All the State Fair foods that Barstool Dave tried in Dallas
Pop culture favorite and social media phenomenon Dave Portnoy , owner of sassy media company Barstool Sports , came to Dallas in mid-October to dive into the full State Fair of Texas experience.
Portnoy is known, among other things, for his "one bite reviews" of pizza — consisting of off-the-cuff reviews where he orders a pizza, then stands in front of the pizzeria, takes a bite or two, and gives an instant, usually incisive review.
He seized the State Fair as a chance to take a break from pizza, and boasted that he was going to eat all the State Fair food — "I'm going to eat everything I can eat until I'm disgusted," he said.
He posted a series of reviews of some of the fair's most iconic food items — but while he was in Dallas, he also stopped at two local pizza shops that serve his favorite kinds of pizza.
These are all the foods he tried — and to see his actual reviews, click on the link in each rating.
State Fair foods
Fletcher's corny dog : Fletcher's is the State Fair of Texas staple who say they invented the corny dog. 7.3 rating Shockingly, Portnoy said he had never heard of a corn dog, much less tried one. "I don't know if that's a Texas thing, because I feel like I've had it in Long Island," he said. After taking his first bite, he said with surprise, "Oh, it's a hot dog. I had no idea there was a hotdog in this." He was advised to add mustard, but confessed that he puts ketchup on his hot dogs. "I would prefer a normal hot dog, no disrespect," he said.
Fernie's Funnel Cakes : Another State Fair classic featuring the sweet fried dough topped with whipped cream and chocolate syrup. 8.8 rating Portnoy really liked this one (although it didn't hurt that he and the Fernie's team started with a shot), but when he gave it an 8.8 — a high score for him — it was met with silence. "Do they not know my system, because they're looking at me like I gave them a bad score," he said.
Rousso's cotton candy bacon on a stick : Half-inch thick slice of bacon on a stick , coated with a cotton candy glaze. 6.4 rating He didn't hate it, but couldn't take more than one bite of it. Compared it to "the glaze of a candy apple all in one."
Sandoitchi fried matcha : The trendy Japanese sandwich shop served matcha fried ice cream with a side of matcha mochi ice cream. 8.1 rating Dave thought it was good, one of the best of the foods he tried, and wanted to stay there the rest of the day.
Pizza by the Giant Slice deep-fried pickle pizza : State Fair vendor Pizza by the Giant Slice serves this rare pizza only at the fair and at the Houston Rodeo. 5.9 rating Portnoy had a hard time figuring out how to pick up the droopy slice, then tried to find something nice to say to the vendor team. "It's something— I haven't had anything like this, ever. I've never had pizza like this and never will again." One he got out of range, he said it was a zero and "the worst thing I've ever had."
In addition to the State Fair, Portnoy also visited two local pizzerias:
Detroit-style pizza from Thunderbird Pies : Cane Rosso spinoff in Lakewood dedicated to Detroit-style pizza. 7.3 rating Detroit-style pizza is one of Portnoy's favorites, so it was a must-visit. He said it's pretty good pizza — "at least for Texas" — and a good spot to play some video games.
