The National Capital Barbecue Battle

One of the coolest things about this event is the ability to see the BBQ teams from around the country compete for the title. This is all about a «Cue subculture that celebrates the art of an American cuisine and tradition, and you won’t find a better place to see it outside of rural or southern areas than here at the BBQ Battle. No, you don’t get «free» BBQ, at least not from the teams or the top rated BBQ joints that sell here. But you can line up for free samples at the sampling tent, although you’re better off taking in the music– always great r&b and go-​go — and buying a few ribs or pulled pork sandwiches from good vendors and checking out the sights. Plus, it benefits the Boys and Girls Clubs and even brings a lot of the kids and their volunteers in to work the event. A DC tradition!

It was raining super hard like a waterfall. I took my poncho which was really helpful. I did not need to wait in long lines.
There are tons of samples of snacks and soft drink and sausages. Not so many BBQ samples as I expected. You have to purchase famous BBQ restaurants’ food. You need a backpack or a big shopping bag to keep all samples like bread, chocolate, yogurt, dental staff, frisbee, etc…
I won 2 normal admission tickets at Fort Belvoir lottery. They mailed about it 11:11 on Fri. Also they mentioned that I must pick up the tickets by noon on the same day. I live far and could not make it of course. I complained how damn this system is. I heard many people waiting in a line from the morning received free tickets. Next I almost purchased VIP tickets for Sat and Sun. On their website, it says free BBQ and complimentary imported beer. I called their main phone number and asked about it at 2 gates but nobody could tell me the details. So I gave up researching it and purchased a normal admission ticket and used a buy 1 get 1 free from safeway supermarket.
Normal admission ticket $ 15(at door) $ 10 – 12.5(some websites) $ 0(limited number at Fort Belvoir Base)
VIP 1 day ticket $ 50
VIP 2 days ticket $ 75(at door and some websites) $ 50(Goldstar: You must purchase and print it out in advance.)
Parking lot $ 13(You can find $ 10 ones around the venue.
Famous BBQ $$(Not free)
If I get free tickets next year, I’ll go there again.

I enjoyed this since I’m originally from the South and like nearly anything BBQ related so I’ve gone the last few years. Minus a star because this year there were seemingly more samples for hot dogs, pretzels, and many other non-​BBQ related items. It’s a fun time and I got a huge BBQ pork sandwich with a side of cole slaw and a s’more for a $ 5 donation to the USO.
Go early if you want to check out the main sample tent or you might have a LONG wait. I’ll be back next year but please get rid of the some of the non-​BBQ stuff and remember it’s the BBQ Battle for a reason.

I actually had a good time. The lines were very long and since it was so hot out, I was not up to waiting in long lines. I ended up having Famous Dave’s — which is good but I could have just gone in to dine for that. The BBQ Pitmasters were there with a massive set up but had a line that never seemed to diminish. The food looked amazing but too hot to wait in line. What I could not believe is how many people waited in line for samples of random stuff. Why would I want a scoop of Nutella? MADNESS! I may have been there all of 30 minutes. I went, saw and conquered. Me+Heat = HECK NO! But definitely something to try. :-)

Went last year while I was visiting family. I thought it would be really cool to walk down Pennsylvania Ave eating BBQ – but there was so much more. First, the food. I wanted to get right to eating asap, so I got a pulled pork sandwich and I was off running. YUMMM!!! Checked out the contestants slow-​cooking their q – wasn’t able to taste but picked up some knowledge of how to make my own great barbecue. Some of these people do this all year round for a living and they know their stuff. Music was incredible – saw some funk band and a few blues bands – and got some free food and new product samples while I was walking around. Don’t have kids but I saw plenty having fun on some bungee ride and I’m not a sports fan, but my husband enjoyed the basketball action at the NBA tour area and going into the big interactive truck. So much food, so much music, free stuff, and don’t forget the BBQ!!! It was a really good time and I could see lots of other people were having fun, too. If I go back to DC and am there during that weekend I would go again for sure.

This event was pretty unimpressive. Not many food stands. The food that is there is overpriced and nothing special.
As a warning, the ticket you purchase to get in doesn’t really get you anything other than entry. Sure, you can wait an hour and a half in line to get samples, if there are any remaining, but they aren’t worth the wait.
Just be warned, if you are going there to eat, you’re better off just going to a BBQ restaurant.

A nice attempt by Safeway to appear neighborly… but what the hell did my $ 15 get me. Occasionally dollops of samples of everything but BBQ. That you had to pay for. And Safeway could only come up with one beer vendor and it had to be Amstel. Who the hell drinks Amstel?
Don’t get me wrong, the music acts were good and varied, but I remain bitter over the useless cover charge. I would have gladly spent that amount and more with the vendors if I didn’t feel so cheated. I will take it back by boycotting Safeway for several months (at $ 100 a week avg grocery bill). Hello Giant, or Whole Foods, or Shoppers, or Trader Joes…).
Of course it does benefit the Boys and Girls Club, but Safeway doesn’t even disclose (at least I couldn’t find it) how much of the entry fee goes to the charity.

I love this event and have gone every year for the past 4 years.
Yes it is hot (it’s in June!),
Yes it is crowded (it’s a festival)
Yes there are lines (especially if you come at peak times!)
But yes it is worth it!
You’ve got great free food samples everywhere and most of the lines move rather quickly; great BBQ options all consolidated in one place, the event benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs and the attractions are family AND young adult friendly. Let’s not even talk about the quality music!
This event is certainly a go to, with a rare Southern feel that is often hard to find in the district. My friends and I look forward to it every year, and with their 20^th anniversary coming up, I imagine they’ll pull out all the stops!
P. S. If you get there early you can skip all the lines!

Awesome, Just freaking Awesome.
Free stuff, great food, cool demos, S++t tons of people… free booze!
Any objections?
Also, go with a vegetarian so at the end of the hour long safe-​way tent line… you get DOUBLE the food, and its beyond worth the wait.
Last year (2010) it was 100+ degrees out… so if that happens again… watch out.

The secret to any major event is to get there early! People, listen and listen good! If you are going to an event that is advertised on the radio, at a major grocery store chain and at every local BBQ spot, you need to get there early! Plan… Sleep well… and Show up when the doors open. I went to Safeway and got a coupon for Buy one ticket, get one free. It is a Safeway event so if you want to get that discount, go to Safeway and pick up a pass.
I went there at 11:30 am and got free samples, and free drinks, watched demonstrations and casually walked around for the first hour. In fact, I was close to stuffed. The music is great too. There is a DC band search that is conducted for the event and they had music from funk, go-​go, cuban, and old school blues. After that I sat and enjoyed the jazz music then I got back up and ate more! It is a BBQ battle. They have BBQ. The food will be BBQ’ed. You will like the food if you like BBQ. If you aren’t a fan of BBQ, don’t go! If you dont respect the BBQ culture, don’t go. You’ll either be pissed off, or piss someone else off. And piss doesn’t go well with BBQ
We left at 3 after eating all the bbq we could handle. Upon leaving, we saw that the line for entry was wrapped around the corner. I shook my head in the «no no» direction. Anything free, requires planning. ANYTHING! If someone yelled, «free money all day» you wouldn’t show up at 9pm. You’d get there as soon as you knew about the announcement. Well instead of free money, they are yelling, «free samples, free smoothies, free bread, free chicken, free sausages, free bbq, free shakes.»

We got there at noon, so… early in my opinion. The line for the Safeway tent was ridiculous. Like, longer than the post office. But then when I looked at what was in the tent, I realized that people were waiting in line for samples of potato chips and apples. Why are you people at a bbq contest?
Anyway, the food was decent, but not amazing. It’s a mix of people, most of which I wouldn’t invite to my house for any reason. Also, sadly, there are lines for EVERYTHING.
Here’s what really miffed me: They don’t allow re-​entry. So, when you find that coveted parking spot 5 blocks away with two hour parking, hand in your ticket, and then get ready to head out to feed the meter and come back, that’s when you realize that they don’t do re-​entry. When I was entering, I asked if I need a ticket or a wristband, and they said that none were necessary.
This was at the 12^th st entrance. At the 14^th st entrance, my friends were able to leave and come back after feeding the meter, they just let the manager there know (as I tried to do at the 12^th st entrance).
Well, it looks like the Safeway BBQ Battle is run just like the Safeway stores — crappy.

Normally beer make everything worth it… not in this case
Terrible, horrible, not worth it and bummed i wasted my day on this.
The food was average. The lines were no less than 200 people for anything you wanted to sample. It was hot and crowded and people kept running into you and spilling your beer.
Save your time, and some aggravation and just don’t go.

I so want to give this event a great review. But I can’t. The truth is I had a pretty awful time. I paid $ 11.24 in advance on paypal. Then, I had to purchase food because the lines for free things were a one hour wait directly in the path of searing sun. I got a bbq chicken sandwich at Famous Daves for $ 7 just to tide me over. I also got ‘bowed in the head by some gangly arm Famous Dave employee who was trying to give some other people directions. Ouch.
I also had to purchase beverages. Three dollars (yes, you read right, $ 3!) for a Sierra Mist. The beverage lines were out of control. I thought I was going to pass out just waiting to pay for and purchase a beverage. The champagne and wine trucks were giving out samples: a «coffee-​creamer-​size» taste of champagne (or 3 different wines). Thanks for scanning in my driver’s license to taste that, although I did get some cool temporary tattoos.
The crowds were also out of control rude. Confused suburban families would group-​walk, 5-​across then all of a sudden stop right in the middle of the crowded street to gawk at a fried twinkie sign. Geez louise. Stroller people think they rule the world. And apparently liquored-​up, platted-​up, tatted-​up goons thought I was a cat because they kept hissing at me. Yuck.
The signal was totally worthless. No wifi, free or paid. The regular 3g signal was choking with all of those folks. Urgh. BBQ Battle «staff» walked around like Gods/​Godesses drinking beverages, eating multiple tastes, cutting lines, telling people what to do. If you were a bbq staff, you could go anywhere you want, get any food you want, taste any samples you want, drink anything you want.
I finally waited an hour in the Safeway tent for my free samples. Thanks for the micro-​tastes. (Actually, the two whole baby lamb chops I received WERE worth the price of admission. They were THAT good.) But then, I got shoo-​ed away from my seat because they had to set up for the awards ceremony. The final nail in the coffin: when I went to wash my hands at the «sanitation station»… pumped 2 or 3 fistfuls of soap onto my barbecue sauce coated hands… dam… the water was already turned off. I gave some ol’ BBQ staff dude at the back of some breaking-​down beverage tent «the-​wink-​and-​the-​gun» and he scrounged up some melted ice water for me to rinse my hands with. Thanks dude.
Ugh. Not coming back again… unless things dramatically change…

I had really high hopes for this. Maybe Food Network’s coverage of food competions and cookoffs has squewed me but this was not what I expected.
There was a short line when we arrived just prior to the opening. I’m really glad we showed when we did too because it got much longer shortly after we got in line. The line moved quickly once they were letting people in.
Once we were in we ‘battle’ we tried to talk to the competitors by that entrance. Let’s say they were into their thing and not into talking about what they were doing. We were not spies! We tried to ask sincere questions about what they were cooking and the equipment. I explained that we have a small smoker in our hard. I figured this was a good place to have a lovely chat from the people that really know this stuff. Well I guess no one else thought that way since one guy actaully walked away while we were talking to him.
Aside from the less than talkative competitors, there were plenty of samples and things to purchase. If you are interested in the food tent get in line EARLY. Bascailly get in the battle and then get in line. I doubt they would run out of food qucikly but the line is long and I imagine it is nice to get the line out of the way rather quickly. People bring cardboard ‘trays’ or plates with them to stack the samples on to. I found this both gross and smart. Why do you need to take every sample? Well that is a smart way to carry them!
There is live music and activites for kids. So it’s a fun for all sort of place… if you like food and heards of people scrambling for the freebies.

My friends were competing this year and we joined them on Sunday to show our support, as well as boil in the heat together. Despite all that, it was a really fun time! They had a tent, so we were shaded from the scorching sun.
They had made tons of meat and so we were not lacking for food. Bf and I also walked around the festival for a bit. One of the competitors was also providing samples of their whole hog. There was also samples of watermelon being passed out. There were a few bands playing and some video game/​dance stations set up.
The Safeway tent was really crowded, so we avoided that. We had a great time, but that was also in large part being able to be more than a spectator. Our friends came in 2^nd place in the chicken category!