October is Here!

It's the 1st of October, and that mean's one thing in Kansas City. The 2008 American Royal BBQ Contest is finally here. Again this year, the Park Avenue Pork team will be in space 317 (some maps show this as space 321) in Lot A (yes, this is the CRAZY lot) for the entire weekend. Regardless of what your map shows, this is the space directly under the overpass on the end of the row, just next to the Missouri Warthog Ranchers Association space.

A rough outline of the schedule of activities for our space is as follows:

THURSDAY
- Set up day
- Poker Tournament in evening

FRIDAY
- Friday night is the big party night, of course
- 6:30 PM - The first ever WEDDING at the American Royal BBQ in our space!
- 7:30 PM - BBQ and Brew reception
- 8:00 PM - Party

SATURDAY
- The Team is competing in the Open Side Dish Contests
- Beans, Potatoes, Vegetables and Desert Competitions
- Saturday evening - mellow (as mellow as the A/R gets anyway) friends gathering

SUNDAY
- The Team is competing in the Open Meat Competitions
- Beef Brisket, Pork Shoulder, Sausage, Ribs and Chicken

HELPFUL LINKS (Adobe Acrobat Reader required)
Click these links and print the maps and guides. They will help you navigate your way around the American Royal Complex.

1. Parking, Shuttle and Live Concert Brochure
2. Big Map of the American Royal Complex (large file!)
3. Schedule of Events
4. Zoom In Map showing Park Avenue Pork location
5. Printable list of 2008 Compeititon Teams
6. Link to list of Family Day Activiites on Saturday, October 4th

Hope to see ya there! As always, if you have trouble finding us or have questions, call one of the Porkers on our mobile.

Update on KC BBQ Store Season Long Contest

We are currently setting in 39th place (out of 631 teams) in the KC BBQ Store's 2008 BBQ Campaign Team of the Year Cook-Off Contest. Any chance we fly up 40 spots in the last month of the season? Doesn't seem likely, but good to know we are in the Top 40! Looks like only the American Royal left on the calendar for us before this contest wraps up. Rob and the Munchin' Hogs at the Hilton team is deservedly leading this contest and looks to be the odds-on favorite to get the $500 gift certificate.

Hit this link to see the full team of the year contest rankings

Competing without even knowing it

Apparently, we are now in 23rd place in a contest we didn't even realize we were competing in! The Kansas City BBQ Store is conducting a season-long contest called the BBQ Campaign 2008. based upon how Competition BBQ teams place in a select number of contests throughout the year. Points are earned towards prizes to be awarded in November based upon how the teams finish in their best 5 contests out of 16 possible events.

At the halfway point, with 8 of the identified 16 contests complete for '08, we are in 23rd place, chasing the Rabbit Gulch Farm Cookers, who are currently ahead of us by 6 points. This scoring appears to use a modified KCBS team of the year scoring format.

The winner of this thing will get $500 cash, so we'll keep a cookin' and see what happens.

The Patron Saint of BBQ

Taking the week off because after experiencing the Great Lenexa BBQ, (where else can you beat 180 other compeitors and your prize is an honorable mention ribbon) we needed a week off.

A portion of the team is currently in the San Francisco bay area for a few days to attend a wedding this weekend. Yesterday was spent in China Town looking at all the valuable items in the markets and on the streets. While digging through one such store, we stumbled upon what could be the missing link to BBQ success: The Patron Saint of Butchers, Saint Adrian, in mini figurine form with prayer card. (Picture to the right).

"Most holy St. Adrian, I ask that you guide my knife as I deftly cut the tender flesh of animals that have been sacrificed to provide sustanance for mankind. I also ask that you bless all of my meat with superior flavor and texture and protect it from disease and contamination. Amen"I am sure this will put us over the top in the next contest.

Great Lenexa BBQ Battle

We will be smokin' away this coming weekend at the Great Lenexa BBQ Battle. Stop by and see us at space #311, on the west side of the lake.

The Blues will be playing, and we will be honored to have both a guest smokee (Sam) and a guest smoker (Bruce Cook - could this be him?) joining us for the cook.

Stop by to find out.

Contest Schedule Updated

For those who have been paying close attention, you'll see that the contest schedule has been updated.

Yes, even the Porkers have been affected by the price of gas this summer, and we have removed some contests that we were considering doing this year from the schedule.

See ya in Lenexa!

BBQ enthusiasts can hardly go a month without adding at least one new book to their shelf.



This recently released book from Beard award winner Steven Raichlen has received a lot of good reviews, and has over 500 recipes developed by Raichlen as the result of his traveling over 150,000 miles in America assembling the best BBQ and Grilling recipes in the land.

2008 Great American BBQ Directions

For those heading out to help out or join at the 2008 Great American BBQ Contest, you can use the map to the left to guide you in.

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See ya this weekend!

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Just click the map for a larger version, then print it out.