Huggiebear said:

they're not Americans. They're Texans...hello did you not see the last President that came from there

I'm from NY-we have Italian food made by actual Italians, Chinese food made by actual Chinese, and Japanese food made by actual Japanese. Hell even the jews make their own bagels and lox. I don't know nothing about deep fried stick food.
When I was down South I got a little scared of words like greens, collards, lard, ham hocks, chitlins, pig ears, cracklin'.....

BklynBabe said:

Yeah - you can get just about ANY type of authentic, ethnic food in the NY tri-state area.
Vietnamese, Honduran, Thai, Afghan, Colombian, Moroccan...there's even an Uzbekistani restaurant here on Long Island!

Which is why it always irked me that it's so hard to get good BBQ!

Tomorrow is the State Fair Classic at the Cotton Bowl on the fairgrounds. This game is a clash of the HBCUs Prarie View A&M and Grambling State University. I'm going to a birthday party so I'm gonna miss it.

This year the battle of the bands features an MJ tribute. En Vogue with the original members is even performing at the fair tomorrow. And I'm gonna miss it.

But tonight I'm gonna see Keif Sweat.

History of the State Fair Classic

The annual State Fair Classic, held annually at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, began in 1925 featuring the Wiley Wildcats and Langston Lions. Both teams met four consecutive years in Dallas before Prairie View replaced Langston in 1929. The contest always took place on “Negro Day” at the State Fair of Texas and would feature the city high school football championship in the afternoon followed by the anticipated college game at night. The concept of “Monday Night Football” could also be attributed to the State Fair Classic as the contest took place on Monday nights well into the 1960s.

Wiley wasn’t the only college to play PV in the State Fair during that era as the Panthers battled Tennessee State in 1958 and Texas Southern in 1959.

After relocating to Dallas in 1961, Bishop College eventually took Wiley’s place in the annual contest in the 43rd annual classic in 1967. From that point, Prairie View maintained a presence in the Cotton Bowl with match-ups against Bishop, East Texas State (A&M Commerce) and Southern others over the years before moving its game against Grambling State to the bowl in the mid-80s.

With the disbanding of the Prairie View A&M football program in 1990, the State Fair Classic featured Grambling State and Elizabeth City State. Even though Prairie View brought football back in 1991 (Grambling played North Carolina A&T), it wasn’t until 1992 that the classic would see the annual PVAMU-GSU showdown once again. Since 1992, this has been the annual match-up held at the State Fair Classic.
[Edited 10/2/09 15:55pm]

ZombieKitten said:

Love those! need to learn how to make them!

BklynBabe said:

paintedlady said:

Believe me I would never want to come to the USA, so I am not the slightest bit disappointed. But you have to agree that deep fried butter is ridiculous

Dallas-area Oprah fans frenzied ahead of show's State Fair visit


Oprah Winfrey comes to town Monday to tape her talk show at the State Fair of Texas, and one thing is clear:

North Texans have come down with a serious case of Oprah Fever.

Symptoms include: Surfing the Web day and night for any nugget of news about her Dallas visit. Nonstop buzzing and gushing about the power of Oprah. Deliriousness when talking with friends and family.

Experts suggest one prescription: Rise early on Monday, go to the State Fair and get your Oprah fix. That could mean taking off work, finding a sitter for the kiddos, driving through several counties or even flying in for the big event.

"It's like getting a chance to see the Beatles or the president," said Victoria Larroca of Dallas.

Of course, Winfrey has plenty of critics who don't care for her style or the fact that she campaigned for Barack Obama. Some even believe she's brainwashed her viewers.

Then there's that Texas-size flare-up about a decade ago when she angered cattlemen by talking about mad cow disease and beef safety, which landed her in an Amarillo courtroom.

But Oprah-maniacs simply shrug off any concerns. For most, this will be their first and perhaps only chance to see the woman they call their friend, the woman they've been catching up with through the TV set every weekday afternoon for three decades.

Oprah's "No. 1 fan," Cheryl Jackson, plans to get in line for the event before dawn Monday – and will even scour the fairgrounds Sunday just in case her guru shows up early.

What she really wants is a one-on-one with the one-and-only-O – "so she can pour some of her wisdom into me," Jackson said.

Larroca plans to take Terecka Brown, 17, to the taping. Larroca is Brown's mentor in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program.

"I want to let her know that she can accomplish so many things and it doesn't matter where she comes from," said Larroca, 43. "Just to know the things Oprah's risen above in her life. She's always interested in turning around and sharing that with other people."

Later this fall, Larroca and Brown plan to watch Precious, the movie Winfrey produced that opens in theaters next month.

"Call it the power of Oprah," Larroca said. "She's just constantly influencing people's lives for the better."

Sara Abbott of Red Oak understands that some don't like Winfrey because of her various causes but said that all celebrities have their detractors.

"The people who don't care for her don't have to watch her," Abbott said.

Abbott, 70, watched the show occasionally through the years but now catches the program regularly since she retired eight years ago. She scans the TV listings daily to check out what's on Winfrey's program. She records her shows and even catches reruns.

"The show has evolved to be what we need for the times we live in," she said.

One reason Abbott keeps tuning in: Winfrey, like herself, is an eternal optimist.

Then there are the memorable guests – celebrities like Whitney Houston and Jennifer Hudson. And the people who have overcome tremendous odds, such as Carolyn Thomas, the Waco woman whose face was destroyed by a gunshot at point-blank range.

Abbott, whose daughter has breast cancer, visits Oprah's Web site to find out more information about the disease.

"While I may not agree or like some things on every single show ... it really helps me to be a better individual," Abbott said.

Jackson's desire to get up close to Winfrey may be a tall order in a thick crowd – several thousand people are expected for Monday's 10 a.m. taping at the Chevrolet Main Stage.

"It will be like a stampede, total chaos," one fan despaired on a message board on Oprah's Web site.

That's no problem for Jackson.

"When it was meant to be, it happens every single time," she said.

The Plano resident flew 900 miles to see Winfrey the first time, at a Florida convention in 2003. She started crying when the talk show host called her out of the audience and told her to "pursue your passion."

Years later, those words inspired Jackson, 41, to open Minnie's Food Pantry in Plano. She wants to ask Oprah to "adopt" the nonprofit Monday.

Jackson's ultimate pursuit is even more ambitious:

"I want to be the next Oprah."

Huggiebear said:

Every state is different in America, and they all have their own foods they're famous for. If you don't want to eat it you just don't. It's that simple. It's a personal choice. No reason why Americans should have to feel guilty for the amount of food that's produced in this nation. We have starving people here as well and many organizations private or public, churches, and American citizens are compassionate, and give monetary and other types of donations to many within this nation and assist with donations to other countries all year round.

2elijah said:

People and their dumb ass generalizations and assumptions about "Americans" amuse me.

In fact, the fair collects thousands of food donations every year by giving ticket discounts with a canned food product.

Uhm..before we continue to turn this thread into an America-bash-fest - may I remind you that we are certainly not alone in the realm of nasty food?

For example, the Deep Fried Snickers bar is popular in Scotland - not the USA.