A Highly Opinionated Ranking of the 10 State Fair of Texas Food Finalists

The sweets, however, offered some shock and awe — and a lot of sugar. While one of the big prize winners was our pick for the top of the fair food pile this year, the other two decidedly were not.

Not ranked: Hot Chick in a Pancake Poppers

Just like last year, an item fails to rank at all because the vendor ran out before we could get back to sample everything. Y’all, reporters are on a deadline. I love Palmer’s Hot Chicken, which created this dish, though. It was surprising to see something that didn’t place as a finalist go so quickly — we’ll be trying it at the fair.

9. Tropical Two-Step Punch

It’s good, but it’s just a punch out here doing its job of cooling down your mouth after you take a super hot bite. If you like lemonade better, you’re getting a lemonade. If you want to mix it up, get this. Maybe it’s more thrilling with booze in it, who knows?

8. Texas Fried Burnt End Bombs

Overall, the savory dishes didn’t hit this year. This one is fine but bland. It’s a lot of potato and beef. One of the judges mentioned that it needed the extra barbecue sauce they added, and we agree. But being boring is the worst thing you can be at the fair.

7. Texas Sugar Rush Pickles

This item won the Most Creative award and among the finalists, it is that. It is the inverse on the scale of interesting from the fried burnt-end bombs. Do you want to put cereal, cotton candy, strawberry syrup, vanilla ice cream, and sour pickles in your mouth all at the same time? If you answered yes, you must be under 10 years old.

6. Nevins Nutty Bar-laska

The Nevins family is a fair dynasty, but let’s face facts: This is a dressed-up Nutty Bar that happens to be bigger in size than the average mouth-opening and a whole lot of sugar. The elements — a whole Nutty Bar, two Oreos, and a toasted marshmallow along with other bits and bobs —are not freshly made but rather glued together. They could have done better — but just the same, this is a nice sweet treat.

5. The Drowning Taquitos

More lackluster savory foods. If you like taquitos and want to do more mobile dipping, this is a home run. The bite is a bit overstuffed with chicken but there’s a generous amount of guacamole, sour cream, and pico in the cup to dip in, which is appreciated. No one is reinventing any foods here, or inventing new foods, just...making a better cup.

4. Dominican Fritura Dog

This was...fine? It tastes like a corny dog with savory meats and cheese in it, which is essentially what it is. We were surprised when the judges picked it as the Best Taste — Savory winner because they all seemed so unenthused by it. Then we tasted all the other savory dishes and it made sense.

3. Hippie Chips

These were surprisingly good — we got the version with blue cheese rather than ranch dressing. This dish has all the salt of potato chips and bacon, and the squirt of sriracha on top keeps it from being boring. It was a sleeper hit.

2. Strawberry Pop-Tarts Beignetffle

Could not stop eating this. It truly does taste like a strawberry Pop-Tart merged with waffles and beignets. Despite being topped with both vanilla ice cream and whipped cream, it wasn’t overdone. Somehow this just all works.

1. Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick

This is such a simple idea that just plain works. What makes it is that the bacon is of an incredible quality — it is a 12-inch strip that’s thick on a stick. That means putting something relatively cheap, like cotton candy, on it is easy because it stands up to the sugar well and the bacon is still the star. This was the Best Taste — Sweet winner but it could take all the awards. It’s also savory and creative. More folks hoping to land a finalist slot at the fair need to take this lesson: Quality makes a difference in both taste and appearance.