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    RodeoHouston 2020

    Ken Hoffman chows down on RodeoHouston carnival's most over-the-top food

    Ken Hoffman
    Feb 28, 2020 | 2:45 pm

    Dominic Palmieri, the wildly creative “Midway Gourmet,” is the mastermind — some might say evil genius — behind deep-fried butter and bacon-covered candy bars, turkey legs that look like Louisville Sluggers and everything that fits in a deep-fryer.

    If it’s “ooey, gooey, fried and chewy,” Palmieri is probably the maestro behind it. After 27 years working his gastronomical magic on the Carnival midway at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo, he’s seen it all and done it all.

    And I’ve eaten it all. I’m not complaining. I’m partial to footlong corn dogs and chocolate-covered, deep-fried cheesecake. Can somebody go get my car and pick me up at the exit? I’m not in walking condition.

    Palmieri escorted me and my merry band of taste-testers on a lap around all the Carnival food booths. As a veteran in the clubhouse, you know, like Carlos Beltran, I paced myself. I had room for the Chicken Sandwich on a Donut Bun and Deep-fried Oreos at the end.

    “If you can dream it, you can find it on the Carnival Midway,” Palmieri says.

    “Every year, carnival and fair-goers crave a new craze, and sour is the trend in 2020. Last year, spicy was the thing, and spicy is still very popular, but sour is the trend. That’s a reason why we’re bringing sour and spicy pickles to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. We’re also providing for guests who are looking for quasi-heathy and keto-friendly choices. Last year we set a record with the Big Rib, which is about two pounds of rib steak on a stick. We’re also bringing pork chops on a stick this year.”

    Here are some of the new treats you’ll find at the Carnival stands:

    Big Bubba’s Bad BBQ
    The Texas Big Stick – 24-inch skewer with your choice of beef steak, chicken or pork, dipped in bbq sauce. “You can see this a mile away, it looks like a gladiator’s sword,” Palmieri said. This is not your father’s shish kabob, but it’s big enough to feed him … and your mother and crazy Uncle Lou. The Texas Big Stick is making its worldwide debut in Houston. I tried the pork and chicken sticks. That’s a lot of meat, be careful the stick doesn’t bend.

    Nashville Hot Chicken – the chicken is breaded, deep-fried, and slathered with the wildly popular hot sauce from Music City.

    Biggy’s
    Crunchy Flaming Hot Pickle – the quintessential blend of salty, hot and tart. It’s a big ol’ dill pickle, dripping with cheese, topped with Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. You’re talking a pound of pickle deliciousness. Served in a paper tray, eaten with a fork. Whoa, these pickles are sour … and in Seinfeld fashion, they’re making me thirsty.

    New Turkey Legs – one is dipped in melty hot spicy nacho cheese and rolled in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The other is drenched with Buffalo Hot Sauce and served with ranch sauce. The Rodeo is famous for its turkey legs and these appendages weigh in close to two pounds. Turkey legs are the original food on a stick. I tried the turkey gam with cheese sauce and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. Wow, is right.

    Cowboy Kettle Cork Stand
    Chamoy Tajin Pickle – a ginormous pickle with chamoy, a Mexican sauce made from pickled fruit and chili peppers, and tajin, another Mexican sauce made with chilis, lime and salt. The only thing missing is a tiny umbrella stuck in the pickle.

    Dutchman’s Funnel Cake
    Fruity Pebbles Funnel Cake – topped with powdered sugar, real Fruity Pebbles cereal and whipped cream. Mind you, real whipped cream, none of the “whipped topping” silliness. I’m a sucker for funnel cakes. Did you know that I worked in the funnel cake stand one year? I got a haircut, passed the Carnival’s drug test and was pre-tay, pre-tay good at pouring the batter just right.

    Fried Afair
    Deep Fried Twinkies – just when you thought this couldn’t get more insane, the Carnival is introducing a new, never-before, over-the-top deep-fried Twinkie. It’s stuffed with a Snickers candy bar, plopped in the fryer, then topped with bacon sprinkles. This is a mic drop.

    Nitro Treats
    Tajin Chamoy Pineapple – pineapple kicked up with tajin and chamoy, plunged into liquid nitrogen so it comes out smokin’ frozen, topped with soft served laced with Dole Whip.

    Savory grilled meats await.

    Ken Hoffman Rodeo Carnival Midway 2020
      
    Photo by Brandon Strange
    Savory grilled meats await.
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    telling stories

    Black-owned Houston bookstore opens new home in historic Third Ward space

    Craig D. Lindsey
    May 13, 2025 | 2:45 pm
    Kindred Stories bookshore Eldorado Ballroom
    Photo by Craig D. Lindsey
    Kindred Stories has moved to its new location.

    Even though its grand reopening will be held this Saturday, May 17, Third Ward bookstore Kindred Stories has already begun a soft opening at its new location inside the Eldorado Ballroom at 2310 Elgin Street.

    Since September 2021, the Black-owned bookstore was located on Stuart St., one of many businesses that came to life thanks to Project Row Houses’ Incubation Program. Last year, the nonprofit informed Kindred and the other business that they had to vacate their premises at the end of this month to allow new businesses to occupy the spaces.

    Thankfully, Kindred already had its eye on the Eldorado location, next to neighborhood eatery The Rado Market (which has a collection of cookbooks curated by Kindred). It’s a space previously held by Hogan Brown Gallery, which abruptly closed in December. “I had caught wind that this space might be available,” Kindred founder/owner Terri Hamm tells CultureMap.

    Hamm turned the moving process into a fun little event for her and her loyal customers. “Last Tuesday, we invited about 20 of our top community members that, you know, are always in the store and have really supported us all of the year,” she says. “We packed up all the books in the space in an hour and, then, we moved everything in an hour. So it was like the beautiful way to close out that space in the midst of the community that has really supported us throughout three-and-a-half years there. And we spent the last four days kind of unboxing and just getting all set up.”

    Hamm says the new location is certainly roomier (around 1200 square feet) than their previous spot, which was only 450 square feet.

    “There's more room to just spend time in the store,” she says. “I feel like that's the ideal bookstore experience, when you can go in and really take your time. I feel like in the other space, it was so small, people kind of felt like they were in a rush.”

    Although Kindred is open and ready to welcome anyone looking for Black-and-proud literature, Hamm insists they’re only 90 percent done. More light fixtures need to be installed. Plants and furniture have to be brought. They even have custom-made wallpaper that needs to be installed.

    “So, we have a few little things that need to happen,” says Hamm, “And, then, I feel like the space will be really, really ready – probably in another six months.”

    In the meantime, it’s business as usual. This month’s calendar of events includes various appearances from authors as well as a couple of book clubs. Hamm is looking forward to new bookworms coming in and discovering what Kindred Stories has to offer.

    “The bestsellers are selling,” she says, “But I feel like, in this space, people are going to get to discover a lot of under-the-radar titles, just because there's more space to see the books and explore.”

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