For Your Pleasure

Ribs. Lots and lots of messy, gooey, sticky, saucy ribs. I love 'em. I love the way they fall off the bone as I pick them from the plate; the way they make everyone at the table an awkward, messy eater without judgement; the way they can be so wonderfully complimented by a cold beverage on a hot day; but most of all I love the way they can bring people together.

Now, I've been to my fair share of rib fests over the years, and at each one I have found myself somewhat disappointed; not because the food is lackluster or scarce or distasteful, not in the least; the food, in fact, has always been the one and only thing that keeps me coming back. No, it's always been the venue that disappoints me. I get so built up on some huge event that's supposed to wow anyone who sees it; I get so invested into the giant billboards each travelling ribster has set up, their gaudy signs an impossible to ignore invitation that my taste buds can't resist. It's all sold and presented as a perfect example of my eyes being too big for my stomach. Yet, for some strange reason, it never is.

In my experiences, rib fest has always been in some small, shut off corner of a downtown strip where one to two hundred people stroll for 30-minutes of their Saturday afternoon while listening to some local talent play the grassy "stage" before they head off on the rest of their day elsewhere in the city. This, my friends, is where Guelph has changed my expectations for the better.

Put on at Riverside park, the Guelph rotary rib fest is, in a word and by comparison, huge. Instead of one hundred people, there were one thousand. Instead of a grassy stage, there was a concert venue; and instead of spending an hour strolling through overly flashy and impossible to live up to signage, there was an entire evening that could very easily have stretched into a full weekend's worth of eating, drinking, exploring and conversation.

Of course, through all the smoke and haze of two dozen smokehouse and grill stations, it was difficult to decide on which rack to go with, but therein lies the beauty of a festival and the natural instinct to go with friends and share the tidings from each plate. Hickory, mesquite, spicy, smoked, grilled, basted, wet or dry there was no shortage of flavour or option; something for everyone, save for the vegetarians I suppose, and everyone seemed happy.

Granted, most things worth doing tend to come with a price, and while admission was free, the food was certainly not. But in situations like rib fest I think it justifiable to cast aside those hesitations of footing the bill and just enjoy the company of the city and get into the spirit of unhealthy eating, if only for just one night.

I thank the organizers, the vendors and the crowd of this year's festivities for showing me that such an event can live up to it's "in you face" advertising and the borderline cockiness that goes along with saying "Our ribs have won more awards than their ribs, eat here!" I'll be back next year for sure, building my appetite between now and then, thinking of which booth I'll hit up next.

Cheers Guelph

Phil