Delicious Food at the Gastown BBQ & Chili Festival

I checked out the Gastown BBQ and Chili Festival on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, hoping to sample some of the BBQ and Chili in a cook-off between twelve restaurants. Saturday was the BBQ but unfortunately, I arrived too late and all the food tickets were sold out. I did walk around and take a few photos (see below). Everything on the grill looked and smelled so good, my mouth was watering!

I managed to make it back to Gastown on Sunday to the Chili cookoff. This time, I made a beeline for the food tickets. Tickets were priced at 1 for $2.25 or 10 for $20. It was a little pricey to me given the small sample size, but some proceeds also go towards a charity, Athletics 4 Kids. I only purchased four sample tickets, and had to pick the most delicious looking chilis.

I decided to try the chili's from last year's winner (Rogue), last year's People's Choice winner (Calabash), The Blarney Stone (since they are the host), and Save on Meats. Out of the four, Save on Meats definitely had the best chili. It was very hearty with chunks of meats and corn, and it wasn't spicy, which I really liked!

This is the first year that The Blarney Stone hosted the Gashtown BBQ and Chili Festival, but based on the success of the weekend, I think the festival will likely happen again next year, so if you missed out this weekend, keep your eyes peeled next summer!

Flipping those patties!

Constructing a slider.

Looks delicious!

On fire!

Chicken wings.

More chicken wings.

The street was crowded with people sampling the BBQ.

Money went towards the Athletics for Kids charity.

On Sunday, I was able to get four food taster tickets!

The first chili I tried was from Save On Meats.

I thought it was the best chili out of the four I sampled. Not spicy, very thick and hearty. It's got my vote!

Chili from Rogue, sprinkled with parsley and cheese. This was a little too spicy for me!

The Blarney Stone chili. They also threw in a tiny piece of chicken.

There were a lot of beans, but it was really runny, which I didn't really like.

Chili from Calabash - lots of meat inside. There were a lot of spices in it too, which gave it a different flavour.

Calabash served their chili with a fried coconut dumpling, which tasted sweet and really helped cut down the spiciness of the chili!

Again, the streets were crowded with Chili eaters!

Both days, there was a band performing and people dancing in the streets!