Join me at Sam's Club National BBQ Tour, Sacramento CA, March 29, 2014

I will be visiting the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Region 4 competition in Sacramento on Saturday, March 29. I plan on arriving around 9:00am to check-out the event and will stick around to see the awards ceremony that afternoon.

I'll be handing out TVWBB pins to teams using Weber grills and smokers, and if you catch me there, you can get a pin, too! If enough people plan to go, maybe we can meet-up near the judging area to say hello and take a group photo.

I'll be wearing a TVWBB t-shirt like this one and a Weber logo cap. Would love to meet some Weber fans, so stop by if you can! Text me at mail@virtualweberbullet.com so we can connect.

Sam's Club, 3360 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA

http://www.kcbs.us/samstour/index.php?id=108

Chris, will you be visiting the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Region 3 in Madison Wisconsin on Saturday, July 12?
I'll go if you go!

Probably not...but I'm trying to plan an event in Chicago this summer and hope you can come down and meet me there. More details soon.

...in Chicago this summer and hope you can come down and meet me there.

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Deal, I'll see you there!

Chris I just found out I will be On-Call for my job that weekend but if things are quiet I will try and meet you there.

If you can make it and want to meet, text me at mail@virtualweberbullet.com

Chris Allingham said:

Probably not...but I'm trying to plan an event in Chicago this summer and hope you can come down and meet me there. More details soon.

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Please do let us know about any Chicago events - would love to be there.

New here. Looks like a good place to get some ideas. hope to see you there.

Rob H. said:

New here. Looks like a good place to get some ideas. hope to see you there.

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Welcome, Rob! You live in or around Sacto? If you show up on Saturday, text me at email address listed above.

Chris, Yes, I live in Sacto

Chris Allingham said:

Welcome, Rob! You live in or around Sacto? If you show up on Saturday, text me at email address listed above.

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I am planning on comming by and see what's cookin

I'll be there. Will be wearing a TVWBB Hat.
I'll text you if I don't see you.

Chris Allingham said:

I will be visiting the Sam's Club National BBQ Tour Region 4 competition in Sacramento on Saturday, March 29....... Text me at mail@virtualweberbullet.com so we can connect.

Sam's Club, 3360 El Camino Ave., Sacramento, CA

http://www.kcbs.us/samstour/index.php?id=108

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I'll see if I can get the family out there. I work in the same parking lot and actually saw some folks staging this morning during my morning walk.

Mike

I'm packing up tonight for the early drive up to Sacto tomorrow morning. Based on this thread and a Tweet, here's who may show up:

• Aaron Staines
• Michael Gushulak + son
• Paul Richardson
• Mac
• Rob H
• Steve Whiting
• Mike S

If you all see this, let's try to meet-up at the judging area at Noon. I've got emails or phone numbers for everyone but Aaron, I'll try to connect with each of you if I don't see you before then.

Bring a raincoat and umbrella...rain is in the forecast!

Have fun guys! Stay dry. I was hoping to make it down but doesn't look like it's going to work out.

Chris is was great seeing you again as well as my old friend Mac and his lovely wife Marcy. Also cool was meeting one of our newest members, Rob H. The rain was a bit of a bummer but the sweet smell of roasting meats in the air always makes attending comps a wonderful thing.

Any pics from the comp? Just saw Slap Yo Daddy came in 3rd overall, congrats Harry!

It was quite an interesting day. the rain did put a damper on it but i enjoyed meeting Chris, Steve and others, and seeing how the judging actually went. Saw two DQ's on one panel of brisket for foil in the box. Wish I could have tasted some.

Here's my trip report from this event.

Left San Jose about 7:30am for the two-hour drive to Sacramento. The rain started in Benicia and never stopped for the rest of the day! Arrived around 9:30am. Awards were at 3:00pm, hung around to chat afterwards and left around 4:30pm. Stopped for a Squeezecheese on the way out of town and was home after another two-hour drive. A full day!

First, the people I met. Still waiting for a big group photo to come in from SoCal Paul...I'll post it when I get it. I also met Michael Gushulak and his son...we forgot to take a photo, but we'll meet at the event in Santa Clara on June 28 and take a selfie then.

This is Aaron Staines and his wife Lori Lieneke. They are from Oakland and helped the folks that were running the contest. Aaron is organizing Oaktown Throwdown in August, which I intend to visit!



This is Paul Richardson from Riverside. He was a table captain and fun guy to talk to! I think I may have goosed him as I took this photo.



Spent quite a bit of time hanging out with new TVWBB member Rob H and old TVWBB member Steve Whiting, both from the Sacto area. Also met Steve's lovely wife who's into barbecue as much as he. We stood outside the judging area watching all the turn-ins. In the pouring rain. We must have looked like barbecue groupies...not competitors, not judges, just hangers-on watching people turn in identical looking Styrofoam boxes.



This is Mac from Stockton...er, I mean Smoketon. Great to meet him and his wife and to finally put a face to his name. We're doing a double-selfie here, which explains why we're not looking in the same direction!



Please help me identify this guy! I can't remember his name! Looked at my rain-soaked notes and can't figure it out. One thing I do know, he's a big fan of TVWBB!



Here's Harry Soo cleaning up after taking 3rd overall, showing me the suitcase that he operates out of during competitions. You'd hate to lose that checked bag on a flight! I have a feeling a slice of that suitcase would taste better than many competitor's brisket.



Harry and Donna setup their booths backwards for privacy...can't blame them. Quite a contrast in sign design, no?



Here's the big Sam's Club BBQ truck...they had a Yoder smoker in front and were giving away goodie bags to the few spectators that showed up on such a rainy day. It rained continuously the whole time I was there. We'd all be cursing the rain if not for the drought conditions here in California.



Continued...

Some general photos of the judging area...a converted cart storage area! Here are the judges gathering before the contest.



Contestants turning in their boxes...



Harry Soo in yellow raincoat turning in chicken.



Judges doing what they do best...judging.



Organizing the boxes before judging.



The tables and chairs were cleared to make room for the awards ceremony. No, the Ford in the background is not one of the prizes, but it should have been.



This is what it's all about. And the checks, of course. And a trip to the national championship in Vegas.



Here's your grand champion: Big B's Down-N-Dirty BBQ from Pacifica!



And your reserve champion: Son of Smoke's Zack Galiste. At the tender age of 16, this young man is cooking some mean barbecue! That's host Troy Black on the left. He's writing a new book on healthy grilling...we'll have him as a Q&A guest sometime later this year.



And from the "I Haven't Seen That Before" Department, a spinning grate welded onto a WSM grate for added capacity. Cool!

Thanks for sharing Chris!
The rain, hopefully, will make it all that much more memorable.