Whoo hooooo! It’s Texas State Fair time again! And that of course means Banowetz + Co. Fair Day. Once again, we did it up right with way too much food, a cold beer — or two — and a handful of rides (because nothing goes better with rich, greasy food and alcohol than being tossed upside down a few dozen times). We also made a concerted effort to sample all the 2014 Big Tex Choice Award finalists, and although we had an ambitious plan, we only managed to put a small dent in the list due to being distracted by other food items. But in the end, no one went home hungry. On the contrary, I don’t think any of us ate again until noon the next day, due to the massive culinary intake! Here’s a summary of our day in fair fare and what we thought of it (we’re a tough crowd) and a few fun pics of the day’s events:

Dallas’ finest tries to help us locate the cheapest beer.

Texas-shaped nachos with squeeze cheese. (Ew!)

✓ corndogs (duh!)
✓ chicken-fried loaded ✓ baked potato
✓ fried biscuit ‘n‘ gravy
✓ fried sriracha balls
✓ BBQ brisket crunchy tacos
✓ fried sweet potato tornados

✓ fried okra
✓ beer (plural)
✓ nachos
✓ Belgian waffle (fully loaded)
✓ tornado taters
✓ fried jambalaya

✓ fried brisket
✓ onion rings
✓ fried Texas tacos
✓ Cuban roll
✓ French fries
✓ bratwurst

— Kris Murphy, Senior Designer

Fair Day. It’s a little sad, but some of us really do look forward to it all year long (okay, me). And it’s pretty predictable really – first a “hello” to Big Tex, a corny dog, beeline straight to the cheapest beer stand, a funnel cake, several deep-fried featured food items, the petting zoo, a chicken game and lastly the rides that only crazy people actually ride (yes, there are a few crazies among us).

But boy, do we love it and boy, is it fun. Goodbye, calorie counting, spinach salads and paleo diets. Hello, deep-fried goodness and an excuse to eat like there’s no tomorrow. It’s a great chance to let loose, leave the stress — and the deadlines — behind, if only for a few hours, and have some much-needed fun with our co-workers once a year (who BTW are actually a whole lot of fun when you get them out of the office), while enjoying a tradition as big as Texas. We only hope your fair day fared as well.

It’s hard to believe it’s already come and gone. The waiting begins...only 336 days to go.

— Kris Murphy, Senior Designer