Every year, The Dallas Morning News food team heads to the State Fair of Texas on opening day to try the new winning foods and opine on what is, and maybe isn’t, worth shelling out coupons for.
This year, two North Texas chefs joined the food team to lend their expertise: Tiffany Derry, chef and owner of several local restaurants, including Roots Southern Table, and a judge on TV cooking competition show Master Chef; and Dino Santonicola, chef and owner of Partenope Ristorante and a regular competitor in the 50 Top Pizza competition.
(From left) Anna Butler, food and events editor at the Dallas Morning News and reporter Imelda García watch as guest judges Tiffany Derry and Dino Santonicola discuss the Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders during the Morning News’ taste test at the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The panel of five judges, including Derry, Santonicola, food editor Anna Butler, food reporter Imelda Garcia and myself, tried all 10 of the Big Tex Choice Award Finalists and scored each one on a 1 through 5 scale. Those scores were averaged to come up with a ranked list of the savory dishes and ranked list of the sweet dishes. Taste, execution and value were taken into consideration for scoring.
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Note: A drinks category was added to the Big Tex Awards this year, but those were not included in this taste test. We did however try the winner of the new “Sipper” category and rated it.
Savory#1 Deep Fried Deli Tacos — $16
The Deep Fried Deli Tacos during the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The brothers behind Dallas barbecue restaurant Smokey John’s are back at the fair this year with a “Jewish-Mexican fusion” taco. These crispy, fried tacos are filled with chunks of smoked pastrami, mashed potatoes, cheese and chives. They were a resounding hit with our judges.
“Something happens the more you eat it,” Derry said, looking down at the empty basket in front of her. “I’m for real. It’s a bite that develops in flavor the more you eat it.”
The tacos come with a jalapeño salsa that was as equally loved by our judges as the tacos themselves. Derry offered a warning, though. “If you don’t do spice, don’t do that sauce,” she said.
They are available at the Smokey John’s and Smokey Johnz Deli stands.
Score: 5/5
#2 Hans Brisket & Brew Stuffed Pretzels — $18
The Brisket and Brew Stuffed Pretzels during the Texas State Fair opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
From the Hans Mueller tent, these pretzel balls come loaded with brisket and beer cheese. We found the brisket to be flavorful and generously portioned but the bake of the pretzels to be inconsistent. Some were spot on, some underbaked and doughy.
”It’s a good beer snack,” said Derry.
Score: 3.4/5
#3 Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders — $22 
Guest judge Tiffany Derry holds up the Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders during the Dallas Morning News’ taste test at the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
At So Eggciting Deviled Eggs inside the Tower Building Food Court are these wagyu cheeseburger sliders, which took the Big Tex Choice Awards’ “most creative” designation this year and come two to an order. Instead of a bun, two deep-fried deviled egg halves do the job and sandwich a cheese-topped wagyu patty and a piece of bacon.
“It really is like a slider,” said Santonicola, marveling at the fried egg taking the place of a bun. “And like a burger, it’s gonna fall apart.”
Score: 3/5
#4 (tie) Crab & Mozzarella Arancini — $20
Arancini, a popular southern Italian street food consisting of fried balls of rice and cheese, seems like a perfect match for the fair. This crab and mozzarella version, though, didn’t quite land with our judges.
“This is more like a crab cake,” said Santonicola, who is from Naples. “This should be called ‘crabcini.’”
Four arancini come to an order along with a side of marinara, which makes it easily shareable, but we found it to be texturally far from arancini and lacking in seasoning. Find them at Texapolitan Pizza near Big Tex.
Score: 1.6/5
#4 (tie) Vietnamese Crunch Dog — $16 
The Vietnamese Crunch Dog during the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
From the creator of last year’s Deep Fried Pho is this marinated pork skewer that’s a corny dog-inspired take on the Vietnamese dish bún thịt nướn. The skewer is breaded in panko and banh mi crumbs, and served with sriracha mayo and pickled veggies.
“It’s very creative,” Derry said. “I expected it to be a flavor bomb, but I’m not getting flavor bomb.”
Along with lacking flavor, judges found the batter to be too thick and gummy on the inside despite having a great crunch on the outside. The Eat Crispies stand is located along the Midway.
Score: 1.6/5
Sweet #1 Tex’s Toast á la Mode — $20
The Tex’s Toast á la Mode is prepared during the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
The unanimous winner in the sweet category among our judges was this take on French toast. It is almost an amalgam of French toast and bread pudding, but with plenty of crunch thanks to crisped chunks of French toast and cinnamon cereal on top of hefty scoops of Blue Bell vanilla ice cream.
“Do we got a winner! Do we got a winner!” Derry said after her first bite.
Out of all 10 of this year’s Big Tex finalists, judges thought this dish was the most bang-for-your-buck.
You can find it at the Highland Park Soda Fountain stand inside the Tower Building Food Court.
Score: 5/5
#2 Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake — $18
The Dubai Chocolate Cheesecake during the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
This loaded cup of cheesecake is from the maker of the 2023 Big Tex winner Biscoff cheesecake on a stick, Drizzle Cheesecakes. Large pieces of New-York-style cheesecake are layered with Belgian chocolate, pistachio cream and kataifi, and topped with crushed pistachios.
“If you like Dubai chocolate, this is definitely for you,” Derry said.
Judges agreed it was almost too rich, but they were pleased with the amount of kataifi and real pistachio that were incorporated.
Score: 3/5
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#3 Chill & Thrill Delight — $18
Guest judge Tiffany Derry holds up the Chill & Thrill Delight while tasting it during the Dallas Morning News’ taste test at the State Fair of Texas opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
A Colombian dessert, Salpicon de Frutas, is fair-ified in this version with shaved mango sorbet on top of a cup of cold, diced fruit soaked in watermelon juice and a bit of lime.
The fruit — which included mango, strawberries, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple — was fresh and plentiful. The sorbet, although it received some low marks for taste, added textural interest, judges said.
“It’s better than I thought it would be,” Santonicola said. “It’s not overly sweet. My daughter would love it.”
The dish, which took this year’s “best taste — sweet” prize, can be purchased at Tony’s Taco Shop in the Tower Building Food Court and the Centennial Building.
Score: 2.8/5
#4 Candy Lemon Sour Face — $8
Out of all the foods in this year’s line up, this dessert turned the most heads among judges. An entire peeled lemon is dipped in candy coating, sprinkled with crushed Starbursts and Lemon Heads, then frozen. It comes skewered on two toothpicks that are arguably not up for the task they’ve been assigned.
“It’s not like anything I’ve had before,” said Derry. “It’s definitely giving what it should give, sweet and sour.”
Santonicola said you’ve got to be a lemon lover to get behind eating an entire lemon.
The dish, from Candy Pickles & Dipped Fruit near the Funway, is the cheapest offering among the Big Tex Choice Awards finalists this year.
Score: 2.4/5
#5 Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries — $18
Rousso’s Dubai Chocolate Funnel Cake Fries during the Texas State Fair opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
Loaded fries get a sweet, Dubai chocolate makeover in this dish from the stand behind last year’s popular Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick, which won the “best taste – sweet” award. Hopes were high among the judges, but this dessert fell short of expectations. While the concept was fun and the flavors were good, the funnel cake batter fries were far too greasy, judges said.
“These were just too greasy for me,” Santonicola said. “And if you got a bite without the Dubai topping, it was really missing something.”
Score: 1.8/5
Bonus: Cookie Chaos Milkshake — $17
Susan Cooper serves the Cookie Chaos Milkshake during the Texas State Fair opening day at Fair Park in Dallas on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025.
Juan Figueroa / Staff Photographer
While our panel of judges did not taste all five of the finalists in the new drinks category, we did give this winning drink a try. (Although, whether or not a milkshake should be considered a drink seems up for debate.) Snickerdoodles, Golden Oreos and regular Oreos are freshly blended into a cookie butter milkshake for each order. The milkshake is then topped with whipped cream, a scoop of cookie butter and crumbled Biscoff cookies.
“Drink is a strong word for this,” Derry said. “It tastes like a really good milkshake, but it seems like a lot of work for what it is.”
Multiple stands sell the award-winning beverage.
Score: 3/5