The rain stayed away and the crowds came out for the all-you-can-eat ribs, brisket, and other grillables from local professional and amateur teams at A Full Plate's Annual Rib Cook-Off this past Saturday, and what a great time it was!FYI, the "I Got Ribbed Off" in the title of the post refers to the cute bovine T-shirts with the same saying being sold at the event.
All teams were required to grill ribs, so there were lots of those to be had, although some teams ran out of food quickly with the hungry people chowing their way full force through the crowd. Ribs, Brisket, Anything Goes, and Vegetarian were the four categories teams could enter into the judging, and, let me tell you, the food went fast!As a judge for the Professional Vegetarian category (there was also an Amateur Vegetarian category), I wasn't allowed in the festival area so as to keep my peepers off the goods and keep the blind judging truly blind, so when my duties were over and I did get a peek at the competitors' tables, much of the food was already gone!
A Full Plate kept the buffet sides and desserts coming, though. E's mini red velvet cupcakes are too cute, and her oatmeal creme pies are one of my all-time favorite desserts she makes. Coleslaw, mac and cheese, baked beans, and brussel sprout salad were a few of the items off the all-vegetarian buffet we picked up.
Carnage from the Professional Vegetarian judging table.Being a judge in the Professional Vegetarian category was a lot of fun, but I took the job seriously, thoughtfully scoring each entry on presentation, creativity, and taste. I think the Vegetarian category and the Anything Goes category (didn't judge Anything Goes) were truly the most interesting, with each entry being so different from the next. These categories weren't just plate of ribs, one after the other. Vegetarian and Anything Goes were where the grill masters could really use their creativity and bring something special to the table.
With first and second place winners in both amateur and professional divisions of four categories (Ribs, Brisket, Anything Goes, and Vegetarian), as well as a people's choice award, my little, end-of-the-day, non-note-taking brain just can't remember who won what, except for the category I judged and the people's choice award (that award went to Sonata), so you'll just have to wait for the official announcements. (Updade: and here they are.)
Tower Investments took home the second place prize in the Professional Vegetarian category with a grilled vegetable sandwich that was truly delicious -- and I encounter many grilled veggie sandwiches. Who'd a thunk a property developer could turn out good grub!
Q BBQ and Tequila took home the first place prize in the Professional Vegetarian category with grilled caramelized onions and mushrooms with toasts topped with herbed and sweetened goat cheese. This really was the tastiest vegetarian dish of the day in my opinion (and apparently others'), and Q deserved the win.No pictures or prize, but Mermaid BBQ, 2008's first place rib winner and people's choice winner, made tiny bbq seitan sliders topped with chunky blue cheese dressing that was simple, but delicious. If I had the power (sadly, I have none) to grant a third place prize, I'd award it to Mermaid Barbecue.
I had a lot of fun and can't wait til next year! Check out a few more of my pics on Flickr.
5 comments:
Wow -- thanks for the drool-worthy report! If you ever need help on the judging front, let me know... I attended and paid admission, and was only able to sample two or three of the veggie offerings :( . Thank goodness for the Full Plate buffet, which was absolutely delish -- those oatmeal pies had me swooning! I'm wondering if it was a weather issue -- reports made it sound like it might be a wash-out, and I'm thinking the participants really low-balled their supplies. Even the ribs were disappearing after an hour and a half. We got there about a half hour after opening, and only managed to get a sample of that awesome veggie sandwich and a square of polenta. Oh, and one slice of sweet potato with jerk seasoning. Sad. It seemed like most were only supplying the judging tables or something -- or they just came ridiculously under-supplied. I asked a few of the competitors if they had anything veg, and most of their replies were along the lines of "used to" or a blink and a shrug. (They also ran out of beer before I could get mine.) I would give it another shot next year, but my companion was pretty miffed about how it was advertised / organized.
Meghann - Yes, the running out of food was a problem. This event is only in its third year, and is improving each year. Also the crowds are getting larger, and I think this year’s turn out was more than expected. Most cook-offs or similar events use a system where one must purchase tickets to sample food, which tends to curb the crowd’s appetite a bit and let vendors hang onto their samples a little longer. Perhaps the too generous all-you-can-eat system employed this year and in previous years may have to go by the wayside in the future, which may help solve the problem of food disappearing so fast. I, of course, have no dealings with the planning or any other aspect of this event; this is just my speculation as to why food went so fast. Lots of people + all you can eat = feeding frenzy
the other problem was as competitors we had to supply our own vegetarian ingredients, and i can only speak for my team (mediocre BBQ) our stuffed peppers were mighty expensive to make. we brought as much as we could but since they were the first thing off the grill, they went FAST. next year we'll be bringing lots more for the vegetarian crowd.
Eric - Thanks for the behind the scenes insight...and for committing to bring more for the vegetarians next year. Many vegetarians don't even bother coming out to events because of the dearth of food, so I think it's commendable that A Full Plate and the competitors extended us an olive branch. Your stuffed peppers were great(snuck a bite after the Amateur Veggie judges were finished), and, yes, a whole yellow pepper per serving is quite expensive!
haha yeah it was a bit excessive, i believe we cut them up a bit for the spectators, but that was getting close to rib time, so i had to move my attentions to the smokers. in hind sight, it might have been better to put them in a smaller pepper next time.
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