Greater Bridgton Brewers Festival

Harvard:
GC Mighty Swine Dining
RGC Ique
3rd Lakeside Smokers

Harvard Damn Dip

Norwalk Oyster Festival

It was another great time at the Oyster Festival in Norwalk Connecticut this year. The crowds were huge and the weather was beautiful. It was sunny during the day and a little chilly at night; perfect for a late night fire and a few shots of Jack Daniel's. Just like last year the schedule was hectic. All together there were 15 categories over 3 days. But the big misconception is thinking that you need to do all of them. We didn't, and we weren't alone. For the past two years this comp goes under scrutiny by many in the BBQ community. They state that the entry fee is too high, there are too many categories, and even saying it is wrong of the organizers to serve the teams a giant lobster dinner on Friday night. As the old saying goes: if that's wrong, I don't want to be right! I read a lot of misinformation on the forums leading up to this comp. What sucks is that the info was coming from people who have either never been to this comp, or never had any intentions of attending in the first place. To me it does a huge disservice to the organizers and the charity they were raising money for. If you don't want to go to a comp: don't. But don't try to distract others who might be interested in going. Anyway I just wanted to tell the teams that might have heard some wrong info about this comp. It's a good comp, with a lot of prize money. The spots are 20 X 30 (most comps are charging extra for that now). The power and water are great. Cook's dinner on friday night and a team breakfast on both days. Is it perfect? No. But as soon as I find a comp that is, I'll let you know.

We competed in the KCBS, Iron Chef, and the Anything Butt competitions. We took 1st place in the Iron Chef and 2nd place in the Anything Butt. For KCBS we got calls for 6th place chicken and 2nd place pork and finished 6th out of 35 teams. Big congrats to I Smell Smoke!!! for their Grand and to Q-Haven for their Reserve Grand. Nice job guys!

More pics here.

Norwalk:
GC I Smell Smoke!!!
RGC Q Haven

Norwalk

Iron Chef
1st Lakeside Smokers

Grilling
GC Red Planet BBQ
RGC Good Smoke BBQ

Friday Night Food Porn Revisited

Pan Seared Veal Rib Chop

It's been hot and humid all week here in New England. So a veal chop with roasted fingerling potatoes is hardly seasonal food. But, as many of you know, I don't follow any food rules. I saw these beautiful veal chops at the butchers, so I bought them. I served them with an herb infused jus and a side of baby spinach lightly dressed with oil and balsamic vinegar.