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 Posted - 07/13/2006 : 19:29:35
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July 15th and 16th at Belmont Racetrack in Elmont, N.Y. It will be held in the Yellow Parking Lot on the South side of Hempstead Turnpike. Saturday times from 11AM-8PM, Sunday times from 12PM-6PM. Awards at 4:30PM Sunday.
I'll be in spot 014. Stop by and say hi.
All the best, Al. |
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Posted - 07/13/2006 : 21:30:01
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Chances are I wont be there ,Al.. Promoter's head is/was filled up with some BS bout me subverting his contest, and some event/sponsor espionage stuff.. I kid you not.. All I did was ask for sponsors packet to hand to two prospective sponsors, and it ends up I'm doing something wrong..what ever that is ... only by trying to line up a sponsorship....... man hasnt answered an E mail from me, or a phone call ,and a posting on another forum as of yet.. that doesnt count the non response from the sponsors packet info , either... non communicado, as they say ... no info on his website for sponsors to see sponsorship level , and I ask him Twice for the info over a 3-4 month period of time, and next thing you know, I'm doing something wrong.. sad state of affairs... found it interesting I wasnt even asked to be a judge, and did not recieve an e-mail bout, as others have.. but.. now I know why... make sure you get what you paid for Al.. I'll be in touch.. cat's out of the bag..
Bob
BBQ Capital of the World, Lindenhurst,NY
BBQ- My Country Club Membership, My Yacht, My Porsche, all rolled into one..
Certified Barbeque Judge #9312
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Posted - 07/13/2006 : 23:33:14
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THEIR LOSS BOBBER....
"A reason, a season or a lifetime..." |
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Posted - 07/14/2006 : 03:45:47
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Sorry to hear that Bob. I really hope you see your way to just drop by. I made 5 gallons of chili!!!!! Seriously though, I can't believe the B.S. that goes on. Last year was kinda seat of your pants as well at set-up time. It was almost a no-go. I can hardly wait for the surprises tomorrow AM. Gimme a call today.
All the best, Al. |
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Posted - 07/14/2006 : 03:59:05
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you awake now , Al It's 6.10 am here I made chili for ya btw lol student for the master type stuff lol
Bob
BBQ Capital of the World, Lindenhurst,NY
BBQ- My Country Club Membership, My Yacht, My Porsche, all rolled into one..
Certified Barbeque Judge #9312
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 05:46:37
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Surprised Willie didnt report his results.. he placed high in two categories...
Al and his family are great !!!!!! Tough to find a nicer guy, and nicer family.. it seemed ,at times, that Al's family had a resuarant set up in the site,  which was right next to the guys that I helped. Eating , singing, dancin, playing cards, being crazy Italians, all forms of entertainment over there...
the contest itself... at the awards ceremony, which was 1 1/2 late, more people than not, said they would never return to anything run by this promoter,, Even when the guy got on the stage and starting to speak, he was heckled by more than one individual...Vendors were the least happy people... Seems, were told they had to sell food items at certain prices, and that pricing did not produce any kind of sales.. Grilled corn, $5... full rack of ribs, $24... so on and so forth...Seems someone reported that there were 15,000 people at the event in 2005... lol... if there were 2,000 in two days last year, Id be surprised...I'm not the only one that would never associate myself with anything Grill Kings does...
On edit.. forgot something.. a team was DQ'ed .. I know it was for the chicken category, but I think they Dq'ed em for the contest.. seems there was an allegation that they fried their chicken... First of all, they did not.. we were right next to them, and there was not a propane tank, fryer anywhere on the site... they had worked on a method of cooking chicken on their Lang Grill attatchment, that worked!!!!! they had a rub that had bread crumbs in it.. it turned out so well that it looked like fried chicken !!!! Besides being next to them, and seeing them having the chicken on the grill, they are NOT the type of people who cheat..the wife, who does a lot of work in the pit, is a Rotarian... and the Male part of the team, would never even think of doing a dishonest deed , especially in BBQ
.. They, by chance, were taking pictures at the time that they were doing the chicken on the grill... I'm not sure of the actions, but I think KCBS will recieve a call today about the incident.. will keep you apprised.. I will be amore than willing witness to them grilling their chicken...
second edit.. Al's chili was awesome.. everytime I talked to someone who told me they/ their wife, made the best chili in the world, I would go back to Al's tent , and grab a cup for that peron to try.. you could tell they liked it, cause they didnt speak for minutes... always asking ..What does he put in it?? lol I did not let the cat out of the bag lol great stuff !!!
Bob
BBQ Capital of the World, Lindenhurst,NY
BBQ- My Country Club Membership, My Yacht, My Porsche, all rolled into one..
Certified Barbeque Judge #9312
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 06:37:47
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National Barbecue News... The place to come for quality drama.
Seriously, Bobber, let us know if you find out anything.
Smokin' on the Hooch! |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 08:18:52
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Ditto to everything Bobber said. We spent a lot time together, and he is just an awesome person. A real down to earth, truer than true, good guy.
The team that he spoke of being DQ'ed is a great family. They would never, and I repeat never even think about cheating. It was a shame that it happened, they're terriffic folks.
Onto the rest of the debacle, I'll start with the day before:
Friday at 3:30 PM I get a call from a Grill Kings Rep, she notifies me that I need to have 2 items in my area, the first is a fire extinguisher, the second is a hand wash station. I said I have an extinguisher, but what does she mean by a hand wash station. She could not answer the question. I asked if she meant soapy water, rinse water, sanitizer, she could not elaborate. I said if she meant an entire unit, I knew what it was, but it is about 600 dollars, and where was I to get it with the contest starting tomorrow, and why weren't we notified of this before hand. She could not answer.
Saturday 5:30 AM: We're told we could get in at 5:30 AM to start setting up. No one at the gate, I call the promoter and he tells me that they don't wany anyone in before 6:00AM. I tell him that there already are people setting up. They turn out to be vendors. The line is growong behind me. Finally get in about 6:15AM. He changed my spot, and the entire layout because he got about half of the hundred registered spots. He never notified anyone of the change until you got there. I know it's a small issue, but the trend continues on.
We get set up and now are looking for water and for electricity. We were told that water and a 20 amp circuit would be provided. Well the water was there, but the pump required electricity to power it. The crew did not come until after 10AM to finish running the lines and power up. All the while, I'm still waiting for my meat inspection. There were 48 teams, of which 8 were there to compete in a non-sanctioned Pure-Fire cook-off. For that, the promoter had 5 meat inspectors, for the KCBS contest, he had one. I wanted to get going early because I had friends and family coming. At 11AM I had the green light.
1 PM an inspector from the Nassau County Board of Health comes around to inspect. Asks for a hand wash station. I point out that we were never told to have one. He said that you need it for Nassau County. I told him that we've competed for several years in Nassau County and this was never brought to anyone's attention. We made do with an igloo beverage cooler with a spigot and an empty 5 gallon bucket to catch the waste water. We were not allowed to give samples out becasue the vendors were there to sell their products. So the hand wash issue should have been a non-issue since the public was not involved in our business. Besdies that, there were 6, 2 person station around the judges and eating area.
3:30PM the water runs out. No water until about 11AM Sunday morning. They were supposed to refill the tank at 5:30PM Saturday, but it just never happened.
Find out about a Guest List for friends and family on Sunday at 1PM. At this point, I'm beginning to boil a little bit. The promoter told not a single team about this, kept it his little secret so he could get 5 bucks an adult and 2 bucks a child at the gate. Told the newspapers he expected 30,000 people at the event. As Bobber said, maybe 2,000 last year, the whole weekend. Delusions of Grandeur in his head!!!! You had to pre-buy BBQ BUCKS in order to purchase food from the vendors. $24 whole rack, $14 half rack, $8 pulled pork sandwich, $5 ear of corn. This way, the promoter could take off his 25% and THEN pay the vendors. The public was annoyed and the vendors were even more upset. They were duped by this gut. One vendor bought 1,000 racks for the event.
All the while, not a single KCBS Rep was seen walking around (other than judges going to the Judge's Tent), visiting the teams to make sure all activities were legal, etc...
Sunday 4:30 Announcements were to begin. The band calls everyone to the bandshell. They continue to play. At 5:30PM everyone starts to breakdown. Some already have their vehicles in the area and are packing. More start to do it, then the gates close. Temperatures are rising...FAST!!! The band is still playing. My truck is allowed in after a VERY heated argument. ALL DESPISE the promoter, including his staff, the security, the RaceTrack personnel, and the competitors. The band contiues to play until 6PM. The promoter was STILL unpacking the trophies, and even forgot to bring the Championship Belt to the stage!!! The top 5 were announced in each category and then 3rd, Reserve, and Grand Champion. Even though I don't care about winning, it's all about the camraderie, the family, the fun, and the atmosphere, I wanted to win just to leave the trophy there.
Every year the contest has gotten more and more disorganized with less and less answers and more and more confusion. Last year's event almost did not happen at all. After arrival we were told to not unload. The park did not know we were going to set up in the parking lot, and did not want us there. Another stroke of genius by the promoter. After a little over an hour, they ironed out the "details". There was no water available except for small hand sinks in the park bathrooms. If you didn't have a hose and funnel...good luck. The power did not come on until after 12PM. And it is not a cheap event to enter. The cost was $300 to register.
I came in 21st overall, 35th in chicken, 7th in ribs, 21st in pork, and 24th in brisket.
I will not be bcak next year. A great time, but wat too much aggrivation.
All the best, Al. |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 09:36:16
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I have to agree with everything Al said. This was easily the worst run event I've ever been to. I'll never be back.
Almost from the beginning it was promoted as a contest where the event would be "part of the whole Belmont Racetrack experience". I had personal converstations with the organizer where he said we'd be near the track. Instead we were placed in a parking lot a good 1/4 mile or more to the main gates of the racetrack. From my space, I was unable to even see the grandstands. Technically, I guess we were near the track. We were closer then if I was at home. So I guess it was near.
The water situation was out of control. The heat was almost un-bearble and water was not available for most of the event. The event organizer was nowhere to be found. I think he would have soothed a lot of teams had he at least explained and apologized for the situation.
At the end, we were locked in with the gates blocked by security guards and cars and told that we were unable to leave until 6:00pm.
Apparently there was a guest list option for the teams which would allow guests to enter for free instead of paying $5 a head. Only one team I spoke with was even aware that this was an option. I know of families paying $30 a day to come in and cheer dad on. I hope they fight for a refund.
Turn in boxes were not provided to the teams until late Sunday morning. I heard after the fact that there was a cooks meeting, but there were no announcements made or any information given to the teams during the event.
In the grilling event, which was an additonal $50 charge on top of the $300 entrance fee, teams were supposed to use the Pure Fire charcoal provided by the organizer. This was not enforced. Some teams followed the rules, many did not.
Prizes for the grilling event were not available at the ceremony but arrived the next day.
This was the fourth event held by Grill Kings and even tho they've gotten larger every year, they seem to get worse for the teams each time. I've suggested that the organizers go cook an event, or at least tag along with a team to see what it's like to be on the other side, but that idea has been rebuffed.
I know I won't be back and I can't encourage anyone else to attend. This really upsets me because being in NY, we don't have many events to choose from. This was an extremely expensive event and I don't think anyone got their money's worth.
On to Highland! |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 11:00:41
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i forgot about that other stuff, Rob... glad you pointed it out!! LOL Steve and I got a tool box out of my van, and looked for places to take the fence down, to get people's transportation thru the fence... just didnt have the right socket set to do it!!! I'd like to get alist of all the teams, and contact every last one of them and urge them not to compete in it next year..I know in talking to the vendors, they will not be... I'm writing Newsday later on and informing them of all the blundrs , and misinformaion spewed about this contest... That promoter hides his head in the sand when you try to get a hold of him.. there's always Asbury Park, Wildwood, and Highland... and nothing from the promoter, for the teams, or judges.. no goody bag, t shirt, none of that stuff.. all everyone got from him was grief and frustration.. as witnessed by the heckling at the beginning of the awards ceremony... Watch for the big " kiss-up" to the teams bout Jan/Feb next year to get teams to attend... at least in Asbury we got T-shirts and Charcoal...
On to Sheephead Bay !!!! lol
PS... Rob, Brooklyn Q, ran the first ever, NYC, KCBS sanctioned, grilling event.. It was run like it should have been run, class, efficiency, and professionalism....and the proceeds went to the Athletic program at a school that Rob is affiliated with .. I heard it was run so well, that when Walt, Oswego, from this forum got involved with Dothan, I suggested that Walt E mail Rob for some of the stuff the Rob did, that made the teams happy..
Bob
BBQ Capital of the World, Lindenhurst,NY
BBQ- My Country Club Membership, My Yacht, My Porsche, all rolled into one..
Certified Barbeque Judge #9312
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 11:32:45
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Bob, he was SELLING the t-shirts though!!!
All the best, Al. |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 11:39:29
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$16 ,as well,,... Every other contest I've been to the, T shirt go for $10... AVOID GRILL KINGS!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bob
BBQ Capital of the World, Lindenhurst,NY
BBQ- My Country Club Membership, My Yacht, My Porsche, all rolled into one..
Certified Barbeque Judge #9312
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bigmoebbq
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 11:57:11
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quote:
Originally posted by BobberQer
On to Sheephead Bay !!!! lol
PS... Rob, Brooklyn Q, ran the first ever, NYC, KCBS sanctioned, grilling event.. It was run like it should have been run, class, efficiency, and professionalism....and the proceeds went to the Athletic program at a school that Rob is affiliated with .. I heard it was run so well, that when Walt, Oswego, from this forum got involved with Dothan, I suggested that Walt E mail Rob for some of the stuff the Rob did, that made the teams happy..
Thanks, Bob! Robert and I are really looking forward to organizing Grillin' on the Bay again...We're hoping to make NYC's only bbq contest better and bigger than ever....We're proud of our NEBS sponsorship and hope to start working w/ KCBS in the near future. |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 12:27:52
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I'm glad Matt chimed in here. Grillin on the Bay was sanctioned by NEBS not KCBS. As far as I know KCBS doesn't sponsor grilling only events.
I think the major difference between what Matt and I did to make Grilln on the Bay so sucessful for the cooks, is that Matt is a cook and I've been competing for a couple of years. We know what it means to be on that side of the event.
On Sunday morning when they were setting up the t-shirt booth, I asked Dean about free t-shirts for the teams and was told "no fing way." I wonder what he's doing with all the leftovers. |
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Posted - 07/17/2006 : 13:01:32
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He's gonna be wiping his bloody...from the reaming he's getting from the sponsors, vendors, competitors, and utility companies.
All the best, Al. |
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