Fried butter creator, East Dallas neighbor & State Fair mainstay Abel Gonzales reflects on his rise to fame

East Dallas, Fried Jesus walks amongst us.

Calm down. It’s not blasphemy or sacrilege. It’s the nickname for our neighborhood’s own Abel Gonzales, famous (or infamous) for introducing Fried Butter, Fried PB&J, Fried Cookie Dough and other bizarre creations to patrons of the State Fair of Texas.

He’s the five-time winner of the Fair’s Big Tex Choice Award, but he’s not resting on his deep-fried laurels, not by a long shot. He loves the State Fair and has attended every year since birth, first with his parents and now as a concessionaire and competitor. His roots with the Fair and with East Dallas run deep.

“Born and raised. Still here, never left. Geneva, Long, Woodrow. East Side all the way,” Abel says.

Growing up in the area, the fairgrounds weren’t far away, and he and his family never missed their annual trip.

“Our family were — are — big Fair fans. My grandparents and parents made Fair days special. There was always a new shirt and a little extra money for rides for us. My grandmother would make us a fried chicken dinner to enjoy near the lagoon. It was a BIG deal for us. It still is.”

One of his favorite memories happened when he was about 8 years old. “We were a once-per-year Fair family. Rarely were we able to go twice. One year my grandfather won some money on a Cowboys game. I remember it like it was yesterday,” he smiles. “As soon as the game was over, he said, ‘Let’s go to the Fair!’ I got a corny dog, and me and my sister ate cotton candy and rode rides. It was wonderful.”

Abel started working in his father’s restaurant, A.J. Gonzales’ Mexican Oven, as a young boy, absorbing life in the kitchen. As an adult, he worked as a computer analyst by day and at his dad’s restaurant in the evenings. And he continued to enjoy the Fair.

Around 1999, he had just lost a game of ring toss on the midway when he had a lightbulb moment: He could run a booth at the Fair. He pursued the idea but found it impossible to break into the system since the games were run by one organization. 

Then he realized he had the know-how in the kitchen: a food booth could work. He opened his first booth at the Fair in 2003, selling giant, Texas-shaped sopapillas. 

Two years later, the State Fair began a new contest, open to concessionaires only, which would ultimately change his life: the Big Tex Choice Awards competition, an opportunity for those with Fair concession stands to showcase creativity using a deep fryer.

Because the Fair had an Elvis exhibit that year, Abel’s mind immediately went to Elvis-inspired foods. He settled on fried peanut butter, banana and jelly sandwich — and won the coveted golden statuette. Picture an Oscar with a Big Tex head, and you get the idea.

Over the years, he has gone on to win the Big Tex Choice Award four other times, for Fried Coke, Fried Cookie Dough, Fried Butter and Fried Jambalaya.

So how did it feel to win those awards?

“It feels awesome! Especially the first few times. I don’t know what it feels like to win an Oscar, but it can’t be that much different.”

Pun intended, it’s fair to say that the State Fair of Texas has changed Abel’s life, particularly his Fried Butter win, a spectacle which resulted in Oprah herself stopping by for a sample.

“The next thing you know, I’m on Oprah, The Today Show, The View and many, many, many others. I was a regular on a couple of TV shows.”

Abel appeared on the reality show Deep Fried Dynasty and was a judge on Deep Fried Masters, experiences he said he really enjoyed.

“I was in New York for what seems like half of the year. Everything changed.”

He loves the creativity and the awards, but he’s beginning to approach the process of inventing new dishes a little differently.

“I will say as time goes on, that competitive process, though still very important and meaningful, shifts as your priorities and ideas shift,” he pauses, then adds, “The ideas in my head never stop. The past few years I’ve shifted my thoughts towards affordable product and more ‘chef-y’ products. Like right now, I’m thinking I should just stick to my mission of reinventing products that are affordable and fun. I really like that path.”

But, c’mon: those golden statuettes!

“I would still want a sixth win regardless of what direction I’m going,” he admits.

As he’s done every year since 2003, Abel will have a couple of booths at the Fair this year, one at Nimitz and Keating, outside the Embarcadero Building, and the other on the Funway. Look for Abel taking orders at the booths emblazoned with “Vandalay Industries.” Seinfeld fans, you get the reference.

What’s on the menu?

“All the award winners along with Fried Lobster and Fried Pizza. My Funway booth was transformed into ‘Cheap Eats’ last year with more traditional-style event foods with a more affordable price. I plan to use that same idea there this year, maybe with some surprises.”

Our neighborhood’s Fried Jesus has made us proud, but Abel Gonzales is not done.

“I’m really not sure what my next step is going to be, but two things for sure: I’ll always have an idea for something new, and I will always be a part of the Fair one way or another.”