at the rodeo, speared snacks are a hit (link)
03.15.09 - houston chronicle - by greg morago
every march, houston holds their almost three-week long livestock show and rodeo. held at houston's reliant park, it's both the world's largest livestock exhibition & largest rodeo. all the stars come out. the jo bros played yesterday. friggin' hootie is playing tonight & taylor swift is playing on friday. there's a bbq contest & an assload of cowboy boots & assorted cowboy attire.
at one point, according to men's fitness, houston was the fattest city in america three years running. they've since instituted a "snack tax" & fallen to #10. there are some trends that have definitely helped keep them on the list. as greg morago tells us in his article, the hot item at this year's houston livestock show and rodeo is anything speared on a stick--fried shrimp, fried gator, cheese & pepperoni pizza. in fact, the top three items, as judged by the event's first ever "gold buckle foodie awards," were all items on a stick.
i agree with houstonians--foods are infinitely better when placed on a stick. for instance, take popsicles. popsicles would suck without a stick...as would lollipops or sketchy street-vendor foods. take the greatness of a stick & combine that with the curiosity of gator meat & you have a recipe for success. if we're lucky, some of that success recipe will rub off on the jo bros. those boys could really use a break.