Daily -ist List: Monday

Armadillo Palace with Carrie Ann Buchanan

So you feel obligated to do the rodeo this year, but:
a) you don’t feel like dealing with the traffic
b) you don’t want to spend $8 on a watered-down beer
c) you think their entertainment line-up is lame

Here’s a way you can still wear your boots and feel like a true Texan during rodeo season without stepping foot into Reliant Stadium: visit Armadillo Palace.

Armadillo Palace is the brainchild of Goode Co. – yep, the same people that bring you some of the best barbeque in town (which happens to be right across the street). Here, the menu is more varied than barbeque, with everything from chicken fried steaks and salads. The bar is much more than beer – full bar, in which we recommend trying the variety of whiskeys they have on the shelves (don’t try them all in one night, though).

Just like the rodeo, there will be live music entertainment for you, too. Tonight, singer/songwriter Carrie Ann Buchanan takes the Armadillo stage. According to her website, her music is “a mixture of influences from Paul Simon to Carole King...from Ani DeFranco to Dolly Parton...with a hint of Ozzy Osborne” – that should be interesting.

Enjoy yourself. It’s just like the rodeo, without calf roping, bull riding, manure, etc.