Buckle Up

Cotton candy bacon and wagyu sliders win RodeoHouston carnival food awards

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.

Cotton Candy Bacon on a Stick Houston Rodeo

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

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dream a little dream

Veteran Houston barista dreams up a new coffee shop for Montrose

Photo by Eric Sandler

Matt Toomey has opened Little Dreamer Coffee in Montrose.

Matt Toomey is ready to bring some good vibes to Montrose. The veteran coffee roaster, barista, and coffee shop owner has claimed the former Inversion/Canary space at 1953 Montrose Blvd for a brick and mortar outpost of Little Dreamer Coffee that opened quietly last week.

Known as the founder of Heights staple Boomtown Coffee, Toomey created Little Dreamer in 2020. Previously, Little Dreamer occupied a kiosk at the Stomping Grounds development in Garden Oaks, but it closed after a couple of years. He’s feeling very optimistic about Little Dreamer’s new home, which has been a coffee shop for almost 20 years.

“We love good coffee. We like creating a space that has a good frequency where people want to visit. Create a culture without our staff that embraces people’s strengths and gives the ability to be present,” Toomey says.

“I’m older. I’ve doing this for a long time. If I hadn’t gotten this, I don’t know what I’d be doing. I needed this an an anchor for the growth of my business.”

That business is rooted in the coffee beans Toomey still roasts himself, such as the Ozolotepec from Oaxaca and a house blend that’s designed for espresso. Like many high quality coffee shops, Little Dreamer makes all of its syrups and sauces in-house. The salted butterscotch has emerged as a fan favorite.

Try a salted butterscotch latte at Little Dreamer Coffee.Photo by Eric Sandler

“It’s an unctuous, thick sauce,” Toomey says. “It’s got a weight and texture. It’s sweet and buttery. We top it with pink Himalayan sea salt. It’s really good.”

Little Dreamer will pair its coffees with sweet and savory pies. In addition to baking a few in house, Toomey plans to work with local bakers, including CultureMap Tastemaker Awards winner Jane Wild, Little Kitchen, and Red Dessert Dive. To emphasize the connection, the coffee shop will celebrate its grand opening on March 14, aka Pi(e) Day.

“We’re going to go hard with pies. Sweet, savory — I love Aussie meatpies, Toomey says. “I think they’re underrepresented. Where else can you get a good cup of coffee and a slice of pie?”

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Little Dreamer has grown by serving at both the Urban Harvest farmers market on Saturdays and the Heights Mercantile market that’s held on the second and fourth Sunday of every month. While the business has had its up and downs, Toomey is feeling optimistic about finally being able to serve people on a daily basis.

“I want to create a space where people feel that good energy,” he says. “That’s my schtick. Keep things positive. Keep things flowing. I think it’s evident in the things I do.”

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