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State Fair of Texas adds pastrami sandwich and more to 2024 food menu

Pastrami Sandwich

SFOT

The State Fair of Texas will introduce a lucky 13 new food concessions for the 2024 event: According to a release, the 13 will include six new food vendors and seven new food stands.

Some of these newcomers are familar brand names like Rita's Italian Ice. Others are concepts from State Fair veterans like Nevins Concessions. Some are just plain newbies.

These new food options are in addition to the finalists and winners from the recent Big Tex Awards, the annual concession competition wherein a strip of bacon wrapped in cotton candy won first prize.

There's also a new seating area for 2024: Called the Cavalcade, it's located on Gateway, with a live DJ, a wall showcasing vintage movies, and a neon Big Tex selfie stand. Dishes include candied pork belly bacon bites, funnel cake with brisket or spicy chicken, bacon-wrapped turkey legs, and a cool down sundae. Also: drones and a biergarten.

The 2024 State Fair of Texas begins on Friday, September 27, and runs through Sunday, October 20.

New concessions

Rita's Italian Ice. The chain will debut a new signature menu item: the Cool Combo, layering Italian ice with vanilla frozen custard, available in five flavors: blue raspberry, cotton candy, mango, mango-strawberry, and sugar-free dragon fruit. Located on Grand Avenue.

Korean Corn Dogs. Korean twist on the state fair staple will include the Hot Cheetos Korean Corn Dog, with half hot dog and half mozzarella cheese, battered with wheat and rice flour, coated with panko breadcrumbs, and fried, then coated with spicy mayo and Hot Cheetos crumbs. Located on Coliseum Drive.

Crepes and Co. Crepe stand will serve a new Fried Apple Cinnamon Crepe, filled with Biscoff cookie butter spread and caramelized apple cinnamon, topped with caramelized apples, and served with Biscoff mousse, whipped cream, and a Biscoff cookie. Located in the Tower Building.

So Eggciting Deviled Eggs. Their signature creation is Texas BBQ Rib Deviled Eggs, in which deviled eggs are topped with coleslaw and barbecue rib meat tossed in a beer barbecue sauce. Located in the Tower Building.

Smith Spot BBQ. Signature dish, "The Nephew," is inspired by owner Terrance Smith’s nephew and combines a glazed doughnut topped with brisket, mozzarella cheese, honey, and powdered sugar. Located in the Tower Building.

The Dumpling Experience. Dumplings in three varieties: pork & vegetable, chicken & vegetable, and edamame, grilled and topped with green onion and cilantro, and choice of sauce from ponzu lime, Thai chili, sriracha, barbecue, and reaper barbecue. Located in the Funway.

State Fair of Texas new vendors for 2024 handy map and list.SFOT

New 2024 State Fair of Texas Food Stands

Smashed by Nevins Concessions. Five smashburgers including their signature, The Joe, a two-patty smash burger with American cheese, bacon, fried jalapeño caps, and a fried egg. Located on Gateway.

Waffle Works. Serving Waffle Stix, a waffle on-a-stick dipped in Belgian milk, white, or dark chocolate, then rolled in choice of candy toppings like salted caramel pearls, chocolate chips, M&M's Minis, marshmallows, and candy sprinkles. They also serve chicken & waffles, strawberries with Belgian chocolate, and bacon mac & cheese egg rolls. Located in the Tower Building.

Milton’s Amish Doughnuts. Texas-sized sourdough doughnuts dipped in vanilla glaze. A viewing window shows the doughnut-making process. Located on Grand Avenue.

Dole Soft Serve. Cool and spicy Tajin Twist Sundae comes with choice of pineapple, strawberry, or swirl, topped with chili lime Tajin seasoning and Chamoy Mega sauce. Located on Coliseum Drive.

Kona Ice. Gourmet shaved ice in 10 most popular flavors, from Tiger’s Blood to Monster Mango, solo or in combinations. Located on First Avenue.

Johnz Deli. Signature pastrami sandwich prepared in the traditional New York Deli method with the flair of a Texas smokehouse, served on seedless rye bread with mustard, kosher pickle spear, and side of steak fries. Located in Cotton Bowl Plaza.

Pat’s Pizza & Subs. Featuring Mexican Street Corn Pizza: a charred crust topped with chipotle mayo, corn, chili powder, cilantro, and cotija cheese. Located on Coliseum Drive.

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Movie Review

Oscar-worthy film A Complete Unknown digs deeply into Bob Dylan

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown.

Music biopics never seem to go out of style, although they’re rarely very good because most of them tend to tell the same story. A musician/band gets discovered, rises to popularity, experiences trouble at their peak due to (insert sex/drugs/alcohol/ego), and either finds a measure of redemption once they’ve been sufficiently humbled or dies due to their lack of control.

Paradoxically, what few music biopics fail to do is properly showcase the music that made the person popular in the first place, a mistake that A Complete Unknown doesn’t repeat, becoming a smashing success in the process. The film follows Bob Dylan (Timothée Chalamet) over a roughly four-year period from when he first arrived in New York City in 1961 to his then-revolutionary electric set at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965.

Dylan seeks out well-known folk singers Pete Seeger (Edward Norton) and an ailing Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy) when he first arrives, with Seeger taking him under his wing. Dylan starts to establish himself in the local club scene with his unique songwriting voice, meeting fellow singer Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro), with whom he starts an on-and-off relationship. As his popularity grows, his reaction is antithetical to what’s expected, as he rarely engages with fans and focuses on his next song(s) instead of the ones for which he became known.

Directed by James Mangold (Walk the Line) and written by Mangold and Jay Cocks, the film may not be much of a revelation for Dylan superfans, but for casual fans or those who know nothing about him, it is one of the most effective music biopics in recent memory, if not ever. Not only does Mangold track the musical evolution of Dylan, but he gives the full context of the people who influenced him most, including Guthrie, Seeger, Baez, and more.

The film is not a musical in the traditional sense, but the amount of music in it makes it the next best thing. Rarely does more than a few minutes go by before someone is singing, either on stage, for someone close to them, or as part of the songwriting process. Whether you’re a folk music fan or not, the way the genre is showcased in the film will make you believe in its power and why it was so popular at that particular point in time.

Dylan is famous for his enigmatic personality, and Mangold does a great job of maintaining that elusiveness while still exploring what drove Dylan early in his career. His relationships with Baez and the fictional Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning) give him some dimension, but why he continually went back-and-forth between them (or why they put up with him) is only lightly explored. The film keeps most of the drama focused on the music, and it’s this decision that makes it as compelling as it is.

Chalamet has been “The Next Big Thing” since his Oscar nomination for Call Me By Your Name, but the combination of the Duneseries, Wonka, and now this has firmly established him as the star he is. His Dylan impersonation (including singing) is subtle-yet-clear, and he has the cool factor that makes him completely believable in the role. The supporting cast is also off-the-charts good, with Norton and Barbaro making the best cases for awards notice.

While 2024 has had its fair share of great movies, A Complete Unknown - in this critic’s opinion - should now be the favorite to win Best Picture at next year’s Oscars. It bucks the trend of mediocre music biopics by giving moviegoers the transporting feeling of what it was like to experience Dylan’s meteoric rise, and why his early songs remain so indelible.

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A Complete Unknown opens in theaters on December 25.

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Movie Review

Oscar-worthy film A Complete Unknown digs deeply into Bob Dylan