If you're not eating low-key absurd food you can only find at the rodeo, what are you doing? Why it matters: The rodeo is bringing back its staples, but there are also new food options to try. We gave some of them a shot.

In three visits, plus judging the fair-food Gold Buckle awards, we tried 46 dishes and drinks from the 2025 crop of vendors, both outside the stadium and in.

Cotton candy bacon on a stick, fried cookie dough pies, and crab rangoon egg rolls dominated the Houston Rodeo’s annual Goldie Buckle Foodie Awards this year