Bar-Ba-Ma-Que!

Dave and I went to the National Barbeque Association's Smokin' in the Smokies on Saturday. You paid $10 for the first person and $5 for each additional adult and had access to the booths and samples of yummy BBQ. We arrived about an hour after the official start time of 10:30 am, and I was worried it would be super crowded with long waits for teeny tiny samples. Instead, there were so few people there, it ended up being pretty much an all you can eat buffet. You just had to go through the line more often since the only plates available were dessert-sized.
Different experts from around the country set up smokers and grills in the Marriott's parking lot and gave you samples to eat. We had chicken wings, chicken legs, pulled pork, pork shoulder, brisket, sausage, ribs, and chicken breast. When Dave went back for more pulled pork, the guy behind him in line said, "I've been through so often, I'm ashamed of myself." And the lady dishing out the food told him, "I'm not even looking!" My favorite was the 17th Street Bar & Grill from Illinois. Their sausage was fantastic ... crispy on the outside, juicy inside, and spicy!

Inside the hotel, companies set up booths in the lobby and gave out free samples and information and tried to sell you their grills, smokers, etc. The Bush's Beans people were there and had four different kinds of beans to try. Dave liked the Hawaiian and Campfire beans the best. I, as you know, have an allergy to beans. So, not wanting to ruin the fun, I chose not to partake. :) I did pick up two cans of beans, some cute rolls of mints that look like little cans of Bush's beans and the recipes for the different bean offerings available that day. The guys manning the booth were very nice, and we had a good time talking to them while Dave ate his beans.
We opted not to do the BBQ sauce taste test, but as we were sitting in the lobby chairs trying to decide if we should go back for more, a lady asked us to fill out a survey about food shows. We each filled one out, and she paid us $2 a piece for our opinions! We didn't tell her we would have done it for free. We were going to sink our money right back into the trade show, but, unfortunately, the KC Specialties booth was out of the Apple BBQ sauce that Dave really, really, really liked. The guy said someone came in early that morning and bought 3 cases(!) of it which wiped out his available stock for the show. We'll just have to order some off the website.