Patterico's Pontifications

9/28/2007

Food and Fun @ the Texas State Fair

Filed under: Real Life — DRJ @ 6:21 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

I’ll never equal James Lilek’s tales of the Minnesota State Fair, but …

Since everything’s bigger in Texas, that means there’s no fair like the Texas State Fair. This year’s Fair starts today and includes the usual: corny dog and waffle eating contests, 70 rides and shows, a Human Cannonball, auto shows, livestock competition, creative arts, butter sculptures, card-stacking and canine agility contests, and a hearty greeting from Big Tex. There are also a few new choices:

The Texas Skyway – A “$5 million ride … like a giant chairlift that takes you for an easy, nonthreatening ride above the whole fair for a great bird’s-eye view. At its highest point, you’re 65 feet in the air, moving at a casual 600 feet per minute (at top speed). Each of the 34 art deco-inspired gondola cars hold eight passengers (some cars are wheelchair-accessible), and they run on an overhead cable from one end of the midway to the other.”

Xtreme 2 – A gondola car on an arm that swings slowly up and then, as supervisor Rusty Fitzgerald describes it: “It starts spinning me around, and all of a sudden I’m pullin’ 4 G’s going through the station. You don’t need a cup of coffee if you ride that thing in the morning. It’s really fun if you’re a thrill-seeker.”

Kids love the rides but adults know the best part is the food … fried, that is:

Texas Fried Cookie Dough – This year’s cholesterol choker is “made from scratch with pecans, chocolate chips and coconut, lightly battered and deep-fried, then topped with chocolate syrup or whipped cream.” Yum.

Deep-fried latte – Winner of the “Most Creative prize: a delicately fried light puff pastry, with a hint of coffee, topped with cappuccino ice cream, sweet syrup, whipped cream and instant coffee sprinkles.”

There’s also Fried Corny dogs, Fried Twinkies, Fried Chili Frito burritos, Fried Guacamole, Fried Funnel cakes, and Fried Banana pudding. Texans like fried.

For the young’uns and kids of all ages there are racing pigs and dairy goat costume contests where “children embarrass their dairy goats by entering them in a costume contest. ‘Those little goats will put up with just about anything,’ says Fair publicist Candis Wheat.”

Doesn’t this post give you have a hankerin’ to watch pigs race and eat something fried?

–DRJ

7 Responses to “Food and Fun @ the Texas State Fair”

  1. Whoowhee! And we just got back from an ice cream social organized by the PTA. Life is full of lost opportunities.

    (I had a very nice vanilla fudge sundae, though and even more fun being a “walkaround dad” refereeing table games.)

    nk (7d4710)

  2. NK, that sounds wonderful. But I’m still *shocked* that Chicago schools don’t have pig races and goat costume contests at all PTA events.

    DRJ (ec59b5)

  3. Actually, DRJ, as soon as the daughter was born, about five and a half years ago, we moved into a little Olmstead-designed village to the west of Chicago. I had the distinct feeling at the time that the local realtor was trying to discourage us from buying there and … would you believe it ..? I was the only one wearing a Stetson hat tonight.

    nk (7d4710)

  4. would you believe it ..? I was the only one wearing a Stetson hat tonight.

    The only way you could say that where I live is if you were the only Dad there.

    DRJ (ec59b5)

  5. DRJ, I think I just had a small heart attack just from reading that list of foods…

    Scott Jacobs (a1de9d)

  6. Definitely. I wouldn’t want to try it all in one day.

    DRJ (ec59b5)

  7. You can find pig races in Chicago’s west suburbs after all. My daughter came home last evening wearing a sticker “No. 1 Pig Rooter” which she proudly wore to school again this morning.

    nk (7d4710)


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