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| Smokin Joes-a lot of spunk |
I am not even a meat person so to go to the Heinz Field Rib Festival is a little out of my comfort zone as well as
a new experience. Pittsburgh has had a Rib Fest since 1990 when it was held at the now long gone, Three
River Stadium. The pulse of this town is
football and a rib festival seems like the appropriate kick-off to the season since footballs are made from pigskins.
It also could be that ribs are a tailgate favorite and this town goes all out during Steelers and Pitt football tailgates. In
any event, Labor Day and ribs seems to be a deep rooted Pittsburgh tradition. With free admission and
also a great track record of free entertainment, I was off to try a bunch of ribs!
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| I tried 6 different kinds of ribs at the Rib fest 2017 |
Reflection
Heinz Rib Fest 2017 had 14 award winning rib vendors. They
all had some type of trophy displayed in the front of their stands so I figured that they must all be good. I am not even sure what makes a good rib because
I don’t eat a lot of meat. Talking to
patrons I discovered that the sauce and
hardy meat with low fat produced the
most accolades.
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| Cowboy's one of my favorits |
I am not a food critic. What I
enjoyed most was talking to the vendors who described their creations of ribs, brisket or pulled pork with pride. They beamed as they explained their sauce or their special cooking technique. I managed to try 6
different types of ribs or brisket before my stomach rebelled from the meat!
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| Chicago BBQ great Brisket |
I started off with Cowboy’s
BBQ & Rib Co which was my meaty tasty first
rib. Smokin
Joe’s Ribs claimed that they did not
bake their ribs like the rest but wood grilled them. I liked the spunk of the
cook and yes they were one of my favorits. Smokin T’s BBQ claimed to have the best sauce
which had a great tangy kick but the extra sauce seemed watered down. Chicago
BBQ had my favorite brisket . Bad Azz BBQ had the longest line and seemed
to have satisfied repeat customers but I did not get to try them.
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| Smokin-T Sause stand |
My favorite was Rib-Bins for the taste and the heart displayed
in this all family operated business from Chambersburg, PA. I spoke to Zy, the owner's niece. She was excited to tell me how they came
up with their signature sweet potato
cornbread, which was excellent by the way. They had a great spicy rib
that seemed to register the best with my taste buds. I loved that the whole family was a part of the Rib-Bins team.
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| Rib-Bins my favorite rib and sweet potato cornbread |
After I thought about it, it’s not ribs that go so well with
football, it’s that most rib vendors are a family owned business where everyone
works together just like a football team. The food is good and ribs are a hardy
comfort food. It gets us ready for the fun and camaraderie of watching one of America’s favorite sports-football.
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| Outlaws-Green Grass and High Tides Forever |
(The Heinz Rib Fest also combines good food with musical talent. The admission and music is free. I saw the Outlaws during my adventure. The Outlaws put on a enthusiastic, guitar riffing show
for 2 hours in the rain!)
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