The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo hosted its 23rd annual Rodeo Uncorked! Roundup & Best Bites Competition at NRG Center this Sunday. Presented by Nan & Company Properties, the culinary and wine showcase is one of the first major events of the Rodeo season and, like last year, it was sold out. Dishes from Houston’s top restaurants were accompanied by nearly 500 different wines being poured from all over the world, with the state of Oregon as this year’s wine spotlight. The award-winning wines were part of the 2026 Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition.
The Houston Press was fortunate to be invited to judge again this year with other Houston food writers, local journalists, and television/radio personalities. The blind tasting consisted of seven or eight tables of judges, five to a table, sampling different plates of appetizers, entrees and desserts. We were seated with a stellar group of personalities, including Katie Stone, president of the Cleverley Stone Foundation, Greg Morago, former food editor at the Houston Chronicle, Michael Garfield (The High-Tech Texan) and Jose Almodovar, CEO and co-founder, along with his wife Nancy, of Nan and Company Properties.
Our Rodeo volunteer hostesses for the evening were Rhonda and Sue, who, along with one of our favorite familiar faces, Kimberly, kept the plates coming and going from our table. Every year, we are amazed by the hard work of the Rodeo’s finest. They are a well-oiled machine, but they deliver everything with a smile. If they were getting paid, they’d deserve a massive raise. But the volunteers donate their time, and energy, to the mission of educating the public about agriculture and cowboy culture while providing scholarships for young people that are preparing for careers in livestock husbandry and agricultural science.
Our first couple of appetizers weren’t much to write home about, so we won’t do that here, but the bites got more interesting as the plates began to roll out. There was a spicy moment with a hot green salsa atop a tasty wagyu beef taco, followed by one of the tastiest bites of the night, the chicken pot pie from Southern Yankee Crafthouse. The judges at our table not only loved the creamy filling, but also the little spiced pastry top that was almost like a thick cracker. Unfortunately, we were too enthralled with eating it to take a photo.
Unlike previous years, we weren’t served any over-the-top desserts. There was a yummy bite of coconut tres leches, which I wish I had been able to taste more of, and a tiny dollop of cheesecake filling with a perfect praline pecan on top.
After the judging, a few of us were asked to stick around to break a couple of ties. We deemed ourselves the “super panel” as we were given two dishes to break the tie.
After the judging, we headed out to make the rounds among the crowd of well-heeled and well-hoofed urban cowpokes. This year’s attendees seemed to be a bit more demure in their sparkles and spangles, but there were still plenty of tulle skirts, bling-y boots and rhinestone-studded jackets to be seen.
We hooked up with our companion, Kingwood Kim, to try some more grub. Unfortunately, our hour of judging had given her plenty of time to sample the culinary delights and she was already full. I convinced her that we still needed to make our way through the lines of people to sample a few more dishes.
We hit Pier 6 for its eye-popping chowder-stuffed oyster, then Kingwood Kim dragged us to Camaraderie for a shrimp risotto that she insisted we had to try. Unfortunately, Camaraderie’s booth had run out of shrimp briefly, but there was still risotto. Executive chef and owner Shawn Gayle promised there would be more in five minutes. However, we opted for it without the shrimp and it was so flavorful, we didn’t even miss it. The seafood flavors of the broth were enough to make this risotto a standout bite.
On we trekked, through happy hordes of well-fed, and well-vino’ed folks, searching for lines that weren’t quite as long. Unfortunately, we did hit a couple of booths that had already been relieved of food. We were sad to miss out on Ragin’ Cajun’s Creole grits and we weren’t able to get through the mass of people at Belly of the Beast, though we did snap a quick photo of owner/James Beard Award-winning chef, Thomas Bille, and his wife. However, we realized that we had already enjoyed his wagyu beef taco during the judging.
We recognized chef Trinidad “Machete” Gonzales and headed to his booth, Gordo Ninos. Expecting to see him dishing out tacos topped with his famous purple lean sauce, instead he was squeezing dollops of pastry cream onto plates, sprinkling it with Korean salt and finishing it off with a praline pecan. I recognized that bite, since it had arrived at our judges’ table. It was delicious, but I was a little disappointed not to get to try one of his more popular food items from his gas station eatery off NASA Parkway.
Chef Machete is a competitor on Fox’s fifth season of Next Level Chef, which is currently running. He invited us to the watch party at McIntyre’s in Webster on February 26 at 6 p.m. Chef Machete, along with fellow NLC contestants Cole Lawson, Amber Kellehan, and Christian Alquiza, will be cooking tacos from episode four. We’ll have to miss it due to more Rodeo commitments, so we’re going to have to make the drive to Gordo Ninos very soon to try the Killa-Dilla and W.A.B.
We ended our evening with a glass of champagne and a whiskey-spiked ice cream and cookie. Undoubtedly, there were many other spectacular creations that we missed. We didn’t make it to Cotton Culinary this year, a team that wins repeatedly, but there’s always next year’s Rodeo Uncorked!Best Bites.
And there’s still more Rodeo fun to be had for the next four weeks. So, dust off your boots and squeeze into your Wranglers. We’re off to the Rodeo.
2026 BEST BITES WINNERS:
People’s Choice Award:
1st Place: Cotton Culinary – The Huntsmans Harvest
2nd Place: Gus’s Fried Chicken – Fried Chicken
Outstanding Showmanship Award:
1st Place Creole Kitchen and Daiquiris – Creole Heaven
2nd Place: SheShe Treats – Iced Sugar Cookies
Tasty Tradition Award:
1st Place: Coppa Osteria – Burrata Tartufo
2nd Place: Toro Toro Houston – Flamed Tomahawk
Trailblazer Appetizer Award:
1st Place: Robinette Company Caterers – Cheddar Raspberry Bite topped with jalapeno bacon
2nd Place: Deuce of Spades Catering & Events – Seafood Pasta
3rd Place: Flora Mexican Kitchen – Cochinita Pibil
Lone Star Entrée Award:
1st Place: House of Blues – Short Rib Rojo
2nd Place: Southern Yankee Crafthouse – Chicken Pot Pie
3rd Place: Raising Cane’s — Chicken Finger with Cane’s Sauce & Garlic Butter Texas Toast
Two-Steppin’ Dessert Award:
1st Place: Lemond Kitchen – Louisiana Bread Pudding
2nd Place: Guzel Cakes – Perfect Love Cheesecake
3rd Place: Kendal & Kelby’s Cheesecakes – Apple Crumble Cheesecake Stuffed Cookie
Rookie Award:
Tejas Brewery – Truffle Burger Slider