Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ, cont’d

Just realized that while on the radio this morning I said I was pumped to try the brick oven pizza at the festival but DIDN’T BOTHER TO MENTION THEIR NAME. I totally suck. FireLight Pizza. Other vendors and restaurant specials of note:

Vendors:

• Broadway Brewery – brisket, ribs, veggies at Peace Park
• BBQ – Lutz’, Smokin’ Chicks, Hoss’, Jamaican Jerk Hut
• Pizza – FireLight Pizza of Springfield

Restaurants of note:

According to Marcia’s story in Tuesday’s Tribune, Craig Cyr of Wine Cellar and Bistro will be making

his version of “street food,” including spicy chicken and seafood and local sausage gumbo, mashed potato sundaes topped with Cajun shrimp and local chicken étouffée or bourbon barbecue local pork shoulder. They also serve caramel apples with house-made caramel, chocolate ganache and candied pecans, sangria and elderberry lemonade — with or without vodka

Restaurants offering specials:

• Bleu, 29 S. Eighth St., which will offer a “nosh” and a 6- ounce glass of wine for $10.
• Flat Branch Pub & Brewing, 115 S. Fifth St., which will take 25 percent off the price of smoked ribs, pulled pork, smoked salmon and smoked prime rib.
• Sycamore, which will offer a 10 percent discount on food.
• The Rome, 114 S. Ninth St., which will offer a happy hour for the duration of the festival: $2 draft beer and well drinks, $3 house wine, $5 personal pizza and half-price meatballs.
• Main Squeeze, which will offer a deal to buy one entrée and get half off a second entrée.

Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ

As you may have heard, this weekend brings the return of the Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ Festival to town. The annual event has become a calendar highlight for many, headache for some (though it seems downtown restaurateurs learned their media relations lessons from the Summerfest brouhaha). Me, I went for a few years and was always ticked about the paucity of bbq vendors, the lack of a place to sit down and have a beer, etc. So last year, a friend an I entered the contest. We have our own 20×30 tailgate for 36 hours. Problem solved.

Unfortunately the judges didn’t like our food as much as we did (we beat exactly one team that turned everything in). This year, it’s 47th or bust, baby!

Come out to the festival, enjoy some of the free shows…it’s a good time. Here’s some info on parking.

I’ll be on the 102.3 BXR tomorrow morning talking about bbq and – if anyone from RnBnBBQ will get back to me – info on the vendors that will be selling at the festival. In the meantime, my column on the subject ran in last night’s Tribune.

Heatin’ up a new plan for BBQ fest

Grilling, BBQ to be discussed

For the simple reason that nothing better goes with 103-degree temps than grilling meat fast and bbq-ing meat slowly, I’m going on KFRU tomorrow to discuss just those things. We’ll talk about some underrated grilling preparations and transition into bbq. Where to get the good stuff, how to make it yourself, how I’m going to spend my Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ winnings this year – that sort of thing.

9:15 a.m. on KFRU.

“Roots ’N Blues ’N sort of OK barbecue”

Our barbeque was far better than “ok,” but I have to admit it’s a nice headline in the Tribune tonight. Truth be told, we came in 47th out of 50 teams*. Still, and I feel like I know what I’m talking about here: our barbeque was goooood. The thing is, Kansas City Barbeque Society judges are looking for very specific things in terms of presentation, tenderness and flavor. That’s fine – I judged two years ago - and ours obviously did not conform to that ideal very well. But when we sat down after our last turn-in we were proud with how we’d done. Ryan and I, the friends and family that stopped by, everyone loved it (especially the brisket). And we had a blast.

We’ll be back next year, if only to aim for #46.

Roots ’N Blues ’N sort of OK barbecue

“Avoid last place, and have a good time,” I had said. The student reporter had asked about our philosophy — how we were going to measure success — going into the Roots ’N Blues ’N BBQ contest the next day.

My team consisted of myself and a friend, and we were both amateurs in the field of competitive barbecue. I knew other teams would be coming in from across the Midwest for the event, and many were at least semiprofessional. Between the two of us, my friend and I had made brisket — one of the four required meats — precisely zero times before. We’d be winging it.

All fired up for Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ

My column in tonight’s Columbia Tribune concerns my (probably ill-advised) entry in the barbeque contest at the Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ Festival. And as luck would have it, SeriousEats.com just put up a mega-post on barbeque contests and festivals around the country.

(Note: I’m glad to not be a judge this year. Two years ago – the last time the RNBNBF organizers scheduled the event the same weekend as American Royal – the entries sucked pretty hard. My thinking then was that the best teams might be lured to Kansas City, but perhaps overall mediocrity is Jackwagon’s window of opportunity.)

Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ is really starting to piss me off

UPDATE: Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ responded on Facebook. Contestants provide their own meats. We’re all friends again. Whew!

Jesus, May and Joseph, all I want to know is if meats are provided to Roots ‘n Blues ‘n BBQ contest participants or if we’re supposed to show up with our own. My guess is the latter, but I’ve heard of other contests providing the same meat to all contestants as a way of leveling the playing field.