{"id":1216,"date":"2011-12-19T18:54:57","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T22:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/?p=1216"},"modified":"2011-12-19T18:54:57","modified_gmt":"2011-12-19T22:54:57","slug":"tampa-bay-rib-fest-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/halfton.withbloodandthunder.com\/?p=1216","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rib Fest 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"

A little info about Rib Fest<\/h2>\n

http:\/\/www.ribfest.org\/<\/p>\n

November 11th, 12th, & 13th, 2011
\n22 Years of “ROCKIN’ RIBS – HELPIN’ KIDS”
\nVinoy Park, 701 Bayshore Drive NE, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701
\nGates open at 11 AM daily – No Re-entry<\/p>\n

Day of Show at Gate
\n$20.00
\nActive Military and family, with ID, No Charge at Gate<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Some quick notes about the ribs<\/h2>\n

(Notes made by Matt on his phone, probably should have just brought a notepad.. but whatever. Also these are as is, as they were taken throughout the day)<\/em><\/p>\n

Willimgham’s<\/strong> (http:\/\/www.willinghams.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0ribs arent fall off bone but tender but moist. The rub is the winner very spicy. Spicy sauce is strong so is sweet.<\/p>\n

Big Boned BBQ Co <\/strong>(http:\/\/bigbonedbarbeque.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0tender and moist don’t taste rub. Habanero sauce stood out.<\/p>\n

J&j barbeque <\/strong>(http:\/\/www.jjbbqtogo.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0got an extra rib! Vinegar heavy sauce, meat is best thus far, so juicy, very tender, reminds Phil of Michaels<\/a>. Best meat so far, but mild sauce was far too vinegary, hot was good.<\/p>\n

Camp 31 <\/strong>(http:\/\/www.camp31.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0apparently defending champions, not sure of this or something else. Most expensive so far at $9 but got roughly 5 ribs. As tender as 1st vendor but juicy unlike 1st. Comes with sauce painted on, no additional sauce available but that’s kinda nice. Sweet tea good not cloying. Refills are $1 on the $2 orig cost, so that’s good.<\/p>\n

AUSSOM AUSSIE <\/strong>(http:\/\/www.aussomaussie.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0different look to the vendor, also has aussie accent, not sure if real as I didn’t hear him say fuck or cunt once… but maybe that’s for appearances for my american brethren. Got shrimp on stick. Nothing to call home about, don’t get skrimps here.<\/p>\n

Carolina Rib King, Spartanburg, SC <\/strong>(http:\/\/www.carolinaribking.com\/<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0best rib so far. Great slow heat in the sauce.<\/p>\n

Texas outlaws <\/strong>(http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Texas-Outlaw-BBQ\/171154736239282<\/a>):<\/strong>\u00a0pretty girls at counter and painting ribs. Good, sauce like Michaels<\/a>… but the meat not as tender.<\/p>\n

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Thoughts about Ribfest<\/h2>\n

So, we ended up seeing some signs around town for something called Ribfest. \u00a0I love some good bbq, so obviously I went home and shared the news of some sort of festival for delicious meats with the roommates. \u00a0Looked up the information online about the shindig. We were all enthused about the prospect of a lot of different ribs. Unfortunately one of the roommates was heading out of town to visit a friend of ours in Cleveland. \u00a0His loss.<\/p>\n

The one downside is the car ride across the bay. \u00a0I don’t know what it is about living in Tampa or St. Pete but it seems like everyone I talk to is loathe to cross the bay for events and stuff. \u00a0It’s only a 30 minute or so car ride, but the bridges make it seem like it’s longer than that. Anyways, we knew we had to brave a 30 minute car ride for the prospect of ribs.<\/p>\n

Expensive. I knew it wasn’t going to be cheap going into it but if you’re looking to sample a wide variety of ribs you will spend a pretty penny. Three of us went, and it was $20\/each at the gate to get in. So that was $60 to start the day. Three bones were typically $7, so we hit up 7 different vendors and had ribs from 6 of them. The clear winner of the day was Carolina Rib King http:\/\/www.carolinaribking.com\/<\/a>. Even after being stuffed, they easily had the tastiest sauce and best texture for ribs. \u00a0While I realize that what people want out of BBQ is variable, for me they were perfect. \u00a0Tender, but still texture. \u00a0A little kick in the sauce and not too smoky.<\/p>\n

If I went again in the future I would definitely buy my ticket ahead of time. Preorder tickets were $10 or $13 or something, not too steep if you know you’re going. \u00a0If you were looking to be there for a while\/stick around for the concert stuff I’d suggest bringing some chairs and a blanket for the ground. \u00a0The sound was kind of ridiculously loud, so if you’re really into your classic rock cover bands move right up to the speakers.. otherwise you might want to keep some distance.<\/p>\n

It was a lot more county fair like than I expected, some activities for kids and a little car show with some bitchin’ restored\/maintained old cars and trucks. \u00a0Overall not a bad day.<\/p>\n

The day was pretty fun walking around and people watching. The ribs ranged from [rating:3.5] stars to [rating:5] stars for the Carolina Rib King.<\/p>\n