Gold Buckle Winners

Fried jambalaya rolls, fried cupcakes, and more take top honors at rodeo's carnival food contest

Bonfire funnel cake took the prize for Most Creative.

Photo by Eric Sandler

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s celebration of its more decadent eats has new champions. The Gold Buckle Foodie Award winners have been crowned for 2022.

Now in its 13th year, the awards recognize the best bites sold on the rodeo grounds by vendors that range from corporate giants like Landry’s-owned Saltgrass Steakhouse to the sort of small, family-owned businesses that took a major hit when the rodeo closed early in 2020 and canceled 2021.

An online vote picked the finalists in each category, which may explain why some vendors had multiple entrants. A panel of judges that included media, influencers (including culinary creator Matt Pittman of the Meat Church Instagram feed), and some high profile Houston chefs — Aaron Bludorn (Bludorn), Dawn Burrell (Top Chef, Late August), Evelyn Garcia (Top Chef, Kin), Suu Khin (Masterchef), and Joseph Manglicmot (Masterchef) — picked the winners.

The categories are: Classic Fair Food, Most Creative Food, Best Food-on-a-Stick, Best Fried Food, Best New Flavor, and Best Dessert.

The creativity on display certainly impressed the judges. A stuffed turkey leg, a Monte Cristo sandwich, and a s’mores-funnel cake mashup that was flamed to order all had people reaching for their phones. More conventional eats like a chicken tender basket and steak-on-a-stick also drew attention.

While a Bacon Mac and Cheese egg roll may look exciting on Instagram, it’s worth keeping in mind that these dishes represent a relatively small fraction of the food consumed on the rodeo grounds. After all, as CultureMap columnist Ken Hoffman once pointed out, turkey legs and corn dogs are still the top sellers.

If nothing else, the awards remind rodeo visitors to explore the grounds and find something new to feast on. Go forth and eat.

Classic Fair Food
1st: Harlon's All Meat Stuffed Potato - Harlon's BBQ
2nd: Pulled Pork Baked Potato - Saltgrass Steak House
3rd: Brisket Cheese Fries - Spring Country Kitchen

Most Creative Food
1st: The Bonfire Funnel Cake - CornDog With No Name
2nd: Harlon’s Stuffed Turkey Leg - Harlon's BBQ
3rd: Steak Salad - Saltgrass Steak House

Best Food-on-a-Stick
1st: The Berry Racer Caramel Apple - Munch-oes Bakery
2nd: Beef K-BOB on a stick - Saltgrass Steak House
3rd: The Spice Corn Dog - CornDog With No Name

Best Fried Food
1st: Deep Fried Jambalaya Roll - Cajun Cowboy
2nd: Funnel Cake Monte Cristo Basket - Sill Concessions
3rd: Chicken Tender Basket - Holmes Smokehouse

Best New Flavor
1st: Bacon Mac & Cheese Egg Roll - The Finer Diner
2nd: Brisket Bacon Melt - Spring Country Kitchen
3rd: Island Slaw - Island Noodles

Best Dessert
1st: Fried Red Velvet Cupcake - Sills Funnel Cakes
2nd: Chocolate Turtle Cookie Sandwich - Munch-oes Bakery
3rd: Yellow Rose Funnel Cake - CornDog With No Name

news-you-can-eat rodeo awards

the fifth element

Houston's 'Chinese takeout bar from the future' unboxes Memorial outpost

Courtesy of The Rice Box

A neon sign at the new locaiton reads The Rice Box in Chinese.

Add another inner loop favorite to the growing list of Houston restaurants expanding to Memorial. American-style Chinese food restaurant The Rice Box will open a new location in Hedwig Village.

Slated to open in December, The Rice Box has claimed the former Georgia’s Market space at 9201 Katy Fwy for its fifth location. It joins the growing restaurant’s existing outposts in Greenway Plaza, the Heights, River Oaks, and Rice Village.

“We took our Rice Village location and miniaturized it,” Rice Box founder John Peterson tells CultureMap. “It’s got some seating, but it’s geared towards take out. We touch all of the Memorial neighborhoods there. Plus, if you go north, you have Spring Branch.”

As Peterson began considering the site, he heard from customers who moved to those neighborhoods from inner loop locations such as Montrose or Rice Military. They have fond memories of Rice Box — even going back to its food truck days — and look forward to having the restaurant near where they live now. With plans for more growth in the years to come, the enthusiasm has been gratifying.

“Being our first location outside of the 610 loop, seeing that reception, it’s exciting,” Peterson says. “We’ve got our eyes on a couple more locations. It’s fun to go into those areas and see we have old customers.”

Memorial-area diners can expect the same menu as the Rice Box’s other locations. That includes staples such as General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, beef with broccoli, and orange peel beef. The restaurant also serves traditional Chinese-inspired fare such as Chongqing chicken, cumin beef, mapo tofu, and chow fun noodles.

Hedwig Village will open with new versions of two dishes that Peterson had introduced previously but took off the menu. The first is an updated dumpling recipe that’s better suited for to-go. The second is a new milk bun that’s inspired by the version served at many dim sum restaurants.

“We’re continuing to make our menu better. We pay attention to customer feedback. We know the quality of the Rice Box now is completely different than when it was a food truck. We’re going into year 13, the quality will continue to improve as we enter new markets.”

In keeping with the Rice Box’s inspiration from Blade Runner and other sci-fi movies, the new location will also introduce a new, interactive element for customer ordering. Dubbed the Rice Box Multipass, Peterson describes it as an acrylic piece with a QR code. When diners scan the code, they’ll get access to the Rice Box’s ordering app. It’s previewed in the poster the restaurant released on social media.

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“We’re getting closer and closer to our vision of what the Chinese takeout bar from the future is,” Peterson says.

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