2013 Dallas Foodie Gift Ideas

For the Dallas foodie on your gift list, I present my favorite locally-made food products in 2013. Any one of these gifts could stand on it's own (if you're looking for a cheap gift), or you could create a Dallas foodie gift basket by combining several of these items. It feels good to give people unique gifts they might actually enjoy, and you can feel extra good knowing you're supporting local small businesses.

All 23 New Fried Foods at 2103 State Fair of Texas

There are two big secrets about the fried food at the State Fair of Texas that I never hear other media outlets talking about, so I'm going to let you in on what I know:

1. Most of the best selling (and hence, best tasting) winners and competitors from previous years' fried food contests are still there! I highly recommend the Deep Fried Butter (2009 Best Taste winner), Fried Grilled Cheese, and Deep Fried Jambalaya (2012 Best Taste winner), if you can find them again this year.

2. Every year there is a long list of brand new fried foods that didn't make someone's cut to be in the Final 8 for awards judging, but that doesn't mean these foods aren't also delicious. Some of them sound amazing to me! I never see other publications mention these fried foods, I couldn't find the list on BigTex.com, and their PR rep didn't have a digital copy to email me, so this might be the only website where you'll find this list. I received it as an old-fashioned printout in my media packet at the Big Tex Choice Awards judging, so I have it photographed below for your food planning pleasure. Click to read the pages at full size. I've already starred the ones I want to try!

And, drumroll... I need someone to go to the fair with me and taste test as many of these fried foods as possible! I have a free admission ticket for you (thanks to the State Fair of Texas), but I would like to split the food and food costs with someone. This is a serious foodie challenge! Last year my mom was in town, and we managed to share nine fried foods in one visit. We arrived strategically starving and spent almost the whole time hunting for our food (booths). I'd like to go on the evening of Thursday, October 3 or Friday, October 4. If you're available and up for this delicious quest, comment below or in one of my social media profiles and let me know you qualify. I'll start looking for a winner on Saturday morning.

2012 Guide to the Best Fried Foods at State Fair of Texas

I've tried at least 21 fried foods at the State Fair of Texas, including all eight of the 2012 Big Tex Choice Awards fried food finalists. I've posted my photos and commentary in real-time all over the socialsphere, but I thought I'd pull all the links and comments together in one detailed page so you can choose which social site to drool, read, and share your favorites or create your own list of fried foods to try. Scroll down for Facebook, Foursquare, and Pinterest photo links. Up first are descriptions of this compilation photo…

30 Days of the Best Foods in Dallas

If you follow one of my daily food photo social media networks, you may have noticed I've been eating amazing food more often than normal. It was all in the name of research! I couldn't just write a list of 30 of the best foods I've eaten in Dallas without double-checking the worthiness of some items or getting a better photo that more accurately portrayed its extreme deliciousness. This list took weeks of re-evaluating, polling trusted foodie friends, and reviewing my food photo archives, and now my list of 30 of the best foods in Dallas is complete.

For each day in September I will add one dish with a review and photo below. I will also make it easy for you to find these foods and follow the daily updates by adding the hashtag "#BestFoodDallas" to my original Instagram post of that food and every tweet update, plus I have created a Foursquare list, Foodspotting guide, Facebook photo album, and Pinterest board that you can follow.

The 6 Best Restaurants I Ate in Las Vegas

Reflecting back on my nine days dining out in Las Vegas, there were a few dishes and restaurants that really stood out above the rest, regardless of price point. Below is a recap for anyone who is looking to eat well in Las Vegas, complete with Dallas restaurant comparisons.

In order of what I'd recommend:

1. Nobhill Tavern by Chef Michael Mina, inside MGM Grand
Dallas restaurant equivalent in price, ambiance, service, and creative cuisine: Stephan Pyles
Dallas restaurant equivalent for creative, fresh cocktails: Bolsa

This is the only restaurant I ate at in Vegas where EVERYTHING TASTED AMAZING and the service was perfection, so I'm going to detail what I ate here more than I will the other restaurants.

A fellow Dallas foodie in Vegas told me this restaurant has the best cocktails in Vegas, and that the $14 Nobhill Cablecar was their best one. I was blown away by the creativity and fresh flavors…

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Saturday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Saturday is a lot like Sunday in terms of free food—there really isn't any in restaurants and bars. Instead, you have to hunt for free taste samples at EatZi's, Whole Foods, Central Market, or local farmer's markets. Luckily, the selections there are best on the weekend anyway!

Dallas Farmer's Market

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on a Sunday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Sunday is tied with Saturday for the worst day of the week to eat free food in Dallas. This makes logical business sense because people eat out on the weekends anyway, so there's no need to entice them with free food (although there are a lot of alcoholic drink specials on Sundays). Since I couldn't find any restaurants or bars offering free food on Sundays, that leaves only the grocery-type places where you can get free taste samples, and Dallas has some pretty good ones.

EatZi's

2011 Dallas Dessert Trends

This video is a must watch for dessert lovers! The Food Network did research to determine the top ten dessert trends for 2011. Watch the video and read below to see how these trends compare to what I've seen going on in the Dallas dessert scene...

Top Ten Dessert Trends for 2011 from The Food Channel on Vimeo.

5 Foods Missing in Dallas

Dallas is one of the great food cities in the U.S., but let's not kid ourselves. We are severely lacking in a few major cuisines that can be found in many other parts of the U.S. These cuisines aren't based on regionally available ingredients, like oysters, so why aren't they in Dallas?

Perhaps, we get so fixated on our great TexMex, BBQ, burgers and iced tea, that we don't stop to think about what's missing. So let's do that. There's great opportunities here for anyone looking to open a new restaurant or food truck in Dallas. As you read this list, what other foods come to mind as M.I.A. in Dallas? Be sure to tell everyone with a comment below.

1. Real Pizza

Photo I took while eating the holy grail of real pizza, rated best in Cleveland, at Angelo's in Lakewood, Ohio.

10 Really Great Restaurants with Free Food or 1/2 Off Deals

Not only is Dallas a city full of great-tasting food, it's also a city where you can get some great food entirely for FREE, or at least 1/2 off—you just have to know where, when, and how to get it. I've personally tried most of these deals myself so I can vouch that they are for real. And there's one for almost every day of the week! Here's my compilation of the best-tasting weekly food deals in Dallas...

Sundays

1/2 off sushi rolls @ Kona Grill (during dinner hours only)

Kona's sushi is some of the best-tasting in DFW. They have a crab roll with tempura flakes on top that is unlike any sushi roll I've seen anywhere, and it tastes amazing. It's hard to believe it's only $3.25! The Philadelphia Roll was $3.00 and super fresh tasting. At these half-off sushi rates, my bottled tea drink cost more than one sushi roll! Two rolls is enough to feed two people, so a Sunday night sushi dinner date for two will cost you about $6.25. Dallas Foodie insider tip: sign up for their mailing list and they'll send you a coupon for a free appetizer, then next time you can get an appetizer AND two sushi rolls for only $6.25. I've done it! Location: inside Northpark Mall, on the north side.