Fried Coca-Cola

The Texas State Fair was in full swing again this year and to no surprise the fried goodies were back. I grew up going to the fair every year just waiting to see what delightfully fried temptation would be the new delicacy. The fair ran from September 28th to October 21st in "Big D" (for all of you not from the great state of Texas this means Dallas ). With it came some of the craziest creations and most scrumptious concoctions people went home talking about, or feeling the heartburn from. Either way the food always makes memories.

2008 was no different. The Southern-Fried Old Fashioned Apple Pie can't be beat, nor can the original Corny Dog, first introduced at The State Fair of Texas in 1942. Brothers Carl and Neil Fletcher invented the batter-dipped, deep-fried hot dog in their Dallas kitchen and sold here where it took off like a Roman candle on the 4th of July. Today, descendants of the Fletcher brothers' sell nearly 500,000 corny dogs during the fair's 24-day run. Even chains like Wal-Mart and Target carry the infamous creation. And this was only the beginning...

I'm afraid of what they might come up with next. Over the past few years, we've seen the likes of fried green beans, fried coca-cola (a sweet dough ball, filled with the ball game beverage that is deep fried, and finished with powdered sugar), and the Belgium Waffle (A fresh butter waffle topped with whipped cream, freshly sliced strawberries and powdered sugar). Messy, yes, but it wouldn't be a trip to the fair without having one.

This year's winners of the "Best Tasting" and "Most Creative" food contests were by far the stuff coronaries are made of. For the "Best Tasting" event, the Chicken Fried Bacon won the blue ribbon, which was a thick and peppery slab of bacon double dipped in a top-secret batter, dredged in breading and deep-fried. It was served with a creamy side of flavored ranch or honey mustard sauce."Most Creative" went to the Fried Banana Split, a mixture of sliced banana rounds and honey peanut butter balls, battered and deep-fried. It was topped with delicious fixings, including caramel and chocolate syrups, chopped peanuts, whipped cream, powdered sugar and, of course, crowned with the traditional perching cherry.

Thankfully, the Texas state fair always happens annually with all its wacky and fun offerings, because should you really take food all that seriously? And thankfully the Texas state fair only happens annually, because once a year is plenty to enjoy the fried revelry.

Written by Chad Fraley