Held annually the last weekend in January, this BBQ Foodie Festival is a pork lover's delight. It runs Friday nite and all day Saturday with over 300 amateur and professionally competing BBQ teams in the Kansas City Barbecue sanctioned event. Most of the competing grillers are also vendors and one can move from booth to booth exploring the top tasty inventions of each group. Samples run $1, pork sandwiches $5, ribs $2 each, platters $8. Beverages range from tea for $1 to Beer $4. Entertainment is provided on two stages. There's a "Kids Q" competition Saturday morning (starting age 9) and a Kiddie Bungee/Bouncy section. The event and parking have been free for 16 years. (Parking is crazy, not for the faint of heart.) You gotta love the names of the teams: Kick Yo Butt, Eat No Swine Befo Its Time, Rub Me Tender, Bite Me. You trade your cash in for Pig Bucks to use throughout the venue. There are big name sponsors like Kingsford, Publix, Coke, Konica and Budweiser. The grillin' smells wafting through the air were killer.
Back to the food. This is a great place to learn if you like it wet or dry, pulled or on the bone, with or without sauce. Many make their own sauce varieties, fun to try in themselves. I enjoyed a perfectly grilled cob of corn at the "Aw Shucks" booth ($3) and had some great southern tea at another. The Swamp Boys had a wonderful "wet" pulled pork. Good Buddies, the "Hog Whisperers" also had great flavor. A pork roll (take on an egg roll, $4) was delicious with a hint of onions and moist pork deep fried in an egg roll skin. The Swinos were serving Redneck Salad, a layer of French fries piled with a layer of pork, a layer of melted cheese ($7). There were pork tacos, deep fried Twinkies, funnel cakes, dill pickles, pork nachos, and many homemade pies and cobblers. A local beekeeper was selling honey, one booth sold children's books on the cheap. I found the amateur cooks every bit as delicious as the pros and found little difference between those with dozens of trophies and those with smaller grill operations. Everyone was having fun, There were ample places to sit and people watch.
My best tip is to arrive early (10 am) for a good parking spot and no lines. The lots were full by 11:30 a.m. and the crowds were thick. It is a great local fest with an opportunity to taste world class well-flavored pork dishes. Hog Heaven!!! Prices are always subject to change but they were very reasonable for the times. This is a charity fund raiser for the local Junior League & Girls, Inc groups. Put it on your calendar for 2013! read more