Last weekend I attended my very first BBQ festival right here in Scottsdale. Something that I’ve learned about Arizona is that, due to its almost-year-round sunny weather, locals are really into putting on outdoor festivals. They range from various music festivals (jazz and blues, etc) to cultural festivals (Asian themed or just ‘international’) to foodie festivals. Although this was the first time this event was put on, it seemed like it was a success.
It was located down by the Scottsdale waterfront, across from Fashion Square mall on a large dirt parking lot with tents set up. With a $10 admission charge and $2 tasting tickets, it was a pretty decent set up. I liked that it wasn’t too spread out nor did it feel overcrowded. My cousin and I arrived around 2pm and there were still loads of people (the tasting ended at 4pm). We decided to just make our way around with no agenda other than to eat and get a cold beer (it was in the mid 80’s!). Our obvious approach was to go to the stands that had the longest crowds (assuming they’d have the best food).
First up was The Mission which is a modern, Latin restaurant in Old Town Scottsdale. They were not in the competition but were selling small versions of dishes from the restaurant. Tiff had already told me that I had to try this place as it’s one of her favorites. So we got the combo platter with a chicken taco, pork shoulder taco and grilled sweet corn. As we waited for our tacos the smells coming from the grill were intoxicating and made us all the more hungry. I must admit I am not a huge BBQ (sauce) person, but once you get that smell in your nose you really can’t say no. Plus you just think about the tender, smoked pork melting in your mouth and that memory reminds you that you’ll eat it even if you’re not hungry. As Tiff promised, the tacos were delicious. The pork shoulder taco is served with pineapple glaze, cilantro and cotija cheese. The chicken taco is served with oregano, lemon, aji Amarillo, cabbage and more cotija cheese. If you’ve never had cotija cheese, it’s a slightly salty yet mild Mexican cheese. The texture if very much like feta in that it’s firm and crumbly. One of my favorite ways to eat cotija is with grilled corn on the cob and lime juice. Both tacos were so refreshing and were packed with lots of flavor. I will definitely be making a trip to The Mission some time soon.
Next up was Pork on a Fork. I saw their van in the parking lot while we waited to get into the festival, and I thought the name was catchy so we stopped by. Turns out these guys are from Nebraska and were a featured vendor at the Celebrity Food Show presented by Guy Fieri in 2009. I knew they’d be good when we noticed a pretty long line at their tent. I got the pulled pork with the “spicy” BBQ sauce which I got to squirt on myself. I decided I like this set up much much better. With this set up, they served little portions of the pulled pork to you and you have the option of putting sauce on yourself. This way, both items were able to shine through. I was able to have a bite of the pork on its own and my goodness it was tender, juicy and had the slightest crunchy crust. The sauce was a perfect spicy barbecue sauce because the spice wasn’t overpowering. It was sweet, salty, tangy and spicy. No component overpowering the other – a perfect balance. It was probably a good thing they served them with little toothpicks rather than forks otherwise I would’ve eaten the whole thing in two bites! I normally like to save the best for last but not so in this case. Sadly after this, no other pulled pork could stand up. However, we were pretty ‘porked’ out and didn’t get close to trying all the 50 competitors. Great news is that Pork on a Fork won 8th place!
We went to a few more places and regrettably cannot remember the names of the teams. But I’ll share the photos anyway for you to enjoy!
Here are some more links about the festival:
- http://www.arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/taste/phoenix-food-and-restaurant-news/arizona-barbecue-festival-in-old-town
- http://www.examiner.com/x-12180-Phoenix-Cooking-Examiner~y2010m3d16-Arizona-BBQ-Festival
- http://www.yelp.com/events/scottsdale-1st-annual-arizona-barbecue-festival
Next up tomorrow I’ll be going to the Great Arizona Picnic which is part of the 6-day Scottsdale Culinary Festival. Around 40,000 people are expected to attend. It should be fun! Stay tuned 🙂
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