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May has been a whirlwind tour of bbq, I'm just finally getting a chance to sit down and blog my incredible experience on one of the greatest trips I've ever embarked on. I decided one evening after possibly a few too many beers at the end of April to see what the deal was with Mephis in May's Pork bbq contest, everything seem to line up just right. This was the first year that they offered something called the "VIPit Pass" which as a bit of money with a parking pass ($400!) and my first hurdle was that they would not ship the pit pass to Canada, so I jumped online and booked myself at the local KOA campground about 20 minutes from the contest and had my ticket shipped there.  I just bought my first car in about 12 years and have not driven very much in the last 10 years, and thought - hey drive 2000 miles in a week, make up for those years not driving in a hurry!  I didn't actually have my full drivers license as I'd let it expire and had to take a driving test 5 days before I embarked on this wacky trip.. if I had failed the test I would not have been able to (legally) drive to Memphis, I did pass my driving test however so that was taken care of.. next on the list - getting a car stereo with a gps, check... now for the trip!  I left on a rainy Tuesday afternoon and did a 5 hour drive to the middle of Ohio, it started raining the moment I hit Ohio and when I reached my first campsite it was very water logged and just above freezing.. not ideal for my tent, I opted to spend the extra $20 and get a cabin at the KOA campground near Toledo. I figured this would be an easy way to do a test of my  recently acquired camp gear, plus I'd have power to watch a movie on my laptop in the evening if the rain decided to come back.  I asked about good local bbq and was told to go to "chillis" there was no way I was going to go to chillis for bbq. I punched in BBQ into the gps and found a place called smokey bones, and had some really really amazing ribs, I told the bartended of my plans to make it to Memphis eating bbq as much as possible, and they comped my meal!   If you are traveling in the USA and feel like some bbq I have high praise for this place, I was astounded when I discover they were a chain. I had both wet and dry ribs and both were cooked perfectly and had lots of great flavor.  I had a great rib-filled sleep and in the morning took a crack at using my new stove top coffee maker which resulted in the possibly the worst coffee I've ever consumed, clearly there was a learning curve to this. I managed to hit the road at about 7:30 am with a belly full of bacon and eggs, and my aforementioned crappy coffee. It rained the entire drive through the remainder of Ohio, I mean crazy cant see 30 feet in front of you rain. As soon as I passed into Kentucky the rain seemed to stop, thank god!  Kentucky is one of the greatest places to drive through, the grass is better than some golf courses, and that's just on the side of the freeway, long rolling hills, everything was lush and green, the highways were not busy and everyone drives really fast! I looked down at the speedometer at one point as I followed a caddy and I was doing 155 k! I arrived at my campsite in Kentucky and quickly changed into my shorts, crocks and a t-shirt, what a difference a day of driving makes in weather! The locals down here know about REAL BBQ! I was directed to a roadside stand called Knoths BBQ which was in the middle of a "dry" county.. no booze!? how can the bbq be be good without a beer I asked myself?  This was a tiny little place that served beef and pork on wonderbread buns and there were 2 kinds of bbq sauce provided, one was yellow thin with fruit and mustard and the other red and peppery.. I ate 3 of these wonderbread sandwiches, and was amazed on the great flavour of the the pork and beef, it was moist and grandma was in the kitchen pulling the meat fresh off the pork shoulders with her bare hands and piling them on my wonderbread. So glad that I found this place! I made it back to the camp and had a few beers and my first campfire of the season, still in my shorts and t-shirt, it was hot out! I managed to get some of the sauce from knoths and had a campfire weenie with a mix of the pepper and mustard sauce on it, my spirits were high and I was looking forward to getting to Memphis the next day.  I couldn't sleep, I was too excited. The sun baked my tent and I was packed up and making much better coffee early in the morning, the campground owner came over to chat with me as told me about the "dry" county thing, she said something that made me laugh and that I will remember: back when I was a kid there were "Honky Tonk" drunks all over the place" thats why we are dry now.  My belly was full of proper coffee eggs and bacon, and I was ready for Memphis, less then 4 hours of driving to go! Driving through the remainder of Kentucky, into Arkansas was a joy, great weather. I have to mention the rest areas, there's a clean beautifully landscaped rest stop around every 100 miles. It would be a shame to not stop, as they are great break for driving and every single one I stopped in had stocked vending machines and bathrooms you could eat off the floor. I made it to the west Memphis KOA around lunchtime I was a little out of place on one of the only 3 tent sites on this large campground full of motor homes next to a busy highway I brought my BIG tent and a queen size inflatable mattress so this was enough luxury for me anyway, I'm still in disbelief that I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt sweating like a fat kid at the fair setting up my tent, it was HOT! I had a nice cold beer and a red bull and headed off to the contest..  TBC...

Caught this great article on the NY Times today, on how to take better photos of food.. the best hint they have there, do away with the flash and use a tripod! Now that summer is back on it's way I'm hoping (armed with my new knowledge) to post some great photos of various bbq things.

I've got some time off this week, so I finally decided to read Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain it's been sitting in my stack of books to read for a few years, so it's about time i got around to reading it. With the holiday upon us I hope that, you my loyal reader don't have to feed a vegetarian over this wondrous and delicious holiday. Here's a quote that from the book, that really makes sense to me.

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine." From Kitchen Confidential, p. 70


Happy meat eating!

I'm a bit miffed as Canadian Tire used to be my go-to place for bbqs.. On a trip today to buy bags for my vac sealer I could not resist wondering into the bbq section. Every single BBQ was a cheapy made in china! There's even a Ted Reader Napolean Grill there, also made in China!? We have a great Canadian Q manufacturer (OMC) that makes the broil king, broil mate and a bunch of other quality Grills, in fact my 8 year old Broil King was from Canadian Tire. I was sad a few years ago when my dad bought a "Centro" from Canadian Tire which was a terrible uneven Q, with 2 settings Hot and off...

They did not have my vac-seal bags.. so off i went to Wal-Mart and guess what I see there? almost the same cheap Chinese made bbqs, for even less money of couse with Wal-marts buying power and all.

If you are in the GTA and are even a little bit of a locavore, check out Ontario Gas Bbq  They have a massive selection of quality grills and many of them Canadian made. 
 

Did you know that the beer store in Ontario is 100% owned by offshore companies? Heck even "Molson Canadian" is owned by Coors, an American company. I've been boycotting the beer store for the most part for years now as many of my loyal readers know I fancy myself somewhat of a locavore so i generally shop at the LCBO, which has a greater variety of beer, and will carry the Ontario Craft Beers  that the Beer Store will not.  With the recent turn in the economy I cant think of a better reason to boycott sending your hard earned dollars for beer out of the country, and check out the latest Ontario Craft beers from the LCBO, and support your local economy!  For more info on the travesty that is the beer store in Ontario check out  http://freeourbeer.org/ 

I recently has a chance to cook with some premium quality and certified organic ingredients from Whole Foods Market for the Cameron's cask night. I have not shopped in an actual grocery store for a few years now, and I dont have a car, so I visit 3 different farmers markets on my bike just about every week to get my ingredients, it's become part of my ritual to search out ingredients and some might say that it's a time consuming endeavor, I find the whole process fun, and over the years I've found myself on a first name basis with many of the people working at the markets, and I have a great relationship with a family owned butcher shop as well. I bet that I spend about 3 hours a week hunting for ingredients, and chatting with farmers at the markets. The thought of shopping at a grocery store has not passed my mind for a long time, but I have to say the quality of the ingredients from Whole Foods were awesome, although the price was also quite a bit more. -- So if you have a busy schedule and cant afford the time to search out local markets Whole Foods is a viable source to get healthy, premium, local and organic ingredients.  If you have the time though, you can find the same quality from a variety of local markets for less money.... Just my 2 cents.