2007 Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook Off in Sparks
Let's start a rolling list of places we've tried this year.
Sparks is the center of the barbecue ribs universe through this weekend with the Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook off on Victorian Square. There's 24 vendors cooking ribs and up to 500,000 people may attend. I went today and the parking is the worst I've ever seen, due in part to downtown construction. My advice: Park at Reed High School and take the free bus.
First place I tried was a place that was so-so last year. It was so-so again this year. Sutphen's Texas Thunder has ribs that were well cooked, but didn't have much flavor. I only tried the hot sauce on the three ribs. It had tomato and corn sugar. I think it was better last year. I'd say pass.
Next up was Bone Daddy's from Midland, Michigan. I accidentally drowned two of the ribs in the mild sauce and coated one with the hot sauce. The ribs here were maybe a little better. They were a lilttle more tender but weren't the meat Jello that RevAndy complains about. The mild sauce was completely forgetable. The hot sauce was pretty interesting. It was vinegar based with jalapeño peppers and other spices. I liked it a lot. So Bone Daddy's was good for the hot sauce, but everything else seemed forgettable.
Last up was Porky-N-Beans and it looks like I saved the best for last. Of the three they hands down had the most flavorful meat. There was a nice hickory tang to it. And it was perfectly cooked with great texture. They also had two of the better sauces. They automatically put the mild sauce on it, so if you don't want it make sure to ask for no sauce. Both sauces were tomato and molasses-based. The hot sauce was a little bit southern Rhone barnyard, in a good way. Good meat and distinctive sauces. That's what I like about the rib cook off.
The downside is the cost: Three ribs costs $6 at each place (Porky-N-Beans actually gave me four ribs) and I had to spring for a $4 lemonade. So lunch set me back $22. But it was pretty good food.
If this works right, the Bone Daddy's ribs should be at left and the Porky-N-Beans ribs should be at right.
SteveTimko
Aug 29, 2007 05:27PM
That shot of the Porky & Beans ribs does look better, kinda makes me wish their was a pneumatic tube between Sparks and Chino.
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I did my annual "Friday lunchtime trip to the cookoff" today. Here's my report:
First of all, Steve is right about the free shuttle. Unfortunately it doesn't run on schooldays. I thought for sure the rain would discourage people from coming out...wrong! When I arrived at 11:15 the Sparks City parking garage was already full. Fortunately I found a place on the street only a block away.
I wasn't quite so lucky with the rain...it did come down mid-tasting. Oh well, we need the water, and I had the foresight to bring a rain poncho (which is effective against rain AND sauce spills!!). Besides, the rain meant that it wasn't so darn hot.
I tried samplers from three places (along with a roasted corn and a large bottled water...). At each place I asked for the ribs without sauce, so I could taste the various rubs and dip them in several sauces from each place.
#1 was the Back Forty BarbQue. These ribs had very tender meat...probably a little too tender. It fell off the bone in that way that Rev. Andy (our local rib expert) is not horribly fond of. I did like the rub. I tried three of their sauces: the Bold, the Chipotle, and the "hot". All were too sweet. The hot wasn't hot enough, and the Chipotle barely tasted of chipotle. In fact, all three sauces tasted alike to me.
#2 was Rasta Joe's. These were my favorite ribs!! The fat was nicely carmelized; they had a nice bite to them with a tasty rub. The meat was chewy and sweet and "fought back a bit" as the Rev. likes to say. Great ribs!! The sauces did leave a bit to be desired: I tried both the "Island Hot" and the spicy Hot...they both had a bit of a mediciny after taste..as if there was too much vinegar. They were spicy however.
#3 was Steve's favorite: Porky 'n Beans. I did like them, but I thought they were just a tad too dry, as if the batch I'd gotten was overcooked slightly. As Steve pointed out, they had a nice distinctive hickory taste to them. And these were my favorite sauces..both the spicy and the regular were quite tasty. Another bonus: although it was supposed to be a three rib sampler I noticed five (!) bones on my plate when I was finished.....
All in all, a successful trip. I was feeling generous after all those good ribs, so I bought a full slab of the Rasta Joe's and took them back to my office. It was the least I could do...today is my day off but I had to run an errand there and hated to walk in empty-handed and smelling of Q.....
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My husband and I went today (Friday) at a bit after 11:00. Parking was fine, probably because we got there early. First up was Memphis Championship Barbecue- the meat was tender, maybe a bit too soft, but good. Nothing about the meat flavor or sauce stood out to us. Second was Butch's Smack your lips BBQ- meat was a bit tough, maybe cooked a bit too long, but had decent flavor. The sauce (pyrogenic) was great, the best we tried. Third was Dave's Famous- meat flavor was good, the seasoning went into the meat, but they were dry. The sauce wasn't great, kind of watery. The last one was Carson City BBQ- the best for last. Meat was perfect, moist, tender, but not too tender, and great flavor throughout the meat. So, our opinion- best sauce, Butch's pyrogenic. Best meat, Carson City BBQ.
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Famous Dave's won again this year, too. I believe they won last year. I tried them last year and picked them No. 1. I didn't try them this year. They were in a different place.
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Famous Dave's also won People's Choice.
http://www.nuggetribcookoff.com/winne...
2007 Winners
1st Place Famous Dave's BBQ
2nd Place Desperado's BBQ & Rib Co.
3rd Place Maui Wowie BBQ Co.
4th Place Checkered Pig BBQ
5th Place Kinder's Custom Meats
Best Sauce Kinder's Custom Meats
People's Choice Famous Dave's BBQ
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Famous Dave's, as in the chain? Yikes!
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I had it last year. It was pretty good.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/322151
I just reread the thread and the place I panned last year was the place I picked first this year. Go figure.
Famous Dave's was pretty good, though.
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