Month: May 2016

If nothing else goes right this trip it will still be a success. The reason for that is because Patrice got compliments today about her shirt, hat and pants (see below).

After checking in at the judges tent we received our Friday assignments:  1:00 pm Tomato Sauce Samples;  1:45 pm Seafood Samples.   Huh?  Where’s the pork?

While waiting for our tastebuds to be called to duty we ran into our friend, Lance, from the Tastin’ Round Town tour.  Last year Lance gave us our crash course into Memphis BBQ.  He also told us how to become judges and thus is responsible for us being here this weekend.  If you are in Memphis I would strongly recommend you take a tour with Lance.  A word of warning, do not eat before the tour and do not plan to eat after the tour.  Check out his website at http://www.tastinroundtown.com.   

Our judging time finally came.  Patrice and I first judged BBQ sauces which was a good introduction to the process.  The seafood judging that followed was amazing.  We were at different judging tables and thus judged different items.  Patrice had 6 dishes all of which she said were amazing.  I only had 4 items to evaluate and they were beyond description.

After our judging duties were completed we decided to visit the various booths.  The cookers were incredibly gracious inviting us into their cook areas and sharing their methods.   We got to see a variety of “Whole Hogs”.  If you have a weak stomach area you might not like to look at the pictures below.

Tomorrow we get to judge pork.  I don’t think my Grandpa Sam would have been very proud.  Good thing he is dead because if he heard his grandson was judging a pork cooking contest it would have killed him.

Until tomorrow.

Today we picked up our BBQ Judging credentials (see below).  I think our attempt to blend in with the locals is not working as planned.  As soon as we walked into the office a woman said to another woman “Their credential packet is on the desk”.  I hadn’t even said hello and she already knew who we were.  I think the fact that we had an umbrella was her first clue.  We are walking the streets in the rain and we are one of the few people using an umbrella.  That seems to be a clear tip off that we are from out of town.

The main festivities really don’t start until tomorrow but we missed an event on Wednesday, that we had hoped to see, “The Big Hog Run”.  The run requires male entrants to weigh at least 175 lbs and females 150 lbs.  The run is a 0.2K (about 219 yards) and we are told it is all downhill.  Runners have a mandatory hydration stop at the halfway point where entrants can choose between beer, water or sports drinks. Needless to say this is not a healthy week in Memphis.

Patrice is always on the lookout for things to do.  You might recall she had me spend $20 on a show in New York, a musical in rap about Alexander Hamilton. That worked out pretty well. Of course there are some things that have not worked out as well and for the sake of our marriage those activities don’t make it to the blog.  Well today she suggested we go to the Belz Museum of Asian and Judaic Art.  You didn’t misread that.  You don’t need go back and read it again. What?  You never heard of Asian and Judaic Art in the same museum?  I was less than enthusiastic with this idea but how can I say no to a woman who went with me to 3 baseball games (all extra innings) on our last road trip?  So it was off to the the Asian and Judaic museum for me.   Much to my surprise the museum was incredible.  I took pictures (see below) but they don’t do the place justice. There were multiple works of jade, cloisonné, cinnabar and ivory (sorry elephant lovers).  The Judaic portion of the museum was much less impressive.  That section had a small collection of art and a rather impressive dedication to holocaust survivors who lived in Memphis (a surprisingly large number).   The place is a definite “must see” if you come to Memphis.

Tomorrow is the big day.  More about BBQ judging in my next post.

After an early start and a relatively uneventful flight from LAX to DFW then DFW (after a 1 hour delay) to Memphis we arrived at our hotel.  I was really happy about using points and a few dollars to stay at the Hilton Doubletree Hotel.  We are saving a lot of money but we are not at the Peabody (our home for two of our last three visits to this fine city).   Hilton advertised all the amenities one would expect of a class hotel but apparently they have a little trouble following up on the hype.  It is very hot and humid in Memphis but looks like we won’t be swimming (see below).  We are across the street from the baseball stadium but I won’t push my luck (no minor league baseball this trip).

We arrived in the city too late to pick up our BBQ credentials but we did get here in time to walk around the city and have a wonderful dinner at Gus’s Famous Fried Chicken.  Gus’s didn’t look like much but they had  people waiting outside and we were given an estimated wait time of 25 minutes.  When seated we felt that the place lacked some of the things we have come to expect at a fine dining restaurant.  The table was set with plastic forks and knives, paper napkins and water in plastic cups.  As they say looks can be deceiving (see below).  The fried chicken was amazing with very good side dishes of fried okra and macaroni and cheese (I ate mine before I thought of taking a picture so below is someone else’s dinner).  For dessert we shared sweet potato pie which was delicious beyond description.

After dinner we had to do some serious walking to burn some calories.  We headed to Beale Street where every Wednesday night they close off the street and let it remain open only to motorcycles.  There were at least 200 motorcycles parked along the street (see me next to a Harley).  Of course the streets were also lined with people in spite of it being very early (late for us, after all it is almost 6 pm in Los Angeles).  Enough said, we need sleep.

See you tomorrow.

Hello followers,

I am very grateful for all of you who have asked, “When are you going away, I really enjoy your blog posts”.  Nothing major has been happening of recent note in regards to travel.  Of course we have had a couple of visits to the Bay Area to visit our son and his family.  Those are brief visits that I don’t want to bore the reader with me boasting about my grandsons.  We did have a nice getaway weekend in La Jolla which gave me lots of material to discuss but my mom was ill and most of my attention was focused on her and contact with her doctors.  Fortunately, mom is back to her usual amazing self and she had a spectacular 100th birthday party in March.  As many of you know this blog started as a simple email to keep my mom informed about her baby’s travels.  It has grown significantly but is still limited to my friends and family.

So where are we going now?  Tomorrow morning we will be on our way to Memphis and the “Memphis in May BBQ Festival” http://www.memphisinmay.org/barbecue.  You might recall that last November we flew to Memphis to become judges and passed the rigid qualifying exam (“Future judges, if you don’t pass the test you can take it again until you do pass”) and have been invited to judge at this year’s festival.  This will be our first time judging food of any sort but apparently the story has grown in regards to our qualifications.  A patient told me that she heard that I am a nationally known BBQ judge.  Well, my friend Steve in South Carolina, who is from Memphis and has attended the Festival knows I will be a judge……. yes, I think that does make a nationally known BBQ judge.

We have an early flight so it’s off to bed.