New at this year’s festival was the “recycle” theme. After Caron got her platter of baked beans, coleslaw, ribs, pulled pork and chicken (we start off every year with this sampler) she pointed out the fact that not only were the containers not the plastic ones from last year, the utensils were also environmentally friendly. It seems that this year all the vendors had to serve their food in biodegradable containers and the disposable knives and forks were all made from a sort of compressed wood. Picture a Popsicle stick made into a fork. However, they were just as strong as the plastic version that’s so bad for our environment.

Not only were the containers and utensils good for the environment, instead of having garbage bins they set up (see pic below) recycling stations where you could take your used containers and food scraps. Here the volunteer staff would separate everything and put them into designated containers to be processed (kinda like the green bin program we have in Ontario).

Kudos to the organizers for implementing this step to show that we care about our environment.

Parking / Crowd.

There were no exceptions as far as parking was concerned. With the thousands of people coming into Burlington for the event, we went knowing that parking will be difficult to find. We lucked out and found a couple spots about 2 blocks away. The owners of a variety store were selling spots for $10 a car and with people coming and going all day (all weekend) I’m sure they made a killing.

Walking from the lot were we parked to the actual event site at Spencer Smith park, we could tell that this year would be even bigger than previous years (plus the weather was beautiful so many people were coming out to make full use of the beautiful skies) with all the people going and coming back to the site. As we approached the gate, our thoughts were confirmed. The place was packed and there was a huge line to get in, but there was a good flow to things. The same amount of people that were flooding in were matched by the number of people stuffed with BBQ goodness leaving. The venue itself was crowded at the front and near the stage (see pics below), but in the middle was enough place to move around a bit freely.

The Q!

Seems the theme this year as far as sauces go was savory sweet! We tried several of the different BBQ sauces that were featured at many of the grillers. I’m not sure if they changed their sauces or were experimenting with new stuff, but we found them all to be very sweet and lacked any true flavour or notes. We even tested the “hot” option at the “Carolina” booth and to be quite honest, I was expecting a prescription saying how much I should take and when, with each dose. It had a sort of medicine taste to it. Was it me or did I need to consume a few beers for everything to taste the way I/we expected?

Best!

Once again the “Boss Hogs” booth provided the best ribs, chicken and pulled pork. However their baked beans didn’t have that same bang as it did last year and had a bit of a “gritty” texture to them. And though there was a huge line to purchase, the staff were very efficient and within 5-10 minutes you had your order and were ready to dig in.

Disappointing!

The most disappointing Q of the day must go to the “Texas” grill. No wonder there was a short line and I was served so fast. Everyone else knew what I didn’t. From their sweet sauce, very small portions (I got a hacked piece of chicken breast that needed a Hollywood type implant to be seriously taken to be a breast) and ribs that were so overdone, the meat was hard to peel away from the bones. Made for a very chewy experience. Their pulled pork had some potential, but with the soup type amount of BBQ sauce it was sitting in made it very difficult to appreciate.

The Carolina grill was the most unorganized set-up at this year’s event. You’d figure with the HUGE line that greeted you, you’d think that these guys were serving up the best Q at the event. NOPE! They were just “glacier” type slow. While my sister waited in line we had enough time to go to 2 different booths (stay in line and get served), come back and eat our entire platters and still had to wait 1/2 an hr for her. Must be some good Q to make people wait this long? Yes and NO. The pork ribs were excellent, but these grillers should not be allowed near beef ribs again. Not only did the beef ribs have a gamy taste to them, they were bland and depended on the bbq sauce to add any sort of enjoyment to them.

NOTE: Reheating the ribs, pulled pork etc may sound like a good idea at the time when you get that take out package, but you’ll be kicking yourself if you reheat it in a microwave. Why didn’t I eat them fresh off the grill? They become very dry and the meat becomes very stringy.

For full directions to the annual Burlington Ribfest, event information like opening and closing times, things to do for the kids and the list of live musical acts, visit the original post I made about the Burlington Rotary Ribfest.

If you’re looking for something you can do with your family the last long weekend of the summer, you must consider attending this annual event in Burlington, Ontario. Free to get it, free entertainment, good food for the most part and well organized. You  may have some issues with parking, but with the constant flow of people, you’re sure to find a spot if you show a little patience or have some luck as we did.

Note: It may sound like a good idea to bring your new born or toddler with you, after all you can stick them in a stroller and wheel them around. Not so much! Not only will you find it difficult to navigate the crowds with the strollers, the smoke and loudness of the event will not be something you’ll want to have your child experience. Make it a date night and get a baby sitter!

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