this in fact was my first rodeo
SO. MUCH. FUN.
Well, you might’ve guessed from the title, we’re talking about the rodeo.
The Houston Rodeo brings millions to Texas for huge rodeo shows, huger concerts, and a big fan favorite, the food.
(which is what we’re highlighting since this is, you know, a food blog/writing platform)
Texas is already famous for specific cuisine like barbecue, TexMex, and of course chicken-fried anything. Take everything you know about Texas cuisine and amp it up by 100. That is the food at the rodeo.
Is it worth the big bucks you fork up to put a fork in?
Probably not.
Do you give a fork?
Probably not!
You’re at the rodeo! Here’s what was on the menu (it wasn’t a lot but man was it fun!)
The K-DOG
First of the night, we found a small Asian-fusion food truck at the back of the grounds with its main specialty being a gorgeously crispy and gooey Korean corn dog.
This corndog was half hotdog, half mozzarella stick, coated in fry batter and drizzled in two fry sauces.
When it comes to fried foods, I’m at a loss for the most part.
The fry batter was like a fusion of tempura and your typical fry batter mix, coated with panko and little pieces of french fry cubes?? I’m not sure but it was perfectly crispy and DELICIOUS.
The cheese pulls from this bad boy? Ridiculous! Delicious! Not too heavy and the best way to start the night.
Steak Kabob
The expectations were high for this and unfortunately ranked last compared to everything in the night.
This reminded me of my dad’s Lahem Mishwi which is essentially a Middle Eastern lamb skewer/kabob.
Except we never ate lamb in my family and was typically substituted with either chicken or beef fajitas (authentic, I know).
Here, we got meat. white onion. bell pepper. repeat.
It was a nostalgic pick of the night, but to be frank, my dad’s Lahem Mishwi is INFINITELY better.
The steak was pretty tough and a little dry. But! Most likely the only place you could snag a vegetable into the night, which is a win in my book!
The Cowboy Croissant
Okay, hear me out.
Take a croissant, DEEP FRY IT, cover it in cinnamon sugar, and fill it with a little bit of vanilla custard.
You have one of God’s greatest gifts to the rodeo.
As soon as David and I saw this, we knew we had to get it. For sweet fried treats, I think this was TOP TIER.
The butteriest, flakiest croissant chased with sweet cinnamon? It had us acting like that one couple trying to say “baked in a buttery flaky crust”.
Fried Cookie Dough
After only three items, we thought we were done for the night.
Until I saw this. We decided we had enough room for one more fried dish.
When would be the next time I had the chance to try this many gloriously fried foods? Probably when I go to the rodeo next year.
This was…interesting.
The fried cookie dough looked just like a plain old corn dog. We expected there to be some crunch factor, and it was underwhelmingly soft.
The cookie dough was delicious! Definitely a fun little nightcap.
But could it have been better? For sure!
At the end of the day, I was ready for a piece of produce and a good night’s sleep.
Most of our selections from the night were things that weren’t for the most part, stereotypical rodeo food. For instance, the plain corndogs, brisket/anything barbecue, funnel cake, fried oreos, the cheesecake on a stick, and a trisburger?
That one I’m still confused by….
I guess I’ll have to go again next year (or another day this season) to find out!
With Love,
Cara