The Quest for the Golden Fry Basket Continues

Should We Call It a Fry-yay?

Downtown Garland businesses participating in the upcoming Fair Fare on the Square gathered at 506 Art for a friendly competition this past Friday. This get-together aimed to determine whose fried food fare would be named the Fair Fare Fix of the Year and take home the Golden Fry Basket.

While the Fair Fare list is full of delicious items that make you drool on sight, only two entries would secure the coveted Golden Fry Basket and Champion Blue Ribbon. With two categories in mind, Sweet or Savory, the panelists took their task to determine the winners "as serious as apple pie."

Determining winners for each category would be a sacrifice, so we sought out people of authority to confirm how deliciously scrumptious these items are! The judges' panel included Mayor Scott LeMay, Council Member Robert John Smith, and Jason Collard of the Garland Foodies.

The tasters reveled in sharing what they were enjoying, and we caught a few sound "bites" in between yums and ahhs.

According to Council Member Smith, the crispy Thai Curry Puff had the perfect amount of curry that did not overwhelm, and Collard agreed while adding that the sauce made it Next Level.

Once again, Paw Paw's Horny Toads (fried pimento cheese bites) surprised a hesitant first-timer as Smith had never tried pimento cheese before the event. We recall Mayor Lemay wishing for a bucket of them at last Year's tasting after he first tried them. Collard made an excellent point that these would help meet our daily dairy nutritional servings. (This is the friend you should ALWAYS dine with!)

There was a flurry of excitement when the Deep Fried Funnel Cake Spam on a stick with Blackberry Maple Jam from Main Street Café came out. "Surely everyone here has tried SPAM, right?" asked Council Member Smith. The dish was placed before Mayor Lemay as he agreed and recalled his grandmother's SPAM meals, only to exclaim, "Grandma didn't make it like this!"

Are They Born to Fry?

Bellies were stretched to the limit, the judges deliberated, but results were finally tallied. For the second year in a row, Scoop N' Buns was awarded the Sweet Fair Fare Fix of the Year for their Churro Flight, while Paw Paw's Sweet Shop took the Savory Fair Fare Fix of the Year for their Horny Toads.

Fry Another Day

Are you planning to taste test yourself? Head to our Fair Fare on the Square web page for a complete listing of all the available fried (and a few non-fried) items. Before heading out, check each location's hours of operation, dress comfortably (maybe stretchy pants?), and wear comfortable walking shoes. Follow along or join the conversations on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Don't forget to use #GarlandFairFare and tag the restaurants and us in your social images!