On Sunday, May 10, Nicole and I headed to Santa Monica pier for the 2^nd Annual LA BBQ Festival.  With her daughter and a friend’s daughter in tow, we were off to celebrate Mother’s Day with a dose of ‘que and fun-in-the-sun.

First, Dessert

Oddly enough, we kicked the tasting session off with dessert!  As soon as we walked in, we found ourselves at the Polkatot’s booth, nearly drooling over the cupcakes on display.  Attracted by the pink icing, Nicole opted for the strawberry one.  The cake and the icing were sweet, light, and enjoyable.  But sadly – particularly sad at $3 each — it was nothing more than cake.  Nicole said she was expecting a bit more of a strawberry experience.  My expectation was to be licking BBQ sauce off my fingers!  On to the meat…

Pitmasters From Far, Wide…and Nearby

This year (I didn’t make it out in ’08), the LA BBQ Fest featured (and I quote) “authentic ‘cue from Texas, Kansas City, and Chicago, in addition to the best BBQ pitmasters from LA.” I wanted to shed a tear for the lack of representation of Tennessee and North Carolina, two states known for producing some of the best pork BBQ around.

After cruising the pitmaster circuit, we decided on a few offerings to try.  All were offering a meat item or two and a side for $10.

From the Chicago BBQ Company of Burr Ridge, IL, I picked up a plate of St. Louis Ribs and coleslaw.

These ribs were…good.  They weren’t the award winning ribs I had dreamed of all week.  The meat was very well smoked, pink and moist on the inside but a little tough on the outside.  They were seasoned nicely and the sauce fit well.  I was happy but these ribs didn’t knock my socks off.

Nicole’s daughter, always a fan of mac and cheese, decided to go with the plate from Baby Blues BBQ of Venice and West Hollywood, CA.

Well I’ll be doggone if this youngin didn’t make the right choice!  These Memphis style ribs were excellent.  They were also nicely smoked and tender on the inside.  What they have over the ribs from Chicago BBQ Co was an underlying sweetness and slight pepper flavor.  This was a pleasant bottom note to the slightly vinegary (but also midly sweet) BBQ sauce they provided.  [Side note:  I actually swiped some of this sauce and put it on the Chicago ribs!]

We also tried a pulled pork sandwich from Smack Your Lips BBQ of Mt Laurel, New Jersey.  Well, the “we” in this statement is relative; Nicole ordered it but I didn’t get a chance to try it.  Everyone else had snacked it down to crumbs by the time I thought about it.  They said it was good!

Dessert…Lastly and Again

After we were pleasantly stuffed with ‘que and had wet-napped our fingers clean, we set off in search of desert…again.  Much to my dismay, we didn’t see any of the pitmasters displaying desserts.  I had grand visions of watermelon, cobblers, sweet potato pies, and  other dessert fare one might find after eating high on the hog.  Sadly, all we found were the cupcakes we had tried earlier.  Oh, and also, Nicole noted, there was no fresh squeezed lemonade, another staple of the BBQs we are familiar with as Southerners.  We decided to cut our losses and head over the the pier for ice cream and funnel cakes.

All in all, I was satisfied even if my BBQ Festival experience hadn’t ended the way I thought it might (ice cream tends to do that for me).  We enjoyed some delcious BBQ; We celebrated a wonderful, sunny Mother’s Day; and I left with a conviction to find or create a genuine Southern BBQ in LA.  Stay tuned!