That's a Whole Lotta Meat on the Street

Yesterday, before this torrential downpour hit, I took in a DC tradition for my third year in a row. Onyah, ReporterBoy and I ventured out in the sticky, overcast heat to Pennsylvania Avenue for the annual BBQ Battle. Ah, the smell of barbecue sauce, smoke, and meat. Definitely another sign of summer!

I sampled several of the tasty offerings..... from Famous Dave's, I had a chopped pork sandwich and cole slaw. The slaw was delicious, but I was disappointed in the sandwich. Onyah and ReporterBoy got sandwiches from a different place that looked much better, with actual pulled pork. Mine was a whole lot of bread, a little bit of meat, and not nearly enough sauce. I should have put more sauce on it, but I was hesitant cuz it's very easy to overdo those little sauce pumps. The first year I went to the Battle, on my very first plate of food I tried to add more sauce, and the pump thingy exploded and I got sauce *all* over myself. I only had to learn that lesson once!

Later, Onyah and ReporterBoy got their sandwiches from the North Carolina BBQ place, and I tried the 3-bone rib sampler. Tasty and very, very messy. Thank goodness for moist towelettes. Again, it could've used more sauce, but overall I was pleased with the fall-off-the-bone pork.

Then we were attracted to the SPAM truck and decided - against our better judgment - to sample some grilled spam. It was okay. I said "Huh, tastes like ham. Kinda." Onyah agreed with the "kinda." It wasn't terrible, but I won't be seeking it out anytime soon.

Towards the end of our outing, my pals went for their 2nd helping of meat with a big rib platter with beans and hush puppies (ReporterBoy used his "negotiating skills" to get extra pups). I used the opportunity to go for something cold and fruity...and ordered myself a mango gelati from the Carmen's Italian ice place. Picture a plastic cup, filled 1/3 of the way with soft-serve vanilla custard, then a big layer of mango ice, then a tower of more custard. It was super-delicious, and cold and refreshing. As it started to melt, it took on a mango-creamsicle taste that was awesome. And the little Italian ice guy in the truck was super-hot in his cowboy hat. :-)

I got a coupon for a razor, free samples of dental floss, several free samples of Crystal Light and POM green tea, a sample of pork breakfast sausage, the offer for a new dentist, and a little bit of a sunburn. All told, a great day for BBQ! I'm so glad we didn't wait until today... the meat will be more than a little soggy!