Eastwood Rib Fest serves it up spicy
By Jordan Cohen
NILES
What makes one barbecued rib stand out from the others? At the Eastwood Rib Fest, people lining up to purchase the sauce- covered, smoky-flavored slabs of meat Saturday knew exactly what they wanted with their first bite.
“It’s got to have a spicy and sweet sauce and be nice and meaty,” said Dawn Harrison of North Lima, who said she was attending her first rib fest at the mall.
“I don’t want anything that is overcooked or a bone I have to gnaw on to get the meat.”
“I want tenderness and sauce that’s just a little spicy,” said Patty Livingston of Champion, accompanied by her son, Tom Peterson of Mineral Ridge and his 3-year old daughter, Madison.
“It’s got to have the food quality and be really good,” said Peterson as he and his family compared tastes from two of the show’s seven rib vendors.
Aubrey McDonald of Spartanburg, S.C., home of Carolina Rib King, a returning vendor at this year’s festival, thinks he knows how to satisfy those tastes.
“We use a rub, cook the ribs in the back for four hours and finish them off on the grill,” said McDonald as he grilled two slabs of 12 ribs each. “Then you’ve got it nice and fresh.”
Carolina owner Solomon Williams said the sauce should be the right combination of spices, and it takes time to get it right.
“I developed mine over the years, and it works best on a meaty tender rib with a little color,” said Williams who said he has been on the rib circuit for 16 years.
Buyers have been encouraged to vote for the vendors with the best ribs and best sauce. Winners will be announced later today at the close of the show.
The rib fest, formerly the Mahoning Valley Rib Burnoff, has been successful for vendors such as Williams, who has made the four-day event a regular fixture on his summer circuit.
“We’ve had at least eight shows here in the last 12 years, and we keep coming back because it’s been good for us,” Williams said.
A large tent provided a dining area as well as shade from the sun and Saturday’s upper-80s temperatures. That’s where Kim Szabo, Austintown, and her 8-year-old daughter, Nikki, enjoyed their ribs.
“I want my sauce to be mild and sweet with the meat falling off the bone,” Szabo said, but her daughter offered an even more specific criterion that may sum it up for every rib connoisseur:
“They have to be yummy and make me happy,” she said.
The rib fest has been a fixture outside Eastwood Mall for 27 years. In addition to the food and drinks, it features afternoon and evening performances by area bands. The gate opens at noon today, and the event ends its run at midnight.