2012 Bar-B-Quest Winner!!!!

After much deliberation, arguing, lobbying, charting, plotting, and general bullying, LowVee, HotGirlsBrother, and I have come to a consensus for the winner of the 2012 Bar-B-Quest Challenge. The winner is…

Q Fanatic !!!

from Champlin, MN

Their consistent mastery of all things BBQ, including a few awesome sides (and a life changing monster cookie), edged them out over C.G. Hooks Eatery for the win. We can’t say enough good things about Q Fanatic, but we will certainly try to. Huge thank you to Charlie, the owner, and his awesome team of cooks and servers. We always have a great time coming up to Champlin and we are looking forward to our next trip to eat.

Here is the completed bracket, for those who might want to print it out. I know it's going on my fridge!

  

A few honorary mentions need to be called out from a few other BBQ places, before we wrap all this festivity up with a nice bow and call it done:

• Best Dessert: Q Fanatic monster cookie (though VERY closely contested by Big Daddy’s pumpkin cream cheese swirl cake)
• Best corn-based side: Baldy’s Cheesy Corn Bake
• Best Mac and Cheese: Q Fanatic
• Best Baked Beans: Q Fanatic, followed by C&G Smokin’ BBQ
• Best Fries: Baldy’s BBQ
• Best Rolls: Q Fanatic
• Best Potato Salad: Baldy’s, but just barely over Q Fanatic
• Best Cole Slaw: Market BBQ, but a few were right up there like Baldy’s and C.G. Hooks
• Best Stand-alone Sauce: Q Fanatic Vodka Pepper Sauce (closely contested by Pastor Hamilton’s)
• Best Combination/Mixture of Sauces: C.G. Hooks K.C., Ghost, and Carolina, though Rack Shack may give them a challenge
• Best Greens: Big Daddy’s collard greens
• Best Cornbread: Rudolph’s
• Best Root Beer: C.G. Hooks serves 1919, so they’re going to win every time
• Best Wet-nap Alternative: Q Fanatic has a sink IN the dining room

A huge thank you has to go out to both LowVee and HotGirlsBrother for making this thing a reality. Yes, all of our LDL, LDH, Triglyceride, and blood pressure levels are through the roof and HotGirlsBrother powered through another kidney stone to finish the quest, but I think we can all agree it was 100% worth it. It was also some of the most fun we’ve had pretending to be food critics.

Also, a big thanks goes out to D.Rough, Kevin, and HotGirlHerself, for both putting up with us talking about ribs incessantly and also joining us for some of these amazing adventures.

Finally, a big thank you goes out to all the BBQ places we tried on this quest. I know you weren't necessarily willing participants, nor probably even care, but we had a great time eating your delicious food and look forward to many returns.

The three of us have a few things rib-related for 2013, in case you were wondering. First off, we plan to have some sort of awards banquet (where we don’t actually have any awards to hand out nor will we invite anyone else) at the number 1 ranked BBQ place in Minnesota (as declared by Minnesota Monthly Magazine) – Bob’s Smoke Stack Ribs in Elgin, MN. This place beat 2nd place Q Fanatic in the entire state, so we’re going to check it out and see if we agree.

Secondly, we’re going to rent a pontoon boat and pick up a couple of slabs of ribs from C.G. Hooks – you can do this at the same place on White Bear Lake. Tally’s Dockside and C.G. Hooks are in kahoots, so we’re looking forward to blowing a summer afternoon pontooning, eating, and drinking on the lake. Seriously, people, that’s sounding SOOOO good right now with it being 3 degrees outside.

Again, a serious congratulations goes out to Q Fanatic for sweeping the BBQ field in the Twin Cities. I know Champlin sounds far away, but I assure you it will be worth it. It’s just off US-169, so it’s really easy to find. Charlie takes great pride in his food and is a gracious host. Make sure you get a cookie, even if you’re full. You will be – I promise.

BIG HIGH FIVE for Q Fanatic!!!!!

Signed, extremely grateful and many pounds heavier,
Chao, LowVee, and HotGirlsBrother