First-timer attends NBBQA Convention
By Robert J. Giordano
President of The Barbecue Shop, Inc.
Niagara Falls, NY
robert@thebarbecueshopinc.com
www.thebarbecueshopinc.com
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Photo by Selbya Carroll
NBBQA attendees enjoy a night on Beale Street. Front row: Selbya Carroll (Silver Star Barbecue), Noel Grosskopf (Smokin' Eagles Competition Team). Back row: Robert Giordano (The Barbecue Shop, Inc.), Shelly Frish-Hunt (Desperado's Barbecue and Catering), Harry Stewart (The Great American Barbecue Company).
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The last load of the laundry has been finished and the suitcases have been packed away until the next trip, but the memories from my first National Barbecue Association Convention will be with me for a long time to come. Not only did the convention deliver on every one of my expectations, but the setting just outside of Memphis, Tennessee, couldn’t have been any better to this barbecue and music lovin’ foodie! What an opportunity to walk in the footsteps of Elvis down Beale Street, eat at the world famous Rendezvous Restaurant, see the original Sun Records studio, and eat some of the BEST fried chicken I have ever had.
?It is hard to believe that I actually hesitated with the thought of attending — wondering if my little one-man show of a business could benefit from the information presented. It was at the urging of good friend and NBBQA Region 5 Vice President Shelly Hunt that I decided to make the trip, along with my competition cooking team partner, Noel. What an awesome opportunity it was to rub elbows with the likes of Mike “The Legend” Mills, “Sweet Baby” Duce Raymond, “Famous” Dave Anderson, Paul Kirk, and Myron Mixon. The real gem was the opportunity to meet some of the country’s best barbecue restaurateurs, who were tremendous with sharing information and answering my probing and copious questions.
Noel and I started the drive down I-90 at 12 a.m. on Wednesday. February 3rd (yes, that is?12 a.m. in the morning) and pulled into Memphis around dinnertime for a total of 14+ hours on the road. The first stop HAD to be Charlie Vergo’s legendary Rendezvous Restaurant, in business since 1948. They serve up a unique dry rubbed rib with a Greek inspired taste. They were REALLY good, but if you only try the ribs, you are denying yourself one of their best menu offerings — the brisket was absolutely PHENOMENAL!? The food crawl continued down Elvis Presley Blvd. and past Sun Record studio to A&R Barbecue to sample one of their legendary fried pies. WOW!
Thursday was a full schedule conference day. The educational seminars that I opted for included such diverse topics as starting a BBQ competition, presented by KCBS President Carolyn Wells and MBN President Randy McGee; food and kitchen safety, presented by Lisa Elgin, a certified ServSafe instructor; and preparing Santa Maria, Calif. style tri- tip, presented by restaurateur Harry Stewart of The Great American Barbecue. The rest of the evening was kept busy with perusing the latest offerings at the trade show.?
Friday’s class options included an informative seminar hosted by?marketing representative Benjamin Segovia from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture on the use of chili peppers and a seminar on trademarks and protecting your corporate brand presented by Joel Beres of Stites & Harbison Attorneys.
With so many outstanding eateries in Memphis, it was hard to narrow down our choice, knowing we only had limited time to sample some of the finest foods that Memphis had to offer.? The choice quickly narrowed down to Gus’s Fried Chicken. I knew when we arrived and the line was beginning to form out the door that we would not be disappointed. This little place only seats about 50 diners (49 to be exact from the occupancy certificate on the wall), but the batter coated and deep fried chicken were definitely worth the wait!?
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Photo by Noel Grosskopf
Heading for fried chicken nirvana...
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?Dinner was a barbecue buffet prepared by award-winning caterers in the Memphis area — Central BBQ’s Craig and Elizabeth Blondis, Sweet Swine O’ Mine’s Mark Lambert ,and Natural Born Grillers’ John Wheeler. The highlight of the fundraising auction was Melvin Stoltzfus’ enthusiasm and together with Kell Phelps and Joe Oaster, NBBQA President, they helped to raise a substantial amount for the Association. Everyone waited in anticipation for the raffle of the Meadow Creek TS120 smoker, and what a surprise that I was actually one of four finalists for the grand prize! (Congratulations to the “other” Robert.)?
Saturday was a slow day, and we had plenty of time for breakfast at The Waffle House, one of my favorite roadside stops for any trip to our southern states. We had a great chat with the manager and even learned the secret of those phenomenal hash browns that they serve. My cooking team partner and I then attended a Kansas City Barbecue Society judging class, so I am now a KCBS certified BBQ judge. As a competitor, it gave great insight into what the judges are looking for, and I hope it will help to notch us up in the contest standings during the coming year.
?Saturday night was spent with some old friends and some new ones. What an awesome time we had in downtown Memphis. From dinner at the Majestic to the karaoke bar and shooting pool at the Prime Time Sports Bar, it is an evening I am not likely to forget.
As they say, “all good things must come to an end,” so we headed for home?around 11:30 a.m. Sunday morning and didn’t arrive back in New York until 7 a.m. Monday, February 8th. Coming back, we lucked out as that big storm had passed through the area we traveled through, and it wasn’t until Cincinnati that we started to see large piles of snow along the sides of the road. They must have had an ice storm as many of the trees were still covered and a lot of parking lots were coated with hard packed ice,?but at least the roadways were clear.
It is always fun to go away but good to be back home and to start planning to attend the 2011 NBBQA event. Good luck to the Board members of the National Barbecue Association in topping this year’s event. This was DEFINITELY one outstanding show!
Time and space won’t allow me to thank everyone personally, but I would just like to say I am truly grateful to have met so many of you. I am truly humbled by your patience with my questions. I hope that some of you will consider coming up our way in August to cook with us at the Smokin’ Eagles International BBQ Festival so that I may have the opportunity to return your hospitality.
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