR FOOD, y’all! It just makes more sense.
DO #13
Check out all of the vendors this year! Although there are a lot of the same ones, there are some awesome new ones! I didn’t buy anything, yet, mostly because I know we’ll be going back another 1/2 dozen times.
DO #14
Get candy from the guy in the big tent! He is so sweet, always gives you free stuff, and has the most delicious varieties of candy and jerky. Deal with him though, not his wife, she’s a little more strict when it comes to weighing your items and pricing!
There are so many things we have yet to try, but we are going back twice this week, so i’ll be sure to update the list of Do’s & Don’ts!
Whats your favorite part of the fair?
XoXo-Tiffani