I tried over 40 dishes at the OKC Festival of the Arts: What to eat, Best in Show and more

JaNae Williams, The Oklahoman
Updated ·4 min read
Arts Council Oklahoma City showcases food items available at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park on April 25.
Arts Council Oklahoma City showcases food items available at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park on April 25.

Every year, the Festival of the Arts in Bicentennial Park in downtown Oklahoma City is filled with performers, visual artists, and, of course, food.

This year, the festival brought even more food than before with the return of food trucks in addition to the normal food booths and carts. The committee decided to bring back food trucks during its planning process because some of the favorite vendors don't have the infrastructure for food booths or carts, Phi Nguyen, food committee co-chair told us.

So what can you find at this year's arts festival, and what are the can't miss items?

Cookie Monster, left, and Grasshopper ice cream bars from Wondervan Pops at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.
Cookie Monster, left, and Grasshopper ice cream bars from Wondervan Pops at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.

The better question might be what can't you find. I mean, there's ice cream and popsicles from Wondervan Pops, sundaes from Guiltless Concessions, chicken on a stick from Gilty Pleasure and blackened catfish sandwiches from Seafood Connect.

The full list of vendors and their specials is available here, but to help you out, The Oklahoman's Yesenia Jimenez, several other locals and I tried more than 40 of the options available this year. I also was tasked with helping decide the awards for Best In Show, Best Savory and Best Sweet. Plus a panel of pretty cool kiddos tried just as many items and awarded Kid's Choice.

Here are the winners, how it went and some of my other favorite top sweet and savory dishes.

The Meat Lovers Combo Platter by Sizzle N Spice won Best Savory in the Food Awards at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts.
The Meat Lovers Combo Platter by Sizzle N Spice won Best Savory in the Food Awards at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts.

Who won the Festival of the Arts food Awards?

Best In Show: Lucky Lucky Dumpling Co. – Korean Fried Chicken with Asian CornslawBest Savory: Sizzle N Spice – Meat Lovers Combo PlatterBest Sweet: Desserts by Marshelle – Maple Bacon Cinnamon Roll ParfaitKid's Choice: Snow S’more – Watermelon Patch Shaved Ice Special

For the second year in a row, a version of Lucky Lucky Dumpling Co.'s Korean Fried Chicken ended up taking Best In Show, and it's not surprising. Crispy, hot juicy chicken tossed in a delicious sticky sweet glaze? What's not to love.

For Best Savory, Sizzle N Spice's Meat Lovers Combo Platter was an easy choice for us, the smells instantly had my mouth watering as soon as the committee set the plate down and the flavors more than lived up to the hype. They also have a Veggie Lovers combo platter that deserves an honorable mention, because the samosa that came on it was one of the most enjoyable bites of the day for me.

More: OKC's Festival of the Arts goes cashless, debuts shorter format, longer hours: What to know

Best Sweet actually wasn't an easy choice with so many great options, but in the end with some discussion and the help of the Kid's Choice panel, Desserts by Marshelle reigned supreme with the Maple Bacon Cinnamon Roll Parfait. With this treat you get sweet and salty bacon layered with oooey-gooey cinnamon roll chunks all loaded into a cup to make it the perfect portable and relatively mess-free dessert.

The Kid's Choice winner, Snow S'more's Watermelon Patch Shaved Ice Special, is unsurprising (though it did take them some heavy deliberating to narrow it down from their top 10 choices). My inner child still loves a great shaved ice moment and you definitely get that with this mountain of a dessert topped with watermelon sour candy.

Pilau Chicken and spinach from Plus 254 Taste of Africa on April 25 at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.
Pilau Chicken and spinach from Plus 254 Taste of Africa on April 25 at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.

What other food should I try at OKC's Festival of the Arts?

Beyond the overall winners, there are a ton more amazingly delicious options to try out at Festival of the Arts.

During judging, I attempted to assign 1-10 scores as I was taste testing every item the committee presented. Many of the items ended up scoring the same, and with that in mind, here are my five highest scoring sweet and savory options that didn't win any of the awards.

My top five scoring savory items (excluding Best In Show and Best Savory):

  • Birria Taco by Psycho Taco

  • Chicken with Cheese & Jalapeño Tamale by Tamale King

  • Pilau Chicken and Spinach by Plus 254 Taste of Africa

  • Blackened Catfish Sandwich by Seafood Connect

  • Big Biang noodles with Goju Steak by Big Biang Theory

A trio of cannoli from Bad Nonna's Pasta at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.
A trio of cannoli from Bad Nonna's Pasta at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.

My top five scoring sweet items (excluding Best Sweet):

  • Tres Leches mini cakes cookies and cream with ice cream by Sweets by Karen

  • Oreos Cookies and Cream funnel cake by LT's Gold Done Funnel Cakes

  • Bananas Foster Bread Pudding Waffles by Bourbon St. Cafe

  • Strawberry Crunch Donuts by Metro Minis

  • Cannoli by Bad Nonna's Pasta

Clockwise from top: Tempura fried bananas from Lucky Lucky Dumpling Co., Oreos Cookies and Cream funnel cake from LT's Gold Done Funnel Cakes and a Caramel on the Rocks sundae from Guiltless Concessions at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.
Clockwise from top: Tempura fried bananas from Lucky Lucky Dumpling Co., Oreos Cookies and Cream funnel cake from LT's Gold Done Funnel Cakes and a Caramel on the Rocks sundae from Guiltless Concessions at the 58th annual Festival of the Arts in downtown OKC’s Bicentennial Park.

These are just a few of the more than hundreds of food items to choose from and the more than 40 that I tried on the adventure to choose the best. Everything we tried was delicious, some just left a slightly more lasting mark. With so many choices and possibilities, there's sure to be something for everyone in your family or friend group.

Festival of the Arts runs 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday, so you still have plenty of time to get out and try all of the great food, catch some performances and check out the art.

Heading to Festival of the Arts? Tag me @janaebwilliams on Instagram and share your favorite festival food choices with me.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: These were the best foods we ate at Festival of the Arts in OKC