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Texas Monthly has a long history of lightly roasting the State Fair of Texas for its Big Tex Choice Awards nominees. The list of specialty fair food offered every year has felt like it got progressively more unhinged, making fried Oreos seem positively pedestrian. (Some might remember 2018’s cotton candy tacos or 2023’s Fruity Pebble pickles.) Now we have a clue as to why.Until this year, no one at the State Fair of Texas was required to actually taste the entries until they got to the semifinalist stage. Of course, it may not surprise you that the wacky dishes on offer are mainly marketing efforts, designed to get curious people trying and sharing—and expressing outrage about—them. But it still feels like a shocking oversight. When asked…

The post Wait, Judges Weren’t Required to Try the State Fair of Texas Food Semifinalists Until Now?! appeared first on Texas Monthly.

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