Details For Lowell Rib & Brews Contest...

Here are some details I've received from Jim McGrath reagarding the Lowell contest.

We need to be sure to bring a long garden hose and Y-adaptor to get water to the cooking site.

Got this email one this morning, it has to do with accessing the contest area, visitors to the cooking area, and garnish for the Saturday portion of the contest.

First you need to get to Tsongas Arena http://www.paultsongasarena.com/directions.asp. As you approach the arena, you will enter a large circular driveway with counter-clockwise traffic flow. You are entering at 6:00 and the arena is at 12:00. When you get to 3:00 you will see a large parking garage. Ignore it and continue. At 1:00 you will see an access road that runs along the right side of Tsongas. Ignore it for now. At 9:00 you will see an access road. Exit there. Pass Parking lot A on your left. Slightly further on, you will see an access road on your right, running along the left side of Tsongas. Follow it to the back of Tsongas. Sites should be marked by early Friday afternoon. Please pick a site that doesn’t restrict later arrivals. Find the judge’s tent, and pick up a parking pass cook’s ID. Return to your car and put the parking pass on the dashboard. Go back to the circular and loop around to 1:00. Follow that access road to Parking Lot B and park there. If you can’t open the directions link, look up directions with http://randmcnalley.com/ or Mapquest.com.

Garnish rules for the Saturday grilling contest are quite relaxed. Anything edible is allowed. If a cook wants to wrap their pork tenderloin in bacon, that’s fine. The only inedible garnish allowed is clam and oyster shells in the Clam or Oyster category. Shells are optional garnish, and not required. Expect the cooks to be creative. Unless someone writes their name with a sauce squeeze bottle, it’s probably not marking. Look for restaurant style presentations rather than KCBS style. The appearance of the meat is what is being judged, but the Saturday cooks have a lot more flexibility to make it look good.

There is free public access to the rear of Tsongas. Invite your friends and family. Parking Lot A in the front of Tsongas is where the band, vendors and beer tent will be set up. Admission there is free with your cook’s ID, but $5.00 for all others. Parking Lot B is reserved for contest officials and cooks. Friends and family arriving is separate vehicles should park in the large parking garage located at 3:00 on the circular drive.

I’m providing 10 port-a-potties out of the cook team’s entry fees. All will be padlocked. All padlocks use the same key, and keys will be available in the judge’s tent or from one of the teams. These potties are reserved for cook teams and contest officials only. Friends and family must use the public facilities in the front of Tsongas.

I think I’ve covered everything, but feel free to email any questions.

Jim

This one came in a couple of days ago and deals with camper arrangements on-site:

You can keep your pop-up on site. Friday arrival is fine. We don’t have Lowell HS to deal with this year.

I’ve CCd the Contest Reps and BBCd the other teams so we are all on the same page about your other questions.

You can stuff or roll the flank steak. Just remember, edible garnish only, no tooth picks.

Chowder, stew, etc. is iffy. The clams or oysters must be the primary component of your submission. Instead of chowder, think of clams or oysters served with a bit of broth and vegetables. How would the judges eat this? I see a host of problems.

Jim

Hey Jim,

Just a couple of quick questions.

I was wondering if it was OK to bring my pop-up and keep it onsite. It's the same camper we had in NH. We have no problem fitting it on a 20x20. This may be the same question as below, but I want to be sure. Also is Friday arrival still OK for the new location?

The second question I'm pretty sure is OK but someone wanted me to ask. Is it OK to stuff and\or roll the flank steak?

And lastly, is soup, chowder, or a stew a legal entry for the clam or oyster category? That is, if I can find an edible way to present it.
Thanks Jim. I'll see you this weekend.

Gary
In a message dated 9/3/2006 10:40:01 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, jimmcgra@verizon.net writes:

There is no problem with having a setup like that on your site. I Smell Smoke has a similar situation. We’ve had a problem the last few years with teams leaving cars and pickup trucks is any unused space. It makes the place look messy and getting around the site difficult for late arriving teams.

I’ll try to make this clear. If you are cooking out of a vehicle, and it fits on your site there is no problem. Cars, vans, pickup trucks and U-Hauls should be parked in Lot B.

The reserved parking lot for the teams is right around the corner from the cooker’s site