Get your fill of ribs
7/27/2009If it's August, it must be time for barbecued ribs. Three area rib events promise to bring great flavor for barbecue aficionados on back-to-back weekends.
The 2009 Smoke on the Water Ribs for the Red Cross Event will be Friday through Sunday with a dozen rib vendors and entertainment at Promenade Park in downtown Toledo.
Five vendors are from Toledo: Black Kettle BarBeQue, Sidelines, Tom's BBQ and Grill, Po Mo's, and Famous Dave's. Other area vendors are Bad Bob's BBQ of Rossford and Texas Roadhouse of Holland. Michigan vendors include AJ Doolittle's of Lambertville and Big Moe's BBQ of Kalamazoo. Other vendors include Chicago BBQ Company of Burr Ridge, Ill; Johnson's BBQ of Chesapeake, Va., and Texas Thunder of Euless, Texas.
Famous Dave's Pulled Pork Eating Contest is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Admission is $3, with kids 12 and under free. Admission is free on Friday before 5 p.m.
The Rib-Off
Next, the 26th annual Andersons Northwest Ohio Rib-Off presented by The Blade will be Aug. 6 to 9 at the Lucas County Fairgrounds in Maumee, near Ohio Turnpike Exit 59. Hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Aug. 6; 3 to 11 p.m. Aug 7; noon to 11 p.m. Aug. 8, and noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 9. There will be 10 rib vendors and a variety of concessions.
The ribbers are Armadillo BBQ & Rib Co. of Youngstown; Pigfoot BBQ of West Salem, Ohio; Sgt. Oink's BBQ Co. of Tiffin; Butch's BBQ of Mount Laurel, N.J.; We R Ribs of Toledo; Mojo's Ribshack of Parma Heights, Ohio; Smokin' Joe's Hog Wild BBQ of Mansfield, Ohio; Texas Outlaws of Elizabethtown, Ky.; Buddy's BBQ of Mentor, Ohio, and Big C's Smoked BBQ of Toledo which works out of a log cabin-style mobile unit.
'Every one of these vendors is actually a rib cooker,' said Lora Koralewski, event organizer. 'They specialize in barbecue, and the longest reigning ribber who's been coming to this event is Pigfoot. He's been coming here 15 years. A lot of these vendors have their own recipes, their own sauce.'
A People's Choice award will be given 4 p.m. Aug. 9. We R Ribs of Toledo was the winner last year. Vote by ballot all weekend.
Admission to the event is $5 Aug. 6 and $8 Aug. 7 and Aug. 8. Aug. 9 is free. Advance tickets are available at any Andersons store or online at nwohioriboff.com.
Admission includes the concerts: Touch on Aug. 6, Luke Bryan and Tracy Lawrence Aug. 7, and Foreigner Aug. 8.
Findlay event
Rib-Off on Broadway, the annual fund-raiser of the Arts Partnership of Greater Hancock County, will be from 6 to midnight Aug. 7 on Broadway Street in downtown Findlay.
The seven rib vendors are: Big Moe's BBQ, Jr's Wood Fired BBQ, Kimmel's Mountain Man Meats, Red Pig Inn, Tony's Restaurant and Pub, Waldo Pepper's Restaurant and Lounge, and Wally's Great American BBQ & Catering, and TKO's Restaurant and Sports Bar.
Admission to the event is $5 for adults, $2 for children 12 years and under, and free for children in strollers. For information visit artspartnership.com.