buckle down

Houston Rodeo's Foodie Awards buckle down on a smash sensation and pass on Carnival faves

Bun B Trill Burgers Rodeo Gold Buckle Foodie Awards

Bun B and team Trill Burgers celebrate their Gold Buckle victory.

Photo by Mars Vaughn

Deciding what to eat at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo can be a bit overwhelming. Sure, it’s easy to stick with classics like turkey legs and corn dogs, but what about all the other choices?

Enter the Gold Buckle Foodie Awards. Now in its 15th year, the event allows food vendors from across the NRG Park complex to submit their tastiest morsels to a panel of judges comprised of local media, chefs, and influencers.

Choosing from 18 finalists in six categories, the panel gamely takes on everything from chicken fingers and cheeseburgers to a rattlesnake corn dog and pizza slices large enough to feed a family.

Seeing as this year’s Rodeo seems to belong to Bun B — consider the almost 75,000 strong who packed NRG Stadium for his Southern Takeover — his burger concept Trill Burgers took one of the day’s top prizes. The OG Trill Burger, a classic double patty smash burger, earned first place in the Classic Fair Food category.

Of course, reasonable people can disagree on the fair’s tastiest treats. CultureMap columnist Ken Hoffman highlighted a few favorites that didn’t make the Gold Buckle list, including an all-new Nashville hot chicken sandwich, Hot Cheetos Cheese Pickle Pizza, and the Shipley’s Deep Fried Banana Split Sandwich. Dominic Palmieri of Ray Cammack Shows explained the importance of using real-deal Hot Cheetos and Shipley Do-Nuts in his creations.

“You can tell the difference between Cap’n Crunch and a discount generic brand,” he explained. “They don’t taste the same or cook the same. When you’re making a unique product like we are, you can’t take any risks.”

Not counting the risks of accidentally dripping Trill Sauce on your cowboy boots, that is.

Here’s the complete list of winners from 2023 Gold Buckle Foodie Awards.

Best Fried Food

1st Place: Deep Fried Cookie Dough – The Original Mineapple Pie (Circle Drive 202)
2nd Place: Deep Fried Lasagna Roll – Southern Fried Salon (Circle Drive 204)
3rd Place: Chicken Tender Basket – Holmes Smokehouse (Rodeo Plaza 60)

Best Food-on-a-Stick

1st Place: Pickle Pizza on a Stick – Swain’s Pizza on a Stick (The Junction 505)
2nd Place: Apple Pie Candy Apple – Munch-oes Bakery (NRG Center Hall E 6119)
3rd Place: Big K-Dog – Asian Streetness (NRG Arena 604)

Classic Fair Food

1st Place: OG Trill Burger – Trill Burgers (Rodeo Plaza 130)
2nd Place: Southern Fried Chicken Wings – Southern Fried Salon (Circle Drive 204)
3rd Place: Ribeye Sandwich – Spring Country Kitchen (The Junction 506)

Most Creative Food

1st Place: Deep Fried BLT – Texas Sized Pizza/Burger & Chili Shack (Rodeo Plaza 35)
2nd Place Tied: Un-PHO-gettable Burger – Asian Streetness (NRG Arena 604); Rattlesnake Corn Dog – Pioneer Wagon (Circle Drive 205)

Best New Flavor

1st Place: Brad’s BBQ Sundae – Saltgrass Steakhouse (Lobby 0063)
2nd Place: Viet Taco – Asian Streetness (NRG Arena 604)
3rd Place: Loaded Pork Belly Fries – Blue Ribbon Grill (Rodeo Plaza 45)

Best Dessert

1st Place: Deep Fried Bread Pudding – Cajun Cowboy (Rodeo Plaza 55)
2nd Place: Smores Pie – Finer Diner (Rodeo Plaza 47)
3rd Place: The Ultimate Mineapple Pie – The Original Mineapple Pie (Circle Drive 202)

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truffle masters recap

Street corn shines at Houston's truffle-powered chef competition

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.

One of Houston’s top Mexican restaurants took the top prize at this year’s Truffle Masters competition. Victoria Elizondo, chef-owner of Cochinita & Co., bested 24 other Houston chefs with Elotitos, corn brushed with chiltepin aioli, dusted with seven chile spice, and finished with shaved truffles and Parmesan.

“The team killed it last night,” Elizondo wrote on Instagram. “We won 1st place at @thetrufflemasters all while having fun and cooking with love! Food doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to be made with corazón!”

The attention couldn’t have come at a better time. As CultureMap reported last month, Cochinita & Co. is currently in the process of opening a second location in Lindale Park. Customers can invest in the project via the NuMarket platform in exchange for credits at the restaurant.

Second prize went to Camaraderie in the Heights for its black sesame and black truffle gelato, while Cocody, a French restaurant in River Oaks, took third place for its truffle-shaped Lollys Persillade Escargot Cromesquis, essentially an escargot lollypop with with black truffle and quail egg in the middle.

Montrose sushi restaurant Soto won People’s Choice with its Engawa fin muscle with truffle balsamic unagi sauce, kizami, and chocolate black truffle masago arare. Aniket Bhingare, a bartender at Michelin-starred restaurant Musaafer, won the cocktail competition with his Pour Me a Slice, made with truffle and herb-infused and a clarified mix of roma tomatoes, fresh basil, oregano, basil, and truffle oil.

Other standout dishes included a Yukon Gold potato with truffle brown butter from Michelin-recognized sushi restaurant Hidden Omakase, truffle s’mores from Israeli-inspired steakhouse Doris Metropolitan, beef tartare and truffle ice cream from fine dining sushi restaurant Katami, and Credence’s truffle duck sausage with plums and truffles. Maximo, a Mexican restaurant in West U., maximized (sorry) its truffle usage with a Cachetada de Barbacoa Taco, made with nixtamalized truffle tortilla, truffle-braised barbacoa, and sottocenere al tartufo cheese with black garlic-habanero salsa

More than 350 attended the sold-out affair, which took place at the Astorian events space in Sawyer Yards. The judging panel include both media members (such as this author) and hospitality pros. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the KNOWAutism Foundation.

Photo by Daniel Ortiz

Marcus Benedict, Daniella Johner, and chef Luis Roger of MAD and BCN.