The State Fair of Texas this year introduced the Butter-Dipped Toffee Crunch Nutty Bar, Deep Fried Bourbon Banana Bread, and nearly 40 other wild foods, and plenty of its 2 million-plus visitors will gleefully gobble them up.
Inspired by the annual extravaganza, which runs September 25-October 18, restaurants across Dallas are getting in on the action, offering their own State Fair-themed dishes and specials, from Frito Chili Soufflé and Hot Cheeto elote to funnel cake fries and deep fried churros.
Check out these Dallas restaurants offering State Fair-inspired specials, all of which are available during the run of the fair:
Crown Block
The two-time Michelin recommended restaurant atop Reunion Tower is celebrating The State Fair with a seasonal menu featuring Elote Wagyu Dogs — that’s an ultra-tender beef hot dog fried in Fletcher’s signature batter beneath firm cotija cheese, corn, and cilantro. Crown Block State Fair specials also include the sweet Crown Fair, a dessert made from cotton candy, cinnamon churros, caramel sauce, and deep-fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce. The Cotton Candy Cowboy craft cocktail features Texas whiskey, blackberry, citrus, and, obviously, cotton candy, which you can sip on some 560 feet above the fair, which is about four miles southeast of the dining room.
Lochland’s Irish Pub
Irish pub in northeast Dallas is going all out with a list of fair-inspired fare that includes Shepherd’s Balls — Lochland’s signature shepherd’s pie rolled into balls and fried — plus foot-long corn dogs, smoked turkey legs, breakfast dogs (breakfast sausage dipped in pancake batter), funnel cake fries, and deep fried churros.
Rodeo Goat
The Texas-born burger chain is bringing back its oversized BIG TEX Burger throughout the fair, featuring an all-beef patty topped with a chicken-fried mashed potato cake, crispy bacon, a fried onion ring, and chorizo gravy for $13.99. It’s going head-to-head with the Honey Bacon Blue burger, an all-beef patty stuffed with blue cheese butter and topped with honey bacon bits, fried kale, and curry mayo. There’s also a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Goat Balls dessert: deep-fried, cheesecake-filled bites coated in pumpkin spice and served with mascarpone dip. Rodeo Goat has 10 locations across Dallas-Fort Worth.
Lucky’s
As one of Oak Lawn’s longest-lasting diners, Lucky’s tips its cowboy hat to the Big Tex Award winners of the world, but claims a closer kinship to enduring classics. And the State Fair’s arguably most enduring classic has to be the Corny Dog. Thus the restaurant will offer two State Fair Corn Dogs with fries for $10.99, along with Funnel Cake Ale from Community Brewing for $5.50. Specials run throughout the fair days.
Maple Leaf Diner
North Dallas’ Canadian-themed diner is leaning into the fried-food spirit with a lineup of State Fair-inspired specials. Options include a Buffalo fried cheese curd five-cheese grilled cheese, fried pickles, fried Oreos, and the Carnival Burger — a beef burger topped with a fried block of cheddar and a corn dog skewer. Cotton Candy Mimosa, Churros and Cream Soda, and the returning Maple Bacon Iced Latte round out the cocktail and beverage menu.
Rise No. 1
Of course it’s a soufflé. Anything else would be silly here at Dallas’ favorite French restaurant. And Rise’s Frito Chili Soufflé is serious, with Texas chili, crunchy Fritos, cheddar, and fresh toppings baked into Rise’s signature airy soufflé. Viva this France and Texas collab. The seasonal special is a returning fair-time favorite.
Flying Fish
This North Texas seafood staple’s State Fair-inspired specials include Grits-on-a-Stick and Gumbo — grits deep-fried on skewers and served with seafood gumbo — plus fried alligator nuggets with Papous Comeback Sauce and a Nashville Hot Catfish Sandwich topped with sweet-heat sauce, coleslaw, and pickles.
Bluebonnet and Thyme
After her Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders won Most Creative at last year’s State Fair of Texas Big Tex Awards, Chef Kendall Williams opened her own Victory Park restaurant. The award-winning dish is on the menu along with charcuterie nachos, Cajun cream pastas, and more crave-worthy, if heartburn-inducing, dishes. The restaurant, which only opened in August, is in the former Dirty Bones space across from American Airlines Center.
The Stix Icehouse
The sprawling indoor-outdoor entertainment venue in McKinney tends to go Big in the name of Tex, turning its 14-acre property into a mini State Fair, September 25-October 18. Festivities include live entertainment, family activities, and a full menu of fair-inspired food — deep-fried footlong corny dog with queso and BBQ sauce, Frito pie, Hot Cheeto elote, a mac stack burger topped with a fried mac-and-cheese ball, deep-fried Oreos, and funnel cake fries with chocolate and caramel syrup. Bartenders will serve Texas cherry limeade, a cotton candy margarita, and a zero-proof cotton candy lemonade. The month-long celebration culminates October 18 with the fifth annual Good Ol’ Days Fest, featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, vendor market, field-day games, and a celebrity dunk tank for a cause.
Dining and Cooking