Bar-B-Quest 2011 UPSET!!!!!!

A few months back, HotGirlsBrother and I were pretty upset to find out that C. G. Hooks BBQ was delicious. We were upset because A) the restaurant is quite a drive from either of our places and B) C.G. was up against our number one seed, Lee’s & Dee’s. Neither of these things should upset us at all. The ribs are simply amazing at both places.

Since that time, there have been numerous conference calls, spreadsheets, graphs and charts, and tears shed over who was going to come out on top during this particular battle. And it WAS a battle.

HotGirlsBrother and I love Lee’s & Dee’s. In fact, L&D’s has been a game changer for both of us since we first tried it a few years back. We’ve recommended it to everyone that asks about ribs (and a few that didn’t ask about ribs). The ribs there are top notch and the folks that work there are super friendly. They also have Galaga in the restaurant – bonus! I will, however, defer to the fact that this is a single elimination tournament format. Each restaurant (unknowingly) has one shot at beating the BBQ place they are up against. The last time we went to Lee’s & Dee’s (meaning the one shot in time that we are gauging the head-to-head battle with another rib place), both HotGirlsBrother and I had fantastic meals – as usual. Sadly, one of our party got a bad batch of ribs, though. Normally we don’t believe her (I’m TOTALLY kidding, Low-Vee), but this time, she stopped after two of her ribs. I ate them later that night re-heated and was horrified to find Low-Vee was right. They were absolutely a different batch of ribs from the ones the rest of our group ate. It’s simple things like inconsistency that cost Lee’s and Dee’s the battle.

…Plus, we never saw C.G. Hooks coming. All around, they excelled. The ribs were incredible and the sides actually beat the pants off of Lee’s & Dee’s. So, I think we have our first upset of Bar-B-Quest 2011!

I am announcing this with the full knowledge that HotGirlsBrother and I will continue to go to Lee’s & Dee’s every chance we get. We love to eat there and it’s much closer. I hope L&D aren’t offended, but these bracket head-to-head competitions are tough sometimes. We will also continue to send people to L&D without abandon and listen to the subsequent stories about how people never expected the ribs at Lee’s & Dee’s to be as good as they are.

Kudos to you, C.G. Hooks BBQ. You are a true sleeper contender and I look forward to visiting you MUCH in the upcoming years. In fact, HotGirlsBrother and I are already figuring out free weekends to rent a pontoon boat across the street, buy a boatload of ribs (literally) and set sail on White Bear Lake with our closest carnivore friends. I am anxiously awaiting to see if C.G. Hooks can pull off even more upsets in the remainder of the Bar-B-Quest. We wish you the best of luck!

Signed HotGirlsBrother and Chao

Here is the new and updated bracket: