For the five judges who chose the winners of the State Fair of Texas Big Tex Choice Awards on August 22, 2024 at Fair Park, concessionaire Isaac Rousso’s cotton candy bacon on a stick was love at first sight and then love at first bite.
Judges’ jaws dropped as they reached for chunks of meat glistening with a coating of pink cotton candy heated with a blowtorch and dripping down the stick. It was a change from the already entertaining task of sampling nine fried, salty and sweet foods – and one sugary drink – at the Big Tex Choice Awards.
But nothing seemed to compete with the bacon on a stick.
In fact, it won the category “Best Taste – Sweet,” one of the three top prizes in the annual food competition. Judge Leslie Brenner, former Dallas Morning News Restaurant critic, said she could imagine children and adults skipping around the fair with bacon in hand.
“I firmly believe it will be extremely popular,” said Calvin Golden, another of the five judges and a retired Wingstop franchisee.
Brad Batson, co-founder of Karbach Brewing Company and judge, said he was “blown away” by the salty-sweet treat.
Two more winners were announced at the Big Tex Choice Awards, both of which are likely to see a significant increase in sales due to their status as Big Tex Choice Awards winners.
“Best Taste – Savory” went to concessionaire Justin Martinez’s Dominican Fritura Dog, a corned dog stuffed with salami and cheese. His family has been at the State Fair since the late 1970s, before Justin was born. His father, Rudy Martinez, died in February 2024 and was a well-known concessionaire for decades.
Martinez was moved to tears when his kitschy dog was named the winner.
“This is for him,” Justin Martinez said of his father. “We miss him. We love him.”
The final award for the “most creative” variety went to Texas Sugar Rush Pickles, which was a mystery to the judges.
Concessionaire Heather Perkins’ cotton candy-soaked pickles come in a cup with colorful toppings, including Lucky Charms, Froot Loops and Cap’n Crunch, vanilla ice cream and a lollipop.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a dish here that has this much going on,” said 96.7SportsRadio and 1310 The Ticket host Donovan Lewis as he scooped into the cup. He’s a State Fair superfan; he took his wife to Fair Park Fest on their first date.
Lewis said of Perkins’ pickles: “It’s like an overly talkative six-year-old.”
That was a compliment. And they continued:
“It’s like a child’s dream. If you ask a child: ‘What would you like for breakfast?’, they say: The.”
And he’s right: Isn’t the State Fair of Texas also about what the kids will eat?
“It takes you out of this world,” said Dallas chef Nikky Phinyawatana, who owns the Asian Mint restaurant group. “It has the sweet, the salty and the sour.”
For more food news, visit Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.
