Downtown Chandler BBQ Throwdown

Hopefully, the organizers get their act together and limit the crowd before the competitors run out of food.We got there around 2:00, got in line and waited about 20 minutes when a staffer comes out with a bullhorn telling everyone that they're not selling anymore tickets until 4 pm because they ran out of food. Unfortunately, the organizers didn't anticipate such a turnout. I was so looking forward to this event since I was in town for spring training. Anyway, hopefully next year will be better.

We would have loved to experience this first annual Chandler BBQ event... however due to some piss poor planning we and hundreds of other people were left out in the cold (or should I say hot). See... this event was supposed to go from 10am-9pm on Saturday, but by 1:30pm when we arrived they announced via megaphone that no more tickets were being sold and they were apparently "out of meat". Please tell me how an event which is supposed to go all day until 9pm blows it load just three hours into the festivities? To make matters worse, when we were turned away they explained that they'd be re-opening ticket sales at 4pm and more food would be available. So we planned our whole afternoon around this, and wasted time until 4. When we arrived for our second attempt of the day, to our shigrin they changed their minds yet again and reneged on what they had said earlier. Now... tickets were on sale for five bucks... but there was no BBQ!!!! No BBQ at a BBQ Fest... ex-fucking-scuse me? Basically five bucks to walk around and stare at a bunch of empty BBQ reminants... it just didn't make much sense.So many people drove across town to come here (including us) and I really hope next time they put some more time into the planning of this event... it has promise. Hopefully we'll be able to return next year and actually be able to review the food... and not the ill planned event itself. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Well Krash,Don't feel so bad, you got off easy. After waiting in line for about 45mins, the line was around the block. We finally got the the front of the line and paid $10 for 5 white tickets for each person (thought it was a pretty good deal at first). But once we got inside we were told by the vendors that the white tickets were only good for the BBQ tasting. In order to buy anything else such as drinks or food we needed to buy red tickets(another 30 min line). I know what your thinking... "but the white tickets paid for your food aka BBQ, right?" No. The white tickets were only good for tasters of BBQ. The BBQ was doled out in those tiny little condiment cups, 1 cup per ticket (somewhere between a teaspoon and a tablespoon each). So each ticket only gets you 1 bite of BBQ, some of which were just a dollop of fat with some sauce on it. Not to mention we waited in line from 10-20 mins for each spoonful. This equates to about 3 bites of BBQ for $10.So lets sum up the day:1.) arrive2.) wait in line for 45mins (because the admission stand as totally undermanned)3.) pay $10 for tickets that weren't worth anything to the vendors3.) wait in line #2 to get red tickets 30 more mins.4.) eat 5 bites of BBQ, some of which had to be spit out for being inedible. (waiting in lines #3 thru 8 15-20mins each)5.) leave after a full day of waiting in lines, hungry and disappointed.6.) stop by an atm on the way home and grab some food to go for the family.uuggghhh! is right.

I'm sorry you guys had to deal with that! My husband and I were competitors at the event and we had no idea what was going on logistically until later in the day when people started telling us about it. Unfortunately, we ran out of food as well around 3pm after having started serving at about 11am. I know that doesn't sound long, but we went non-stop and always had a line, just like many of the other competitors. I know how you feel about the small sample sizes too, but I'm sure many were just trying to make them last as long as they could. I always try to serve good size portions because I know that you spend a lot of money on them. This was a first year event and they are accepting feedback so that next year's event will be even better for all of those involved, including those wanting to taste BBQ!! I know that our team will be out at Scottsdale in 2 weeks and will be serving samples until we run out, which is actually a lot of food. My advice is come early and come hungry, you won't be disappointed!