Rodeo Best Bites

Upstart restaurant stuns established eateries at Houston Rodeo's Best Bites competition

"A Houston restaurant I've never heard of won the rodeo best bites," Chronicle barbecue columnist J.C. Reid tweeted this morning.

Indeed, the crowd of 5,000 attendees who packed NRG Hall for the event that's officially dubbed the "Uncorked Best Bites Competition" may have been surprised to hear that four month-old Davis St. at Hermann Park emerged as the judges' favorite in the Trailblazing Appetizer/Entree award for its crispy Thai shrimp — ahead of popular restaurants like Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, Brennan's and Glass Wall.

The modern American restaurant also took Reserve Grand Champion honors in both the People's Choice ballot behind perennial favorite Royers Round Top Cafe and showmanship behind Mister French's Gourmet Bakery.

Creole institution Brennan's scored Reserve Grand Champion with its classic turtle soup, as did Italian restaurant Brio Tuscan Grille with a crab cake. A panel of media judges selected the winners from entries by 91 different restaurants, which is a record for the event. The judges also selected favorites for the categories of Two-Steppin Bread/Cheese/Dessert and Tasty Tradition.

Attendees also had the opportunity to sample hundreds of different wines that are part of the Rodeo's annual International Wine Competition.

The event serves as the kickoff of Rodeo season that shifts into high gear Thursday night with the World Championship Bar-B-Que cook off.

The full list of winners from Best Bites is below:

Popular Choice
1st: Royers Café, Round Top
2nd: Davis Street at Hermann Park

Two-Stepping Bread/Cheese/Dessert Award
1st: Mostly Chocolate & Catering, Goat Cheese Truffle
2nd: Joyce's Seafood & Steaks, White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Trailblazing Appetizer/Entrée Award
1st: Davis Street at Hermann Park, Crispy Thai Shrimp
2nd: Brio Tuscan Grille, Crab Cakes
3rd: Brennan's of Houston, Turtle Soup

Showmanship Award
1st: Mr. French's Gourmet Bakery
2nd: Davis Street at Hermann Park

Tasty Traditions Award
1st: Joyce's Seafood & Steaks, White Chocolate Bread Pudding
2nd: Taste of Texas, Certified Angus Beef Tenderloin

Rookie Award
Sweet, Mini Pies

Davis St. at Hermann Park won Best Bites with this crispy Thai shrimp.

Photo by Eric Sandler

Davis St. at Hermann Park won Best Bites with this crispy Thai shrimp.

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head east

Eagerly-anticipated Houston barbecue joint hosts weekend preview pop-ups

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

One of Houston’s most eagerly anticipated new barbecue joints is giving diners a preview of what’s to come. Eastbound Barbecue will host “Sneak Peak Weekends” every Saturday and Sunday beginning this Saturday, December 20, until the restaurant opens in early 2026.

Held at the restaurant’s location in the East End (1105 Sampson Street) from 12-4 pm (or sold out), the weekend service gives diners their first chance to try Eastbound Barbecue’s smoked meats, sides, and desserts. That includes, smoked brisket, baby back ribs, jalapeno & cheese sausage, hatch chili lasagna mac & cheese, herbed potato salad, and more. Save room for the two dessert offerings, salted caramel banana pudding and cookie butter cake.

To distinguish Eastbound’s barbecue, chefs Lopez and Granville use different seasonings than other restaurants, such as rosemary salt in the brisket rub and a miso-caramel sauce that gives its ribs a sweet and savory bite. During the preview, Eastbound’s prices are noticeably lower than many other Houston barbecue joints, with brisket priced at $29 per pound, ribs at $26 per pound, and pulled pork at $22 per pound.

As CultureMap reported in August, Eastbound unites four friends, Ryan Penn, Ryan Powell, Luis Lopez, and Jake Granville, who also held senior roles at various restaurants owned by prominent Houston chef Ronnie Killen. Since then, the four partners have finished many of the improvements they needed to make prior to opening, including closing in the patio and installing offset smokers on the property.

For Penn, leaving the Killen’s organization after almost 20 years was a difficult decision, but one he felt he had to make. “I could have worked for [Killen] forever and been happy. It was more along the lines of, if I don’t do this now, I don’t want to be 70 and wish that I had,” he said at the time.

Courtesy of Eastbound Barbecue

Get a first taste of Eastbound Barbecue this weekend.

news-you-can-eat barbecue openings