I love a good food festival.



Ribfest has been a Charleston institution for 20 years. It has been in various forms and locations, but I finally got the chance to check it out this year while over at Shawnee Sports Complex.



There were a half dozen or so rib vendors, with the only West Virginia representative being Dem 2 Bros. And a Grill. I know (and love) Dem 2 Brothers, so I wanted to try some different vendors.



Ideally, I wanted to try like a single rib from each one, but they don't sell that small of a quantity. So, I started with Johnson's Hickory Smoked BBQ. It's interesting to see the culture of these events - they have these huge displays of all the awards they've won, and this one caught my eye. 



They had a "boneless rib sandwich," which I thought sounded easy to eat and at $6, I could afford some other offerings. What I didn't realize is that this was essentially a McRib... The sauce was good though.



Then I went to another places: Cowboys Barbeque & Rib Company. I got their "taster" at $9. These were delish, but they can really be a full meal! I didn't need more after this. Super tender and flavorful, these ribs hit the spot.



Here are the other vendors I didn't get a chance to try. 



Where did you go?