Fried bubblegum, buffalo chicken flapjacks win State Fair of Texas fried food awards

by Mike Bullock, Teresa Gubbins

• Tweet
• Email
• Print
• 13 Comments

Judges said the fried bubblegum was messy.

Fried bubblegum

DALLAS — The winners of the Texas State Fair's 2011 Seventh Annual Big Tex Choice fried food awards are:

Best Taste: Buffalo chicken flapjacks

Most Creative: Fried bubblegum

State Fair officials made the announcement in the Fair's Embarcadero Building at about 9:48 a.m. on Labor Day Monday, following judging by a panel that included: Dallas Parks Board President Joan Walne; Dallas Cowboys reporter Kristi Scales; Dallas business executive and husband of Clarice Tinsley Stephen Giles; and Dallas state representative Eric Johnson.

The emcee was Mitchell Glieber, who does marketing/public relations for the fair.

The contestants were judged in the following order:

Buffalo Chicken in a Flapjack

• Buffalo flapjacks
• El baranarito
• Fried autumn pie
• Walking taco
• Fried salsa
• Kraut balls
• Pineapple upside down cake
• Fried bubblegum

The buffalo chicken in a flapjack, you may recall, is described as "a buffalo chicken strip coated in flapjack batter, rolled in jalapeno bread crumbs, deep fried to a golden brown, skewed, and served with a side of syrup." It comes from concessionaire Allan Weiss and is available inside the Automobile Building and in the Thrill Way.

The Fried bubblegum is "a light-as-a-feather bubblegum-flavored marshmallow dipped in batter, lightly fried, decorated with a swirl of icing, and sprinkled with powdered sugar." It was submitted by concessionaire Justin Martinez and will be sold at Granny's Funnel Cakes on Coliseum Drive.

Fried salsa ("spicy medley of jalapenos, roasted garlic, onion, tomato, and pepper dipped in masa and covered in crunchy tortilla chips, served with warm, deliciously creamy queso") seemed to generate the biggest response among the judges, and the fried bubblegum was the messiest.

"The kids will love it but the parents will need to bring Wetnaps," said Scales, as she stretched the bubblegum-flavored marshmallow center between her fingers. "It's just a big mess.”