LA BBQ Fest

This past weekend, we stopped by the LA BBQ fest. Situated in the parking lot next to Santa Monica Pier, it was not difficult to find. The smallish event consisted of a number of local bbq joints, two out of town joints, a cupcake stand and various other booths selling vacations, and what not.

Strolling passed the booths, we quickly decided to focus on the out of towners. The first thing we noticed was a line forming for LC's BBQ from Kansas City. No other booths had a line(except for the beer line), so we hopped right in. We were fortunate on two counts. First, we had about 5 people ahead of us, but by the time we were served, the line was about 50 behind us. Second, LC served up some mean ribs. They were pork spare ribs, smoked over hickory with a dry rub. The meat was slightly charred on the outside, and moist and tender on the inside. Delicious, especially with the baked beans that accompanied them.

While we were waiting in line, I slipped over to Bandana's BBQ of Louisville. The baby back ribs were dryer, and it was also seasoned with a dry rub. I'm pretty sure they used hickory, as well, for smoke. They offered 4 different sauces, all of which were a bit more vinegary than LC's. Bandana's also came with baked beans, but they were too sweet.

After gorging on these ribs, we hit up the cupcake booth, or Leyna's Kitchen. They offered two mini cupcakes, one a pink velvet, the other a strawberilicious, for four dollars. These delicious cupcakes were a welcome contrast to the smoky ribs.

We were there for just an hour or so, but we walked away full and satisfied. If you missed the BBQ fest this year, mark it on your calendars for next year. Ten dollar entrance, ten dollars a plate, and they have a beer stand.