My brother and I attended the first Rock'n'Roll BBQ Throwdown at the Beachland Ballroom. This was sponsored by Cleveland Food Rocks and it was quite the event. Many restaurants were there cooking up some nice BBQ or some summer fixins. $25 got you in the door, or should I say, through the entrance and into the tents at the parking lot.

The rain stayed away and it was a rather nice day. Of course, I had to have the 3 B's (bloody, bourbon and beer) among all of the chowing down I did. There was limited seating, and we sat at the bar for a few minutes, at times. But this was mainly a stand around and eat kind of thing. Pierre's Ice Cream was also on hand. I had the Peppermint, Jeff didn't particularly like his Pineapple because it had coconut in it and he opted for a Peppermint later.










































Bootsy Collins was also there with the Gibson Guitar Bus. My camera on my Blackberry failing about five different times to take a decent picture of Bootsy. I kept looking at my photos while saying, "...a man purported to be Bootsy Collins...". Bootsy helped raffle off some items. I am so glad I did not wear my original outfit, as we would have clashed (He had a red Mark Ecko outfit on, similar to the above pic). There were also three different bands on hand that played, as well.

All in all, a fun day. Look forward to this becoming an annual event.

This was the menu (and what we ate):

Prosperity: Grilled shrimp (honey chipotle, with pineapple mint salsa). I had this, it was good.

Brother's Lounge: Kalbi ribs (Korean BBQ). Jeff and I both had this. Made well, it's just too tough of a rib. Rather jerky-like.

Johnny's: Lamb osso bucco OR short ribs on foccacia. Neither one of us ate here.

Luxe: Potato salads (3 different). Jeff had two of these. He really liked one, the other so-so.

Lago: KJ Greens chilled grilled peaches, McKenzie creamery chevre, balsamic reduction. Neither of us opted for this.

Crop: Chicken soft shell tacos-esque creation. Jeff had this and thought it was great.

Bar Cento: Smoked duck with sour cherry BBQ and corn Bellini. I had this and thought it superb.

Blue Canyon Kitchen: Brisket w/5 regional BBQ sauces. We both agreed their South Carolina sauce is out-of-control good. Their regular sauce was good, but the SC stuff was way ahead. South Carolina sauce does not get much play up here, but I do like it.

Dante: Rosemary grilled leg of lamb, tomato Provencal. We both passed.

Beachland Ballroom: BBQ tofu sandwiches. We both passed.

Sky Larae's: Culinary Grilled wings with BBQ sauce and slaw. This was our first stop. Awesome.

Moxie: BBQ'd Ohio baby back ribs. I think I liked this more than Jeff. Their sauce was very good.

Melange: Clam bake/clam chowder/bacon caramel corn/PB+J popcorn. We both had the bacon caramel corn. Very good, interesting flavor.

Greenhouse Tavern: Corn on the Bone and Watermelon mint slushies. Jeff had the corn...I think he liked it. The slushes were OK, at best.

Blue Point: Smoke, BBQ salmon. The presentation on this was great, but I didn't have any. Jeff dislikes salmon.

Happy Dog: Polish Boys (don't Cry). Looked good, but I just had a buffalo chicken salad there on Friday for Polka Happy Hour. I know their food, so I chose elsewhere.

Southside: BBQ short rib sliders. Sweet or spicy. I had the spicy. Good stuff. Jeff went back for seconds here, I think.

Momocho: Grilled corn, chipotle-lime butter, cheese, pico de gallo. This stuff was unbelievably good. Passed there on the way home. Packed. At 5. On a Sunday.

Flying Fig: Coleslaw. So many places had slaw, we opted for less slaw.

Local Crop: Cheeses, sausages, and fruits. Looked good, but passed.

Green Planet Catering: Grilled fruit. Passed

Tree Huggers Café: Caribbean kabobs and rice. They were there, but completely missed them.

Boulevard Blue: Sous vide pork belly with watermelon & pickled watermelon rind. Nope.

Meal of Links

First, Trent Reznor gives up on Twitter. Now, Bill Gates abandons Facebook, because too many people wanted to be his friend. "Who is this person who keeps e-mailing me?" Funny fake Facebook pages.

20 ways you waste money. But I loves my cable.

In Britain, if you are a bad family, they are gonna put you in the sin bin. Whoever lives next to Future Felon in the UK, nods approval.

Craig Ferguson on the "Deification of Youth"



Exercise Yard

Another boxer gone. This time, it's Vernon Forrest. Considered one of the true gentleman of the sport.

Visitor

None, on a stuff-your-face Sunday.