2004 New Jersey State Barbeque Championship

[BrianYarvin]

I just learned that the 2004 State Barbecue Championship will be held in Wildwood on July 9, 10 & 11.

The Festival Webpage

It has been my experience that the best barbecue New Jersey has to offer is at fairs and festivals in the southern part of the state and it seems like a good bet that this will bring out many of them.

[schmooty]

This looks awesome...has anybody ever been? Anybody got some

details for me?

[schmooty]

Is anyone else attending this? I will be leaving tomorrow and returning Sunday. I am really excited to eat some competition quality BBQ. Plus, I have never been to Wildwood before. I will report back when I return.

-Al

[KatieLoeb]

Heard an ad for this on the drive down to Cape May last weekend. Sounds like fun. If any of the BBQ places I tried on the DDC Rib Run I are in y'all are in for a treat. Look for Kingfish, Uncle Deweys or Rib Shanty. All three were excellent.

Now I want ribs...

[BrianYarvin]

Hi Everybody:

I went down to Wildwood Friday night to watch the prep and see if I could wiggle myself onto a team for the next big contest.

Here are some photos from the trip

Is it possible to get drunk on smoke?

[Rosie]

Yummy pictures. Thanks.

[Wiener]

I attended , as well. It was a lot of fun and sorry I left the camera home. Only spent an hour there and only eyed the foods and listened to some very loud music. Weather was too ice to spend on those hot paved streets when the ocean was calling my name.

Had one of the best subs I have ever had from Russos on tenth in North Wildwood. Fresh thinly sliced German bologna and thinly sliced onions, tomatoes etc etc. Well worth the 30 minute wait for a sub.

We changed out minds and had dinner at Maureens. Not as crowded as I would have thought for a beautiful weekend but still delicious. Had fresh tuna , with leeks and carrots, spicey mashed potatoes , and a delcious crab soup. Friendly service in a funky atmosphere. Not cheap for Wildwood standards but worth every penny. I did not see Maureen there Saturday night.

[schmooty]

I had a blast at Wildwood this weekend! We made it down on friday and sort of scoped out the area and had some food. There were about 6 BBQ vendors, plus some other random non-BBQ vendors such as a dessert vendor, a steak sandwhich vendor, and a Stewarts Root Beer vendor.

All of the lines were reasonable except 1. That was the Rib-Bins one. I refused to wait an hour for food. The BBQ ranged from fair to excellent. My favorite was Butch's BBQ. They did some great ribs and pulled pork.

There were also lots of competitors as well. Unfortunately their food was not open to the public. I did get some great lessons and talked to some nice folks. I was told that the only way to get the real BBQ was to come back Sunday and wait until the winners were announced.

Well, we went back Sunday and were not disappointed. After the winners were announced, we were able to taste the real stuff. I managed to get some pulled pork from the overall pork winner, some briscuit from the grand champion, and an entire plate of food from another competitor. Now this was the real deal.

Overall, it was a great experience. The food was good and the weather was perfect. My only complaint was that more of the competitors weren't serving food to the general public.

[=Mark]

I stopped going to these events unless I knew some of the competitors due to what you described here. Due to health regulations people cooking for the event are not allowed to give or sell food to the public. I'm on several BBQ lists so am familiar with many of the teams. In this way you can pry your way into the real goods and not have to deal with the crappy vendors.

Here's a pic of my infiltration of the Liberty BBQ in Philly last year:

[KatieLoeb]

From today's Philadelphia Inquirer

NJ BBQ Champs

[Curlz]

I noticed in the new issue of NJ Monthly that there's something coming up in August called guitarbeque...blues and 'Q...anyone know anything about it?

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

I just learned that the 2004 State Barbecue Championship will be held in Wildwood on July 9, 10 & 11.

The Festival Webpage

It has been my experience that the best barbecue New Jersey has to offer is at fairs and festivals in the southern part of the state and it seems like a good bet that this will bring out many of them.

←

This year it's July 14, 15 & 16. Above link still works & is up-to-date.

[=Mark]

This years Asbury Park Guitarbeque will be this coming weekend, July 8th & 9th. No admission, good food and tunes...

[LauraSM]

This years Asbury Park Guitarbeque will be this coming weekend, July 8th & 9th.  No admission, good food and tunes...

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DH and I went last year, both the food and the music were wonderful! We're doing it again this year. If you like blues-type music (they have more than just straight blues, this year) it is a great weekend.

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

This years Asbury Park Guitarbeque will be this coming weekend, July 8th & 9th.  No admission, good food and tunes...

←

DH and I went last year, both the food and the music were wonderful! We're doing it again this year. If you like blues-type music (they have more than just straight blues, this year) it is a great weekend.

←

The Wildwood BBQ championships is also having a blues festival.