Everyone has a different reason to visit the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo—whether it’s the carnival rides, mutton bustin’, the concerts, or simply the food.

If the endless eating options along the midway feel overwhelming, let the Gold Buckle Foodie Award winners inspire your first bite.

Now in its 17th year, the Gold Buckle Foodie Awards invite Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo vendors to submit their most irresistible dishes to be evaluated in one of six categories: Best Fried Food, Best Food-on-a-Stick, Best Classic Fair Food, Best Most Creative, Best New Flavor, and Best Dessert.

A team of 40 judges, consisting of chefs, influencers, and members of the media, tackles the daunting task of tasting each of the 18 dishes that have been submitted, casting a vote for who should rule in each category.

Bacon, fried concoctions, and sugary sweets reigned supreme this year, although this writer thinks Casa de Yummy’s Fruit Roll-Up-wrapped pickle with Hot Cheetos dust deserves another look.

For the first time in the competition’s 17 years, two vendors tied for second place in the Best Classic Fair Food category. Harlon’s BBQ and Saltgrass Steakhouse snagged the second-place spot for their baked potato creations.

Asian Streetness, the only Asian food vendor at the rodeo, won first place in the Best Fried Food category. Its crab rangoon eggrolls combine two favorite Chinese-American dishes into a crispy-chewy bite that's paired with a sweet chili sauce and traditional shrimp chips.

  

Photo by Brianna Griff

Rousso’s Fat Bacon secured a first place spot for its Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick — a clear favorite of the judges.

Taste testers were clearly smitten with Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick. Exclamations of delight filled the room as volunteers handed out towering slices of half-inch-thick bacon slathered in a housemade cotton candy glaze and then encased in the pink sugar-spun confection. A few judges took home to-go boxes of the treat.

Here's the complete list of 2025 Gold Buckle Foodie Awards winners.

Best Fried Food

• 1st Place: Asian Streetness — Crab Rangoon Egg Rolls and Shrimp Chips
• 2nd Place: Rousso’s Fat Bacon — Bacon Jam Cheesy Pickle Fries
• 3rd Place: Yoakum Packing Company — Chicken Fried Bacon

Best Food-on-a-Stick

• 1st Place: Munchoes — Texas Praline Caramel Apple
• 2nd Place: Corndog with No Name — The Midnight Cowboy Corn Dog
• 3rd Place: Paradise Burgers — Tater Kegs on a Stick

Best Classic Fair Food

• 1st Place: Finer Diner — Ground Ribeye Steak Burger
• 2nd Place TIED: Harlon’s BBQ — Harlon’s All-Meat Baked Potato
• 2nd Place TIED: Saltgrass — Pork-Stuffed Potato

Best Most Creative

• 1st Place: Rousso’s Fat Bacon — Bacon Jammy Jam Wagyu Sliders
• 2nd Place: Asian Streetness — Snack Pack Combo
• 3rd Place: Casa de Yummy — Spicy Pickle Roll-Up

Best New Flavor

• 1st Place: Rousso’s Fat Bacon — Rousso’s Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick
• 2nd Place: Darlin’s Fried Chicken — Chicken and Waffle Sliders
• 3rd Place: Saltgrass — Flaming Hot Chili Mac Dog

Best Dessert

• 1st Place: The Original Minneapple Pie — Minnecookiedough Pie
• 2nd Place: Casa de Yummy — Churro Ice Cream Sundae
• 3rd Place: Munchoes — Red Velvet Cookie Sandwich