I am seven for seven at this great festival and I plan on being eight for eight next year. This show seems to improve almost every year and the food seems to get better, too. For 2019 they were up to 30 BBQ joints, which is the most I have seen at any festival.
The weather on Sunday was beautiful. It was a bit windy at times, but nothing like it was back at the first fest in 2013 when rolls of paper towels were blowing off the table and you had to hold down your BBQ to prevent it from sailing away, too. We arrived a little after 11 am and found they had a slightly different set up from last year. This time you were met at a little gate where they scanned your ticket, then, just inside the gate, you got your bag and shirt. After cueing up, we were told there really was not a line as it kind of blocked the entry gate. They had everyone move over into a holding area around the entry gate to await all the meaty goodness to come. It turned into kind of a big blob.
The folks from Tin Roof BBQ came out and passed out samples of beef rib burnt ends to get our juices flowing. It was outstanding. We hadn't even gotten into the festival yet and we were already eating some great BBQ.
The gates opened right on time and off we went to the VIP "golden hour". All the joints were set up outside this year, with 15 lined up in two groups on each side. We started in the far corner and worked our way up, filling our BBQ boxes as we went. Every vendor was up and serving and there were no delays. We found a table inside the event center, out of the wind and sun, and staked out our eating area. Here's our bounty from the first pass.
That's just half of our samples, above! Here's the second half, below.
Good thing I had fasted for the previous 36 hours. Maybe I should have fasted for a week! So much good BBQ!! With so much to sample, we stuck to a bite or two from each vendor. We were still stuffed at the end.
As always, the samples varied greatly from vendor to vendor. Some would pass out a small piece of brisket and a bite of sausage. Others would give you a whole boat full of food. Ray's BBQ Shak has always been very generous with their samples and they passed out almost a full meal to every visitor. I passed on the sides this year, even though their beans are some of my favorites.
from Don O.'s Texas BBQ blog http://bit.ly/2GgxIMP
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