• Home
  • popular
  • EVENTS
  • submit-new-event
  • CHARITY GUIDE
  • Children
  • Education
  • Health
  • Veterans
  • Social Services
  • Arts + Culture
  • Animals
  • LGBTQ
  • New Charity
  • TRENDING NEWS
  • News
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • Home + Design
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Innovation
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • subscribe
  • about
  • series
  • Embracing Your Inner Cowboy
  • Green Living
  • Summer Fun
  • Real Estate Confidential
  • RX In the City
  • State of the Arts
  • Fall For Fashion
  • Cai's Odyssey
  • Comforts of Home
  • Good Eats
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2010
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2
  • Good Eats 2
  • HMNS Pirates
  • The Future of Houston
  • We Heart Hou 2
  • Music Inspires
  • True Grit
  • Hoops City
  • Green Living 2011
  • Cruizin for a Cure
  • Summer Fun 2011
  • Just Beat It
  • Real Estate 2011
  • Shelby on the Seine
  • Rx in the City 2011
  • Entrepreneur Video Series
  • Going Wild Zoo
  • State of the Arts 2011
  • Fall for Fashion 2011
  • Elaine Turner 2011
  • Comforts of Home 2011
  • King Tut
  • Chevy Girls
  • Good Eats 2011
  • Ready to Jingle
  • Houston at 175
  • The Love Month
  • Clifford on The Catwalk Htx
  • Let's Go Rodeo 2012
  • King's Harbor
  • FotoFest 2012
  • City Centre
  • Hidden Houston
  • Green Living 2012
  • Summer Fun 2012
  • Bookmark
  • 1987: The year that changed Houston
  • Best of Everything 2012
  • Real Estate 2012
  • Rx in the City 2012
  • Lost Pines Road Trip Houston
  • London Dreams
  • State of the Arts 2012
  • HTX Fall For Fashion 2012
  • HTX Good Eats 2012
  • HTX Contemporary Arts 2012
  • HCC 2012
  • Dine to Donate
  • Tasting Room
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • Charming Charlie
  • Asia Society
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2012
  • HTX Mistletoe on the go
  • HTX Sun and Ski
  • HTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • HTX New Beginnings
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013
  • Zadok Sparkle into Spring
  • HTX Let's Go Rodeo 2013
  • HCC Passion for Fashion
  • BCAF 2013
  • HTX Best of 2013
  • HTX City Centre 2013
  • HTX Real Estate 2013
  • HTX France 2013
  • Driving in Style
  • HTX Island Time
  • HTX Super Season 2013
  • HTX Music Scene 2013
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2013 2
  • HTX Baker Institute
  • HTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • Mothers Day Gift Guide 2021 Houston
  • Staying Ahead of the Game
  • Wrangler Houston
  • First-time Homebuyers Guide Houston 2021
  • Visit Frisco Houston
  • promoted
  • eventdetail
  • Greystar Novel River Oaks
  • Thirdhome Go Houston
  • Dogfish Head Houston
  • LovBe Houston
  • Claire St Amant podcast Houston
  • The Listing Firm Houston
  • South Padre Houston
  • NextGen Real Estate Houston
  • Pioneer Houston
  • Collaborative for Children
  • Decorum
  • Bold Rock Cider
  • Nasher Houston
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2021
  • CityNorth
  • Urban Office
  • Villa Cotton
  • Luck Springs Houston
  • EightyTwo
  • Rectanglo.com
  • Silver Eagle Karbach
  • Mirador Group
  • Nirmanz
  • Bandera Houston
  • Milan Laser
  • Lafayette Travel
  • Highland Park Village Houston
  • Proximo Spirits
  • Douglas Elliman Harris Benson
  • Original ChopShop
  • Bordeaux Houston
  • Strike Marketing
  • Rice Village Gift Guide 2021
  • Downtown District
  • Broadstone Memorial Park
  • Gift Guide
  • Music Lane
  • Blue Circle Foods
  • Houston Tastemaker Awards 2022
  • True Rest
  • Lone Star Sports
  • Silver Eagle Hard Soda
  • Modelo recipes
  • Modelo Fighting Spirit
  • Athletic Brewing
  • Rodeo Houston
  • Silver Eagle Bud Light Next
  • Waco CVB
  • EnerGenie
  • HLSR Wine Committee
  • All Hands
  • El Paso
  • Avenida Houston
  • Visit Lubbock Houston
  • JW Marriott San Antonio
  • Silver Eagle Tupps
  • Space Center Houston
  • Central Market Houston
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Travel Texas Houston
  • Alliantgroup
  • Golf Live
  • DC Partners
  • Under the Influencer
  • Blossom Hotel
  • San Marcos Houston
  • Photo Essay: Holiday Gift Guide 2009
  • We Heart Hou
  • Walker House
  • HTX Good Eats 2013
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2013
  • HTX Culture Motive
  • HTX Auto Awards
  • HTX Ski Magic
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2014
  • HTX Texas Traveler
  • HTX Cifford on the Catwalk 2014
  • HTX United Way 2014
  • HTX Up to Speed
  • HTX Rodeo 2014
  • HTX City Centre 2014
  • HTX Dos Equis
  • HTX Tastemakers 2014
  • HTX Reliant
  • HTX Houston Symphony
  • HTX Trailblazers
  • HTX_RealEstateConfidential_2014
  • HTX_IW_Marks_FashionSeries
  • HTX_Green_Street
  • Dating 101
  • HTX_Clifford_on_the_Catwalk_2014
  • FIVE CultureMap 5th Birthday Bash
  • HTX Clifford on the Catwalk 2014 TEST
  • HTX Texans
  • Bergner and Johnson
  • HTX Good Eats 2014
  • United Way 2014-15_Single Promoted Articles
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Houston
  • Where to Eat Houston
  • Copious Row Single Promoted Articles
  • HTX Ready to Jingle 2014
  • htx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Zadok Swiss Watches
  • HTX Wonderful Weddings 2015
  • HTX Charity Challenge 2015
  • United Way Helpline Promoted Article
  • Boulevard Realty
  • Fusion Academy Promoted Article
  • Clifford on the Catwalk Fall 2015
  • United Way Book Power Promoted Article
  • Jameson HTX
  • Primavera 2015
  • Promenade Place
  • Hotel Galvez
  • Tremont House
  • HTX Tastemakers 2015
  • HTX Digital Graffiti/Alys Beach
  • MD Anderson Breast Cancer Promoted Article
  • HTX RealEstateConfidential 2015
  • HTX Vargos on the Lake
  • Omni Hotel HTX
  • Undies for Everyone
  • Reliant Bright Ideas Houston
  • 2015 Houston Stylemaker
  • HTX Renewable You
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • Urban Flats Builder
  • HTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Kyrie Massage
  • Red Bull Flying Bach
  • Hotze Health and Wellness
  • ReadFest 2015
  • Alzheimer's Promoted Article
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Professional Skin Treatments by NuMe Express

    Rodeo BBQ Contest Wrapup

    Behind the scenes at Houston's hottest BBQ contest: What it's like to judge Rodeo ribs

    Eric Sandler
    Feb 26, 2018 | 10:23 am

    For the vast majority of the 215,476 people who attended the Rodeo this weekend, the experience is a party that never ends: free flowing drinks, live music, dancing, and great food. Some of the “tents” are bigger than most of Houston’s restaurants — and only exist for three days a year.

    Saturday morning is different. Quieter. More serious.

    For 252 teams, the partying takes a break to focus on the World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest. Months of recipe testing and development culminates in several hours of slow smoking as teams prepare chicken, pork ribs, and beef brisket for a panel of judges.

    For the first time, contest organizers invited CultureMap to participate in the judging process by sampling ribs. For each type of meat, 85 judges evaluate the submissions. All judging is done blind. The meat appears in a styrofoam box without any identification other than a number.

    In keeping with the seriousness of the effort the teams put in, judging is a solemn, mostly silent process. Seated five to a table, we receive strict instructions not to influence the other judges by discussing what we’ve eaten or even making faces. The criteria are sight (rated 1 to 5), smell (rated 1 to 10), tenderness (rated 1 to 15), and taste (rated 1 to 20).

    Over the course of an hour or so, each table of judges eats about 15 submissions. Each entry is scored on their own merits, which can be tricky. What if that first or second rib turns out to be the best of the day?

    Looks may be deceiving, but on this day they offer a pretty consistent indication as to quality. Ribs that have been trimmed to the same size and covered in a glaze score higher in taste than those that are cut unevenly (at least on my sheets — judges are prohibited from discussing their scores with each other).

    Somewhat surprisingly, tenderness seems to be the trickiest category for most ribs. A majority of the submissions I sample are too chewy. Flavor profiles run sweet, with little of the Central Texas-style peppery bark that’s become the norm at barbecue restaurants. I award a couple of 18s for flavor, but I’m fairly certain I didn’t taste any of the winners.

    For 2018, the rodeo made a significant change to the contest’s structure. Instead of two rounds of judging, preliminary and final, each type of meat is only judged once. Also, a team can only submit one entry per category; previously, a team could submit up to four entries in one category and not submit in the other two. Highest combined score produces a grand champion.

    Randy Pauly, chief cook for Holy Cow Cookers, tells CultureMap he prefers the new format, because it seems likely to produce a winner who’s more well-rounded. A team can no longer submit four different styles of brisket and hope to capture a winner’s belt buckle.

    While that certainly may be true, the new judging format produced a familiar result. Fort Wort pitmaster Jamie Geer, the 2014 champion, led the Houston-based Buns-N-Roses Cook Team to the Grand Champion Overall title. Geer, the designer of the Jambo pits that are a staple of serious barbecue competitors, tells ABC13 that salt, pepper, and garlic are the keys to his success.

    Why didn’t anybody else think of that?

    Here's the full list of winners (via rodeohouston.com):

    Grand Champion Overall — Buns-N-Roses Cook Team
    Reserve Grand Champion Overall — Jasper County Go Texan

    Brisket

    • Champion — Buckshot BBQ
    • Second Place — Manning Valley Natural Smokers
    • Third Place — Steve’s Cooking Team

    Ribs

    • Champion — Buns-N-Roses Cook Team
    • Second Place — British Bulldog BBQ
    • Third Place — Operation BBQ Relief

    Chicken

    • Champion — The Tumble Inn
    • Second Place — Madison County Go Texan
    • Third Place — San Patricio County Go Texan

    Go Texan

    • Grand Champion — Jasper County
    • Reserve Champion — Bee County

    Dutch Oven Dessert

    • Champion — Lingon & Dill BBQ Team
    • Second Place — Comcast Business
    • Third Place — Smokin’ Stokers

    Specialty Awards

    • Most Colorful Team — Floyd Morrow & Larkin
    • Runner Up Most Colorful Team — Over the Hill Gang
    • Go Texan Most Colorful Team — Grid Iron Cookers
    • Runner Up Go Texan Most Colorful Team — Nueces County
    • Most Unique Pit — Pit Boss
    • Runner Up Most Unique Pit — Clifton Chevy Cookers
    • Best Team Skit — Brazos County
    • Runner Up Best Team Skit — Bad Girls Gone Wild
    • Cleanest Team Area — Houston First
    • Runner Up Cleanest Team Area — Floyd Morrow & Larkin

    See more of the contest by watching this video from our content partners at ABC13:

    Holy Cow Cookers takes a break from partying to participate in the contest.

    Rodeo barbecue cook-off Holy Cow Cookers
      
    Photo by Eric Sandler
    Holy Cow Cookers takes a break from partying to participate in the contest.
    rodeobarbecue
    news/restaurants-bars

    most read posts

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Intimate Houston cocktail lounge adds European-inspired outdoor patio

    Award-winning Houston cocktail bar diverts to new home in Montrose

    and the winner is...

    Innovative Houston chef is the city's newest James Beard Award winner

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 17, 2025 | 6:00 am
    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation
    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    Add another Houston chef to the city’s growing list of James Beard Award winners. Thomas Bille, chef-owner of Belly of the Beast in Spring, earned Best Chef: Texas at the James Beard Foundation’s Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony.

    Held at the Lyric Opera of Chicago on Monday, June 16, Bille was one of five finalists for the award, along with fellow Houstonian Emmanuel Chavez (Tatemo), Emil Oliva (Leche de Tigre in San Antonio), Regino Rojas (Purépecha in Dallas), and Michael Anthony Serva, (Bordo in Marfa). Neither of Houston’s other finalists — Mexico City-inspired cafe Casaema (formerly known as Ema) for Best New Restaurant and fine dining tasting menu restaurant March for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program — earned awards in their categories.

    A Los Angeles native who moved to the Houston area to be closer to his wife’s family, Bille took a winding path to his James Beard Award. He opened the first iteration of Belly of the Beast in 2020 as a chef-driven taqueria that was known for its ceviches and birria tacos. He then spent about a year at Chivos, an ambitious but short-lived Mexican-American restaurant in the Heights.

    In late 2023, he and his wife Elizabeth opened a new version of Belly of the Beast in a Spring shopping center. It showcased a broader array of Bille’s skills, with a wide-ranging menu that pulled from global flavors — lamb shank rendang, anyone? — that included meat, seafood, and pastas. The new restaurant quickly earned wide acclaim, including a Bib Gourmand in the 2024 Michelin Guide and CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominations for both Restaurant of the Year and Chef of the Year.

    “I feel a depth of gratitude,” Bille tells CultureMap in a text message. “Knowing that my wife and I were able to reopen on our own terms. Gratitude for my family, staff, and guests to give us love and support. It is much appreciated.”

    In an interview from the ceremony shared by the James Beard Foundation, Bille paid tribute to his wife, Elizabeth, for her role in the restaurant’s success.

    “The risk that my wife and I took to open this restaurant is more than worth it. My wife left her industry, she was a national director for nonprofit organization,” he said. “I said, ‘We’re going to reopen Belly of the Beast. I need you with me side-by-side the whole time.’ The first iteration she held down her job and supported us. With her at my wide, I’m able to focus on the kitchen, on the food, and mentoring my cooks. Able to see the bigger picture instead of just being in the weeds all the time.”

    Bille is the second Houstonian to win Best Chef: Texas, joining Street to Kitchen chef-owner Benchawan Jabthong Painter, who won in 2023. Since the category of Best Chef: Texas has only been awarded since 2022, Bille is the first man to earn the title. Prior to being its own region, the James Beard Foundation included Texas in the Southwest, where chefs Robert Del Grande (Cafe Annie), Chris Shepherd (Underbelly), Justin Yu (Oxheart), and Hugo Ortega (Hugo’s) all won awards.

    The only other Texas finalist to win his category was Arjav Ezekiel of Birdie's in Austin, who became the first winner of Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, one of three beverage-oriented categories the foundation added for 2025.

    In addition to Bille and Ezekiel, Texam Chad Houser, founder of Cafe Momentum in Dallas, received the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Toni Tipton-Martin, a Houston-based author, scholar, and journalist, received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Houstonian Alba Huerta, who won Outstanding Beverage Program for her bar Julep in 2022, presented one of the night’s awards.

    “It’s with deep celebration that we congratulate the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award winners — distinguished culinary, beverage, and hospitality leaders whose talent and vision are shaping our dining landscape,” said Clare Reichenbach, CEO, James Beard Foundation, in a statement. “These outstanding professionals are the epitome of ‘Good Food for Good,’ elevating our industry’s standards and redefining what’s possible in American cuisine.”

    James Beard Awards 2025 Thomas Bille Belly of the Beast
      

    Photo by Getty Images for James Beard Foundation

    Thomas Bille is Houston's newest James Beard Award winner.

    awardsjames beard awardchefsthomas billebelly of the beast
    news/restaurants-bars

    most read posts

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Intimate Houston cocktail lounge adds European-inspired outdoor patio

    Award-winning Houston cocktail bar diverts to new home in Montrose

    Loading...