Memphis - Day Two, Here Come the Judges

I can now never eat ribs in a restaurant again, they won't be anywhere close to the ribs we had today. Tender. Succulent. Moist. Smokey. Flavorful. Just how you imagine ribs could be. There's no way, I've officially been spoiled. Again, thanks to our friends on the Cincinnati "Hog Heaven" team, you guys are the best. And I encourage you to grab some Bubba Brothers barbeque sauce as well (available locally or online at bubbabros.com)

As the day wore on, we got to see the Hog Heaven team prep their rib entries (note : a little spray of Pam sprayed on the meat makes it shimmer and adds tons of style points). They chose the very best of several slabs of ribs and then decided on the slab they'd use for "blind judging". Then it was off for the "victory walk" where Dwight and Bubba walked the rib and sauce samples to the blind judging area.

Then we waited. And waited to see if the judges returned to our booth to let us know if Hog Heaven as in the finals .

And they did, but not our team, the team next to us. A group named "Here For The Beer" out of Little Rock. All of them white color professionals by day, barbeque (and beer) fanatics by night. Being in the finals meant an automatic placing of first, second or third and some well-deserved honors (Pat, congrats again on your team's big win).

Now, when it comes to World Championship Barbeque, when you're notified you're in the finals it means one thing: prep the area for the judges. Clean, pick up and make sure your area looks the very best it can be. Act like a four-star general is coming to sample your entrée. And everyone, including fellow competitors, pitched in to help make sure Here For the Beer's booth and presentation was the best it could be. A truly cool sight indeed.

The judging itself took about 15 minutes and started with a judges tour of the facilities, the techniques and woods the team used, an explanation of the prep work, and finally, a sit-down tasting of ribs by all three judges. During that time no one else but the presenters from Here for the Beer or the judges spoke a word, turning our section of the midway from a carnival feel to more of the final hole at St. Andrews.

After the judging, it was back to sampling other's rib entries, talking amongst competitors and planning for tomorrow: tear down and travel.

Which is what we'll be doing tomorrow. But tonight, we're gonna check out Beale Street. Really check it out. And who knows? Maybe run into some of our new friends from Here For the Beer and maybe buy them a round. Maybe.