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Where to get the best frybread at the State Fair
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Oil, flour, water, salt. Those are the primary ingredients to make frybread, a staple in Native homes across the country and a beloved dish here in New Mexico.
Thursday afternoon, chefs presented their frybread dishes to an eclectic panel at the New Mexico State Fair’s Frybread Competition. The judges included State Fair royalty, a barrel racer, and a local artist.
Gloves and hairnets still on, chefs gathered around the Indian Village stage to see which frybread would take home the trophy.
Taylor White, the 2024 State Fair Queen, dressed in a pink cowgirl getup, deliberated, as did Matt Tarr, a barrel racer who began racing at the age of 3. Also in attendance was Jesse Littlebird, a local artist whose paintings you might see in a gallery in Old Town and whose custom-painted lowrider can be seen cruising the streets of Downtown.
After sampling frybread from Indian Village vendors, judges chose Zina’s Blue Corn Café as the State Fair’s Best Tasting Frybread of the Year. Meanwhile, Navajo Café won Best Indian Taco.
Zina’s Blue Corn Café has so many ribbons it can’t fit them all in the display case, said the owner, Zina Crum. Laughing, Crum said that she had no clue where she’s going to put the new trophy.
Behind the scenes in Zina’s kitchen, employees fried four or five breads at a time in vats of oil, prepped dough and took orders. Crum estimates on a typical day at the fair, they feed 6,000 people.
“It’s like Disneyland” in there, Crum said.
Crum’s day job is working for the Albuquerque Police Department as a chaplain, but twice a year she and 20 employees work from dawn to dusk to serve the hungry masses. Zina’s Bluecorn Cafe has been at the State Fair for 22 years, she said, and they also vend at the annual Gathering of Nations Powwow.
“They call me the ‘Frybread Queen,’” Crum said, holding her trophy.
