BBQ with VIPs, Breakfast With The Beedle

Friday night was the kickoff for the annual BBQ and Fly-In at Excelsior and this was quite the first night, indeed. Every corridor of the streets were lined with competitors for the BBQ contest taking place on Saturday. This contest is a qualifier for the American Royal as well as a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sponsored event, KC’s Macdaddy barbecue showdown. The throngs grew with every minute and before long it seemed as if a record crowd was filling the streets. We had tickets for the VIP BBQ reception at the Hall of Waters and the Hall itself was rocking from one Art Deco flourish to the other. The outdoor terrace on one side was alive with a barbecue contest for the junior set and another terrace was humming with the sounds of a live band. We joined Brian and his newspaper staff for dinner. We savored our saucy BBQ and spicy baked beans and mostly, the bountiful business barreling through downtown. Thankfully, the BBQ contest rolled on after the BBQ masters were rocked by the crazy storms that knocked out power and brought some trees down overnight. Grand prize winners on Saturday were the hilariously named Political Pork.

Saturday morning, we had the distinct pleasure of sharing breakfast with The Beedle, aka Danene Beedle; marketing diva for the Missouri Wine and Grape Board and beloved friend. We met at Kansas City institution Winsteads for some fine diner-style grub. Its always a kick hangin’ in Danene’s personal orbit, as she is a vivid conversationalist and always a joy to be around. Danene has an excellent blog herself; chronicling all the deliciousness going on in central MO. We enjoyed catching up over Winstead’s perfectly cooked hash browns and nicely crisp bacon. We miss ya, Beedle….can’t wait to have you show us some Columbia eats.