the best in the west nugget rib cook-off in sparks (reno), nevada. we went, we devoured, we conquered.

it was A M A Z I N G.
i was so elated to cross “go to cook off” off my life’s to-do list. as insanely decadent as it was, i find myself craving ribs more than ever before. you’d think i’d never want to touch a half rack again, but since our return home i’ve had ribs twice from my neighborhood corner joint, roadside bbq.

before i launch into a recap of our pilgrimage of decadence, extra big ups to peg for driving and jeff’s family for hosting us in sacto at “chateau d’chew.”

we get in late friday night and settle into our jammies after a satisfying meal of homemade curry, frozen taquitos, mini corn dogs, and almond tofu. i pop my scrabble cherry (yes, it’s my first time) to the most intense battle of vocabulary mastery and wit. like trying to learn the art of war, board game style. here’s everyone when the game commences, eager and alive:

and here’s me like five hours into it. pretty much captures my exhausted, slaughtered spirit

the next morning we find this on the kitchen counter. AWWWWWWWWWWWW

being in the house in which jeff grew up is illuminating and touching. i get to see photos of baby jeff, little jeff, angsty jeff. we all fall in love with jeff’s parents too. they’re so charming!

after some diddle daddling, we board the silver bullet, reno-bound. jeff’s parents walk us out. as this happens, an epiphany strikes: every one should be seen off by warm parents with their arms around each other. it’s a poignant sight. they don’t stop smiling and waving until we drive off. is this on maslov’s hierarchy of needs pyramid? because i think it does cultivate healthy adults

i find the drive over donner summit a little daunting. i offer to give peg — the wknd road warrior — a massage but we nervously joke how it would cause her to swerve off the road and into our tragic deaths (bellies devoid of ribs).

after two and a half hours, we reach wooster high school — a free shuttle stop. here i force peg and hilary to pose next to the sign while starving in the hot sun. by this point, we’re all famished and lusting for ribs, not to mention trying to contain an urgent need to urinate

we get there and it is EXCITING. as luck would have it, brigid finds us as we we enter the fray. brigid, a san ho, is the person who told me about the cook-off in the first place. she went the year she got engaged, during a roadtrip with her husband.

she points us in the right direction, our first booth! arizona, huh? okay…

they hawk tank tops declaring: “grip it and lick it,” and “just bone me.” i like them already!

ahhhh! by the time we actually get our ribs we are DYING WITH ANTICIPATION. seriously. these turn out to be the best ones at the entire event. who knew? no other vendors’ ribs were so perfect. many layers of textures and density, with tender meat falling off the bone. mmmm

ohhhh yeah. fire roasted corn. buttery and sweet, with kernels that burst with every bite. topped off with seasonings and hot sauce. deeeeeeeelish

next up, memphis bbq. i promptly rush to this one because brigid tips me off to its deep fried dill pickles. she says the ribs aren’t all that, which is disappointing because i wanted to find revelation in tennessee Q.

blinded by excitement and a lapse in reasoning, i pay for two orders of fried pickles because i envision whole breaded pickles. i’m wrong. these are good! not great, but tasty enough to munch on. the creamy sauce definitely saves it, otherwise the sodium overload would murder you.

peg double fists guava margaritas. very refreshing

hilary gets a big ol’ lemonade. tastes mostly like mediocre sugar water, with no natural citrus tang.

neva gives a cheer while jeff stares off into the horizon, plotting his next kill

well, well, well…what do we have here? up to that point, i’d been mentioning deep fried goodies every other second. the moment has come….

these are texas style taters, and as much as i covet them, i conclude that it’s best to stay away…

…and defer to these!

as well as these! neva holds the mythical zucchini spears. i have to request ranch sauce. are they crazy? they should know better than to leave the packets of creamy herb magic under the counter

we find respite in front of a caboose. we sit and prepare for consumption of the fried zucchini and onion rings

here, perhaps the most disgusting moment to befall the nugget cook-off. they are HUGE. and yes my arms are unimaginably greasy afterwards

jeff had the brilliant foresight to pack latex gloves. as creepy as it seems, it’s a smart idea. do you know how difficult it is to eat ribs in an outdoor setting as you’re trying to juggle a million other things? there’s only so much sauce and fat you can wipe on your legs.

after the grease feast, we head here

jeff eats sausage with a gloved hand. great! the skin crispily snaps in your mouth, yielding juicy soft bitefuls of flavorful meat.

i’m going to fast forward here and bypass photos of all the different booths. you can see them here if you want. the showmanship is impressive and boastful, but after awhile they all look the same.

smoked turkey legs! admittedly, i’m not really feeling it, but neva is

so she stands in line and procures one. we pick off little fleshy bits and damn, that is one fine turkey leg! i am pleasantly surprised

refusing to give in and call it a day, i randomly allocate one last booth to be an accomplice in my swan song. i settle on a company from florida

it ends up being too syrupy sweet. sigh…

damn straight!

NOT COOL, dudes. i believe they’re from arkansas or kentucky. too bad, cuz we were jonesin for Q from way south

mr. melted eyeball

a few of these throughout the fair. says it all…

brushing red, red sauce all over the succulent racks

“it’s a love thing. you can’t bottle passion, but you can taste it!!” amen to that

by the time we get to the car, we’re all squashed

you’d think we won’t want to eat for the rest of the day, but soon after we return to chateau d’chew, we tap into the reserves (that jeff stealthily stowed away in latex gloves and ziplock bags) and gnaw away some more. we anxiously urge jeff’s parents to try the ribs — the best ones, from the arizona booth — that we bought before we left the cook-off

welp, that’s about it. rest assured, that won’t be my last rib cook-off. next up, a chili cook-off?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 7:42 pm and is filed under events, food, friends, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.