FRIED COKE... At The State Fair Of Texasby Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger 13 Oct 2006 10:36 AM State fairs-for most families they are one of the highlights of summer. But in the great state of Texas, the annual event doesn't get underway until fall (it's open now until October 22nd). And like they do with everything in Texas, residents make a BIG deal of this historic event... and with good reason. The 24-day event takes place at Fair Park (located about two miles east of downtown Dallas), a 277-acre entertainment and recreation complex owned by the city. The park is the year-round home of the Music Hall, Cotton Bowl and eight museums. It is also a National Historic Landmark and boasts the largest collection of art deco exposition buildings in the United States. The Fair is huge and so are the attractions. The 212-foot Texas Star is the tallest Ferris wheel in North America. The massively hyped Texas-Oklahoma football game has been played during the Fair every year since 1929. The Fair also boasts one of the largest livestock shows in the country. This year the Fair is once again hosting its famous daily pig races, midway rides, Chinese acrobats, and big-name stars in concert. In addition, Bryan Berg (who holds the world record title for card stacking) has spent the past few weeks at the Fair trying to keep the World's Largest House of Cards title he won with a replica of Cinderella's Castle. Without the aid of tape, glue or adhesives, Berg has been creating recognizable Dallas landmarks during the 24-day event. Music, pig races, and acrobats...they are all crowd pleasers, but what has been making headlines around the country is a new addition to this year's fair: Fried Coke. That's right, fried coca-cola! You've heard of (and perhaps even tasted) fried Twinkies, fried candy bars, fried pickles, fried Oreos, and even fried worms (all famous fair food). Now, vendor Abel Gonzales Jr. has come up with a new artery-clogging concoction for the State Fair of Texas-fried coke. Gonzales deep-fries Coca-Cola-flavored batter (he uses funnel cake batter), then drizzles Coke syrup on it. The fried Coke is tucked inside of a red paper coke cup and topped with whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry. Think it sounds disgusting? You may want to reconsider. Gonzales' diet-buster won the creativity honor at the second-annual Big Tex Choice Awards Contest and beat out other fan favorites, including fried macaroni and cheese and a deep-fried cosmopolitan. Fried foods and the State Fair of Texas go way back. After all, this is the same state fair that introduced the corn dog to the world. Neil and Carl Fletcher conjured up a sweetened corn-battered wiener on a stick and sold it for 15 cents during the 1942 State Fair of Texas. YUM! Learn more about Michele Cheplic  Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism. Relevanttravel tags User Comments  Libby Pelham |
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