Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off 2008

Bay Area BBQ Cook Off 2008

Now normally I’m not a big fan of BBQ sauces. I find the taste so-so (A1 is sooo much better for meats!) and ribs can get a little messy (I like to keep my hands clean, OK?) But I’m always willing to try something new, even if it is BBQ. So this past weekend a friend and I headed out to the Bay Area Barbeque Cook Off in Pleasanton, CA.

We got there around 11:15 in the morning, which turned out to be a good thing as the line to get in would be about 15 times longer at noon. There were longish lines at some of the vendors serving BBQ, and nonexistent lines at other vendors. The vendors with no lines had piles of ribs and would occasionally have to reheat them on the grill as they watched their competitors pulling in the big bucks.

We decided to try one of the vendors with a lot of customers (the lines had to be long for a reason, right?) Johnson’s Q Colonel BBQ had their trophies proudly displayed in front (picture above), with country music blasting towards the crowd. I tried a combo plate with BBQ ribs, pork, sausage, beans, potato salad, and bread. And I tell ya, it was pretty damn good. The beans and potato salad had a sweet taste: Southern style which I enjoy. The Texas style BBQ sauce wasn’t overly tangy or spicy, and complimented the meats very well. The meats themselves were very tender, I had no problem using my fork to pull off the meat from the ribs (I know, I know). For the first time in my life, I found myself wanting more BBQ! But I decided to hold my appetite for some other treats.

Another vendor had free samples of Southern sweet tea. This is something a little different than what us Californians are used to. It is basically iced tea that has been boiled to better mix the sugar in with the tea. We tried some, and all I’ll say is that I think I instantly got three cavities. On to the next vendor.

Next to the sweet tea booth, a couple people were selling sweet potato cookies. I like sweet potatoes so I was excited to try these cookies, and I’m glad I did. They had a very nice flavor to them, though they were a bit heavy on the molasses. I’d definitely eat them more often if they were more readily available.

Because most of the other foods were generic carnival fare like iced lemonade, funnel cakes, and ice cream, we decided to call it a day. I was pretty stuffed anyways.

So will I be going to the same event next year? You bet ya!