Rib Cook-off Newbie

Eydie Scher wrote this blog of her first experience with the Rib Cook-off. If you’d like to write about a local event send it to me at klarsen@rgj.com and I’ll post here. Thanks Eydie.

Nothing even vaguely considered healthy was on the menus. There were no signs of salads, not a shred of lettuce, and fruits were scarce. Wasn't anyone dieting anymore? Certainly not here. Throngs inhabited the entire area of Victorian Square. What was I expecting? The newspaper said 500,000 would partake of this year's festivities. I think most of them were there on Saturday when we were.

It was hot, very hot. The heat intertwined with the smoke from the grills. The nose breathed in the delicious scent. Sticky fingers were everywhere and these were the adults. Only newbie's like us came unprepared without the wet wipes for cleanup. But who cared?

Slabs were the order of the day. After all, this was the largest celebration of ribs in the country. Ribs were slathered in sauce and dripping from lips onto clothing. Rolls of paper towels were handed out but to no avail.

Trophies adorned numerous rib stands. Help! Who do we buy from? Luckily, we were with savvy friends who assisted in making the right choice. Actually, there couldn't be any wrong choices. Names or cities and states such as Chicago, New Jersey, and of course Texas stood out.

The lines were long but taste bowled you over. Teeth were a necessity although the meat peeled off the ribs with fingers. These ribs were good. No, make that great. They were the best we ever had. It's amazing calculating how many ribs were barbecued. 200,000 lbs or much more might be right.

This was more than a festival. This was an actual cook-off put on by the Nugget. Can you imagine trying to choose a winner among these fantastic ribs?

If you booked in advance, for $800, you can purchase a table for 8 that entitles you to unlimited food and drink and most importantly, shade. You get to eat at an umbrella table with chairs in a cordoned off area. Public shady seats were scarce.

It's almost an art, to down those ribs, dipping them in sauce, hanging onto a drink and do it all while standing up. This is the real deal.

Oh no, my husband was heading back to the line for seconds. I grabbed his shirt in time and the threat worked. He settled for fried onion rings that were the largest I've ever seen. Each was the size of an entire onion. Added to that were garlic fries and fried zucchini. An enormous ear of corn qualified as the only veggie.

Desserts walked by. Ice cream and churros were popular.

Music blared from speakers. I would have danced but there was no room to move let alone dance.

Attesting to the popularity of ribs is the fact that people were there from all over the country. Someone said they flew in from New York. Gee, don't they have Tony Roma's back there? But no restaurant can serve up barbecued ribs like these.

Either before pigging out or after, there were the arts and crafts stands. There was something for everyone. It's on our return list. Next year, we'll be residents of Sparks. Oh no, we'll probably go all 5 days!!!