Category Archives: Dallas/Ft. Worth area

State Fair of Texas – Fried Beer, Football, and Fun

  By Anne Patrone | December 17, 2010 - 10:00 am | , , , , , ,
3 Comments
Big Tex at the State Fair of Texas

 Although our main reason for visiting the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, Texas, was to watch the annual “Red River Rivalry” between the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns, we couldn’t resist sampling the food and fun that the fair offered.

Billed as the largest state (based on annual attendance) in the United States, the State Fair of Texas is held annually for several weeks in the fall.  With livestock competitions, rides, musical performances, and the rides on the Midway, the State Fair of Texas is a fun experience even without the extra attraction of a football game.

We arrived early and ventured over the car show – held in two separate pavilions to see the latest offerings from Ford, Chevrolet, and other car manufacturers.  My guys were amazed by the HUGE trucks on display and couldn’t get over their size. (Don’t forget – my guys rarely see these kind of working pick-up trucks back in NYC!)

Latest Ford Mustang

While the guys marveled at cars (like only guys can do), I stood in a LOOOOONG line to buy tickets for food.

Note to the organizers:  Surely there is a better way to pay for and distribute these tickets.  The lines were outrageously long (although I did meet some very nice people as I chatted in line – for 45 minutes!)

By the time I got the tickets, it was nearly noon and we were starving.  So what to get?

Something fried.  Why fried?

Because everything . . . and I do mean everything is fried at the State Fair of Texas.

Fried chicken fingers, french fries, fried pickles and jalapenos, fried ice cream . . . even . . . fried beer.

Fried beer?

Yup.  And it even won one of the People’s Choice Award for best new food at the State Fair.

With that kind of build-up, hubby and I (sorry, no one under 21 allowed to eat it) HAD to try it.

Fried beer at the State Fair of Texas

So how’d it taste?

Well, the first bite into the ravioli shaped squares was a disappointment.  The beer had soaked into the dough and it was mushy.

But the second taste . . . oh my, the second taste was a perfect explosion in my mouth of Shiner Bock beer just like the liquor-filled chocolates.

We filled our belly and then it was off to the Cotton Bowl and the main reason for our visit – the game.

Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas

 Sigh.

Even though we had a chance to win it at the bitter end, we still couldn’t pull it out and OU beat us, 28-20.

All I can say is that we’ll do better next year and that the guys had fun even though our team lost.

And thank goodness for the pig races and Blue Bell ice cream to soothe hurt feelings.  We wandered over to the livestock area after the game and cheered on “Lindsey Lo-ham,” “Squealy Nelson,” and “Jean-Claude von Ham.”

Pig Races at the State Fair of Texas

 It was a riot to watch the pig race around the track and a great lift to our spirits, putting a smile back on my little ones’ faces.

Then it was off to the neon-lit Midway to ride some carnival rides and try our hand at the games (no, we never win).

By the time the fireworks exploded over the sky, we were exhausted and headed back to our hotel via the DART light rail system.

For anyone visiting Dallas, you don’t have to wait until the State Fair is in town to explore Fair Park.  It’s open year-round and offers access to many wonderful museums and the Cotton Bowl.

Fun at the Fort Worth Stockyards

  By Anne Patrone | December 14, 2010 - 11:30 am | , , , , , , ,
4 Comments

On a recent trip to Dallas, Texas, to watch the Texas Longhorns get beaten by the OU Sooners, we decided to make a side trip to the Fort Worth Stockyards, listed in Frommer’s 500 Places To Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up.

What a great day – the Fort Worth Stockyards provided a wide variety of entertainment options to keep us busy until 4 pm, when a herd of Longhorns (cattle, not the football players) was driven along the street in a traditional “cattle drive.”

We started off our visit to the Stockyards with lunch at Cattleman’s Steakhouse since we didn’t get much food on the plane ride and both my guys were hankering for meat.

Oh my.  Did they get meat.

“Are you sure you can eat that 10 oz. NY strip steak?” I asked my oldest. (And yes, the irony wasn’t lost on me – in Texas, eating a NY steak).

“Just watch me,” he answered.

And he did . . . plus the quarter of the hamburger his brother couldn’t finish.

Cowtown Coliseum

Outside we wandered along streets that are paved with bricks to the Cowtown Coliseum where rodeos are held every Friday and Saturday night.

It’s got an old-timey feel and I was definitely disappointed that we couldn’t stay to watch the rodeo that night (other obligations).

The Coliseum has a Rodeo Hall of Fame (basically pictures in tired cabinets with captions that don’t capture a rodeo’s excitement) and a tiny gift shop which thankfully my youngest was willing to pass through quickly.

The boys tried their hand at riding a mechanical bull – both agreed it’s harder than it looks.

Then, after a brief wait, the cattle drive began.

The cattle are driven down the center of the road as people/tourists are instructed to remain on the sidewalk.

Yes, you – the guy who’s insisting on standing in the street to get his “perfect shot” – get out of the way and back on the sidewalk like the rest of us.

Heh, heh, heh.

You should have seen him scurry out of the way when the longhorn known as “Diablo” snorted loudly and tossed his looong, pointy horns in his direction!

We finished up our day at the Fort Worth Stockyards with a brief visit to the actual wooden pens where the cattle were kept until buyers decided which ones they wanted shipped back East to fill the plates of hungry city people.

The Fort Worth Stockyards – a memorable visit and well worth your time -34 down, 466 to go.