Memphis in May: BBQ

Memphis in May is an annual festival that includes a bunch of different events. We arrived here just to late last year to participate in any of the festivities, so we had to wait 11 months for our chance!

This weekend is the World Championship BBQ Cooking Contest. It's like the Superbowl of Barbecue. We didn't really know what to expect (except mud, because the festival's nickname is Memphis in the Mud), but that didn't stop us from heading down to Tom Lee Park this afternoon. Turns out we arrived just in time for judging.

Let me try and paint the scene for you. The event is held in a mile-long stretch of park along the banks of the Mississippi River. I'm not sure how teams get selected to compete, but I imagine it's a difficult process since there's over $100K in prize money available. I have heard that it costs $3,000 just for a booth space. So you've got hundreds of BBQ booths set up in this park. Each team designs their own booth and some are quite elaborate. They've got smokers (of course), multiple levels of seating, creative decorations, and past trophies on display.

Behold, the gates of BBQ are open!

Main stage

Teams come from all over, even Canada!

It is practically required to have a funny and/or clever team name

General view of the grounds - note that 3 story booth in the background

Regular patrons aren't allowed into the booths. Health codes prohibit the teams from selling their food to event-goers. However, the teams can hold private parties where they basically invite their friends and fans in for a taste. We didn't manage to get invited in anywhere...maybe next year!

When the judges come around, everyone takes it very seriously. Teams hold up signs that say "Shush" or "Quiet y'all!" Apparently BBQ tastes better when there isn't too much noise to distract your tastebuds. All the team members wearing matching t-shirts or outfits. The head cook explains their team's approach and BBQ preparation method. Then the judge samples the food and chats for a bit. When the judge departs from the booth, there is lots of clapping.

A team lines up to await the judge's arrival



Here's a team who sang to their judge, barbershop style

In addition to cash prizes, the winners get big bragging rights and lots of publicity. We didn't stay until the end to find out who won because we'd had enough of sloshing around in the mud. It was still quite the cultural experience!

the Culture of Cruising

We recently returned from a week-long Caribbean Cruise on Carnival. It was my first cruise, and I wasn't 100% excited about the idea, but I went along with it anyway. Cruising turned out to be a lot of fun! And none of the bad stuff I was worried about happened (seasickness, norovirus, shipwreck, being stranded at sea...) so that was nice.

We had 4 sea days and 3 port days. This means we had a lot of time aboard to interact with our 3,500+ fellow passengers. Some things I observed:

1. Home state pride. This cruise departed from New Orleans, so many people on board were from Louisiana. And they were proud of it! I'm glad I already had lived in the south for almost a year before taking this cruise because otherwise it would have been kind of disorienting to hear so many people talking about college football and other Southern things. The first night during the Welcome Aboard show, a raucous chant of "LSU! LSU!" broke out, and when the host said something about Auburn, there was lots of booing.

During the week, everyone kept saying "Who dat?" in response to someone asking about Louisiana and/or New Orleans. I found out that is a chant for the Saints.

2. People like to make fun of Cajuns. Cajuns are descendants of French-speaking settlers of Louisiana, and they've created their own unique subculture. Apparently they are now most famous for being on a show called "Swamp People." I really knew hardly anything about Cajuns before except that their food is usually spicy. The ship had comedy shows almost every night, and one comedian spent most of his show making fun of Cajuns. The audience was roaring! I mean, falling out of their chairs, laughing so hard some people were crying. I really didn't get what was so funny. You probably have to know some Cajuns to understand.

3. There was a lot of food available. I got the feeling that Carnival was trying to fatten us all up. There is literally some food option available 24/7 on the ship. Breakfast in various forms can be found from 6:30am - 1:00pm. There are 5 or 6 lunch options. You've got an assigned time for dinner, but you can also hit up the buffet. In between, there are numerous snack opportunities, as well as the midnight snack time. On the last day they had this lavish chocolate decadence bar that was overflowing with desserts. To be honest, I was kind of grossed out by the end of the week. And no wonder norovirus spreads quickly on ships! People are always eating, and you're serving yourself with common buffet utensils, then eating with your hands! I always used silverware on board and washed my hands frequently. Call me paranoid, but I didn't get sick :)

Now that I'm a cruising veteran, I can say that I think this type of vacation has its place. If there if somewhere you want to visit but not spend a very long time, or if you enjoy just getting away from it all and letting a travel company take care of all the details, then a cruise might be the right choice. For me, I usually prefer having more time to explore new places and experience different aspects of cultures - more than you can see in a half-day excursion. I also like having some actual peace and quiet once in awhile.

Home Sweet Home :)