By Captain Chaos

 

Greg Cross of Chillin’ and Grillin’ in the Glades was up against a wall this year.  Jamestown, TN planned a contest the same weekend as his contest and he had to make a decision.  Greg made the call and moved his contest one week later on the schedule.  We sure are glad that he did!  It was a great weekend for BBQ and the town of Wise, Virginia once again did not disappoint.  The folks in Wise are akin to those that we remember from Mayberry and the Andy Griffith Show.  Everyone from Mayor Smith and his wife to the fine folks that were handling the infrastructure were some of the nicest folks you would ever want to meet.

The weekend started off with a welcome reception in the beautiful Inn at Wise and teams were off to cooking BBQ.  Twenty-six teams put their best product on the line for the judges and Rocky Top Barbeque came out on top with the GC.  MABA’s own President Luke Darnell and Old Virginia Smoke brought home RCG honors.  It is this writers understanding that Luke owes the town of Wise a gift on Main Street next year?  Stay tuned for more on that next season!

The crowd thought there was a run on awards when Dirty Ol’ Butt Slappers took home top prizes in both Chicken and Ribs, but Rocky Top Barbeque and Wolf’s Revenge BBQ had something to say about that by winning the Pork and Brisket categories respectively.

The southern Virginia swing of the MABA schedule really is a lost gem on the calendar.  Covington, Wise and Galax put on 3 contests that you would not be disappointed in adding to your schedules.  Each are a week apart and make it easy to leave some gear down there and make the back and forth trip if you can manage it.

Looking forward to even bigger and better things from Wise in 2018!  Thanks to the Mayor and Greg for everything you do for BBQ!

Results:
Chicken – Dirty Ol’ Butt Slappers
Ribs –Dirty Ol’ Butt Slappers
Pork –Rocky Top Barbeque
Brisket – Wolf’s Revenge BBQ

RGC – Old Virginia Smoke
GC – Rocky Top Barbeque

Full KCBS results here.