Roc City Ribfest 2009

            The first thing that struck us about the Roc City organizers was , well,  how organized they were.  Some competitions run on what we call “BBQ” time.  Your space assignment is a suggestion.  Cooks meetings may or may not happen when announced.   A little frustrating sometimes, but we can deal with it.  This was defiantly not the case with this crew.

           When we arrived, we were greeted by a staffer who quickly called for a golf cart to come by and lead us to the spot.  This was very much appreciated since we had the large rig and didn’t want to be driving all over the place.  They showed us to our pre-reserved spot and what a beauty it was.  Right on the lakefront of  Lake Ontario, just behind the boardwalk.  Requests for ice, directions as well as a really nice breakfast on Sunday were all examples of how much these guys really care.  We felt the genuine warmth and hospitality of the organizers throught the event and it made a big difference.

On Friday we were up and at ‘em early.  Meat inspection at 7:30 or so.  We executed according to our gameplan.  One big thing our team is dealing with, as do most BBQ teams is consistency..  We had done more organizing this time about  roles and responsibilities as well a more stringent checklist.  Ann spent about 2 hours trimming the chicken thighs.  They looked the best ever..  Unfortunately, we did not receive any call-ups, and an overall finish in the bottom ¼ of the pack.   It was our worst finish in a long time.   So back to the drawing board.

On a positive note, we had a blast.  There was a pot luck on Saturday and I got to meet the ladies from DivaQ and Swamp Pit BBQ.  (Awesome cheesy beans and Bacon exposion ladies) Very nice folks who were so kind with their advice tips. Also a“BAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRBBBQ” shout-out to Sully . I swear, he is the fourth Irish Tenor , I am lout but I can’t muster that volume, and certainly not 120 times in one weekend without going hoarse– some pipes!.  Sully  invited us over for an 11:00 Best Dam Dip.   A hot, spicy concoction of chilli, cheese and hot sauce cooked in 22 Inch cast iron high walled frying pan..  True to its name, it was cheesey, chilli goodness, and very competition BBQ.

So now it is Sunday night about 9:00 or so.  Ann and Maria are sleeping.  I can see the silhouettes of Joan and Chis, the glow of the GPS.  Next stop, New Hampshire.

Dateline: Syarcuse, NY ,  May 21st, 7:30 PM    We left  Rhode Island about 12:30PM after mastering the art of packing the RV. Six hours later, we rolled into the Dinosaur BBQ for dinner.  The Dinosaur is the consummate BBQ joint where stockbrokers and bikers can sit side by side and and enjoy Que and the Blues.  We did notice more bikers than brokers at the time we went, but the place has a warm, family friendly feel to it. Joan had the “bronzed” catfish.  She felt a lack of truth in advertising as it was more towards blacked  Chris, teased her that that is what you get when order fish in a BBQ restaurant.  Maria had the ½ rack of ribs..  The side of Mac Salad broke Maria’s personal rule of not ordering mac and cheese on any menu (a protest to many a dumbed down kid's menus in the past).  The mac salad was delicious, al-dente, nicely seasoned.   Ann got the traditional sampler with brisket, ribs and chicken.  All agreed the brisket was outstanding.  Moist and smoky with a nice bark.  Ribs were very good, esp for production of that magnitude.  They really have the holding and reheating  process down so it doesn’t damage the food.   I really liked the apple brined chicken.  No rub, deep but not offensive smoke flavor.  All the meats had a nice even smoke to them.  (You can see a review of the Dino's BBQ Sauce here at BBQSAUCEREVIEWS )   Of course, we rated them on the KCBS scale  (9 being best): 

A= Apparence, Te= Texture, TA= Taste                          

Ann                  Chris                Paul       

A Te Ta            A Te Ta           A Te Ta                           

8  8  7               8  8   8             8  8  8          Ribs

8  9  9               9  8   9             8  9  8          Brisket

9  7  7               8  8   8             8  9  8          Chicken

7  9  8               8  7   8             8  8  8          Pulled Pork

Sides – Shredded Carrots – sweet, raisins nice dressing that was absorbed into the carrots.  A little sweet but not overly so. 

Chili was very good, fresh tasting beef and beans.  Well flavored, heat but not overwhelming.  

Beans – very good.  Kind of like refried beans, had some good rounded flavor, not drowned in BBQ sauce.

Green Salad – surpsingly good.  Came with a nice blue cheese dressing that had a BBQ twist to it.  Reminiscent  of the Johnny Rockets sauce – kind of a cross between Russian and blue cheese.   BBQ Sauce – straightforward, not overly complicated.  

Overall, we rate it a must visit. 

      After dinner, we had about a 2 hour drive to get to our campsite.  It was pretty late.  Chris and I had to master the art of parking a 30’ RV with a 15’ attached smoker in the dark without losing or crushing any body extremities.  We arrived at the RV park and proceeded to “Check In”.  Chris looked for a manager and could not find one. Instead of waiting for somebody to show up at 11:00PM, I assured him we were already checked in. He looked as worried as if we had just walked into the Ritz Carlton hotel and picked the lock on a random room to get in.  We drove around in the pitch black and found the site.  Had to unpack the trailer dolly, plug it in and push it off to the side as we backed in the RV.  Chris has very good large vehicle maneuvering skills, but we ended up parking the RV on a slant. It made sleeping interesting..  Next day we were off to Rochester to compete