Phantom Gourmet Bbq Beach Party

Yesterday I attended the «bbq beach party» in Rochester NH. One word… Gross. First off, the location is a desolate dirt bowl. Secondly, we ordered 2 different bbq plates from 2 different vendors. We threw away both plates after choking down a couple bites. I’ve eaten superior bbq from the frozen aisle at Costco’s. I will no longer believe anything The Phantom Gourmet puts their label on. The one and only good thing about attending was the one minute of pig racing.

It seems like many were dismayed that the BBQ moved from Boston to NH. But only the event organizers would be able to shed light on why the move… I haven’t heard anything. Perhaps cost was a factor?
This was my first time going. I grew up in Rochester so know the area well and drove up from Boston.
Parking was plentiful and free. Admission was only $ 5.00.
Since I hadn’t been before, I had no idea which vendor to choose so got in line for Lightning BBQ of Austin, TX. The wait was lengthy, but when I got my order, I was very pleased. For $ 13.00, I got a huge pulled pork sandwich and 2 meaty ribs and enjoyed both! Someone went by with a half-​order of ribs that was so big, those of standing in line thought it was a full order until we asked the man. I believe the highest priced item on the menu was a combination platter for $ 24.00 but it was a LOT of food.
Beer was Budweiser products and only $ 5.00 for a large cup. Way less than you’d pay at a ball game.
I enjoyed the band while waiting, and people in line were congenial and easy-​going. There were some small rides for children, and the kids all seemed pretty happy too.
Because bad weather was predicted for Sun., twice as many people came on Sat. This was a good decision because the weather forced the closing of the event on Sun.
I feel I got my money’s worth and had the lines been shorter, I would have gone back and got some ribs to bring home. That’s the only reason I gave 4 stars – very long lines – but again, I assume it was because way more customers than anticipated came on Sat.
I will definitely return next year if it’s in a similar location.

********** EVENT MOVED *********
Tri-​City Arena
72 Lafayette St.
Rochester Fairgrounds, NH
Review:
We’ve been visiting the BBQ Festival since it started, from City Hall to Suffolk Downs, and back again, but no more. Most of the Unilocalers comments are valid, however we have made the best of this event. We would arrive early on Friday afternoon, choose our favorite vendor, which happens to be Johnson’s out of Little Rock Arkansas. We would pick up lunch, usually ribs or a pulled pork sandwich. We would get two full racks of ribs wrapped in foil, not sauced, and two jars of Johnson’s original BBQ sauce, all to go. Eat lunch, and leave.
Unfortunately for now it seems those days are over unless you want to drive an hour or two, depending on where you live from the new location. This even has moved out of Boston for some unknown reason to a fairground in New Hampshire.

Dude. What’s everyone’s problem? I HAD A GREAT TIME HERE! I DON’T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!!! bring some dough and explore different bbq places! Eat your face out!

Around the New England area the Phantom Gourmet has earned a well deserved reputation for finding great eateries & dishes then presenting them in a very colorful way. So this is one of the main reasons this event is so disappointing. Reading past reviews had be ready for the fact that I may be be getting overpriced barbecue & having to wait in extremely long lines but the draw for me was to see the musical acts so I was mentally prepared.
Having gone to other events in city hall plaza I noticed a few things that made this one fall short. Door opened 30 minutes late due to a scanning error that was never resolved so the staff finally began ripping tickets. Understanding the current world we live in bag checks are the norm but having a quite oppressive 1′ x 1′ policy was a bit much plus it is totally missing a dimension. There were security staff stationed will the sole purpose of sending paying patrons down the street so they could could check in their bags for an additional $ 5.00. Then in bold letters the bag check in claimed they were not responsible for lost or stolen items. So why am I paying you five additional bucks for you cram my bag into a small tent & steal items without regard? The bag policy was not even expressed clearly on the website & with many people coming here straight from work it just smelled of greed to me.
Beyond my rant about policy there was the food. One thing that seems so glaring was the lack of anything local. No Redbones, no Blue Ribbon, no Harpoon, no Sam Adams. While I don’t doubt the awards these establishments claimed I was pretty clear from their set ups that these places were made to be portable & open virtually anywhere. Plus after looking at them I could not really tell each colorful place from another with slight variations on some dishes like shrimp & nachos in addition to the standard barbecue options. Plus by 7:30pm some of the stands had run out of food!!!
They only thing that saved the night was the Salt-​n-​Pepa concert which rocked. Probably will not come back to this event next year.

Even if this event had free admission, it is simply not worth the prices that the vendors are charging for ribs and other bbq items that have been sitting out for hours and side dishes that certainly do not appear or taste home made. Expect to pay over $ 30 per person for admission, something to eat and something to drink.

So I paid an extra $ 60 for the «privilege» of getting «free» «dinner,» i.e. $ 12 worth of extremely overpriced BBQ (just sandwich from most vendors, no side) and ability to buy $ 7 Anheiser beers? And I get to watch the band from the «VIP» area, which is to the far right of the stage, has no seating, but has a highly-​trippable sand area, which somehow constitutes a «beach party»?
Yeah, no. Never again.
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones were great; loved the show, but don’t be tricked into «VIP» tickets.

Many have already mentioned this, but this is simply overpriced. Most of these places charge $ 8 for a sampler of four ribs. Seriously?
The kicker is that I have had better here in the Boston area from local smokehouses. And these guys are winning awards? Well, maybe they are, but not with what they were handing me as «award winning ribs».
best ‘cue I have ever had was in Kansas City. This stuff would be the laughing stock of KC, no joke.
Why not one star? I got free tickets, that’s why. Had I paid $ 12/​head to get in here this would have been a bigger rip-​off than flushing my money down the toilet.

I am all for BBQ, do not, I repeat, DO NOT get me wrong. It’s one of my very favorite food groups. I intend to mention it on my epitaph. Unfortunately, like so many events that take place on City Hall Plaza, this BBQ Beach Party could be much, much better.
I’m not going to harp on other CHP events though. Nope, just this one. I attended last year with my office and planned to attend again this year. Everything presented on the website seemed to make clear that there was an entrance fee. So I and several co-​workers wasted some money on who knows what, because there is no entrance fee on Friday afternoons. THANKS FOR MAKING THAT CLEAR, WEBSITE. Not.
Then you get inside, and come on, it is already way hot out. Can’t invest in some tents, beach umbrellas, or even misters to keep those of us waiting for bbq cool? Each vendor has a different set-​up, some more efficient than others. Just kidding, no one seems to be very efficient. It’s a bummer, because damn, I love BBQ. But by the time I got up to the front of the line, I was sweaty and hangry and pretty bummed about wasting my entire 30 minute lunch break in line.
Odds are, I’ll still go next year, because there is a serious dearth of BBQ in the Government Center sector. But I’ll definitely complain loudly about it.

Went on Friday during free admission hours. Was expecting a bunch of BBQ vendors and the chance to sample a bunch of BBQ. Was not going to happen. Why? First of all, the lines were already very long at most or all of the vendors by the time I got there. I ended up waiting 20 minutes in 90+ degree heat (all lines I could see were in direct sun, no shade).
Then, the prices. I chose a ‘sampler’ and added beans, bread and slaw. I was expecting a sampler — you know, like ribs, brisket, and chicken, and maybe some great cornbread and home made slaw. Nope! Got three ribs, a quarter cup of store bought slaw, a store bought bread roll, and a quarter cup of beans. Ribs were very good, but still a complete ripoff for $ 11, but that’s just my own opinion. Top top it off, the place I went to had only 2 people taking orders, they used a manual cash register, no credit cards accepted (thanks for the convenience!) and they had to hand write out the receipt. They were just sloooow — no one hustling to get food out.
In my book, good BBQ should mean healthy portions at really reasonable prices. So if I had brought my family there for the same thing, I would have paid $ 44 for the privilege of standing in blistering heat for a total of 12 ribs. No drinks included in this price. And if I wanted to actually get samples from multiple places, not only would the price have been extravagant but the line waiting would have been impossible.
This marks the first and last time I will ever attend a Phantom event I think. BTW, I’m marking not good for kids because my own experience as a parent is that my kids never would have waited in the lines and heat for food.

I won 2 tickets to this event from a contest on Phantom Gourmet’s twitter feed. So, I don’t have the same problem that other reviewers had, of paying $ 10 per ticket and not receiving anything for that, except admission to the event.
It’s important to know before attending this event that no outside beverages may be brought inside, and bags are all checked at the entrance. There is also no readmission to the event. As other reviewers have mentioned, all food purchased at the event is an additional charge.
All the food vendors are cash only, but there is a Bank of America ATM inside of the event, so you don’t have to leave to get cash.
Since beverages inside are a bit price-​gougey, ($ 3 for water, $ 4 for soda, & $ 5 for beer) I recommend not buying any beverages at the event, but walking across the street to CVS after you leave to buy a drink.
My husband & my strategy was to walk around and see all the menu choices at the different vendors before we waited in any lines. We wanted to try food from vendors that are from other states, since their food is different than what we can get anytime in MA.
I got a delicious pulled pork sandwich from Johnny B’s Just North of Memphis BBQ and pulled pork nachos (yes, they tasted great!) from Jack’s Down Home Barbecue. The pulled pork sandwich was $ 8 and the pulled pork nachos were $ 9.
There are multiple seating areas available, and we chose to go to the family beverage area on the 2^nd floor plaza level of city hall so we could have a birds eye view of the BBQ Beach Party as we enjoyed our lunch.
The downside for me was the sand that was brought in for the 21+ beverage area. Today was a breezy day, so the sand was blown from the 21+ area and into the faces of anyone looking in that direction. I was concerned my glasses would scratch, so I tried to stay away from that section for the rest of the time I was at the event. I get that the sand is what makes it a «beach party» but really, it’s more of a pain that it’s there than it adds to the event.

I was excited when I heard about the BBQ Beach Party cookoff on the radio. Normally I would have done some research but I couldn’t imagine how BBQ & beer could let me down. I still can’t. I’m dumbfounded. We asked what the $ 10 admin price included & the guy said: «Nothing.» He could have said Live Music but to tell the truth, the Band? Howl At The Moon? Really bad covers. Nothing: says it all. With all the great music in this town they chose these guys. I don’t get it. When I first arrived I was surprised at how uninviting the whole set up was. Completely fenced in with guards going thru my purse. They called it a Beach Party but the only thing «Beach» I found was the sun & me sweating. No water activities just a 2 story ferris wheel. The smell was fantastic & I would have loved to sample all the offerings but it was, for some reason, designed not to be. The lines were long but what was most deterring was the price & size of everything. How can you do a taste test when the smallest portion is 3 ribs for $ 9? It was pretty ridiculous. One thing I was impressed with was all the recycle bins until I discovered those were the only trash cans. The music was crap, the BBQ was mediocre and in the end, no one won. I will throw my own BBQ Beach Bash with my own grill & blow-​up pool from now on.

the Andleman ‘s bbq robbery ! the mayor let them do it to us ! Here is why i am pissed. ok 10.00 to go in. then they charge you 7 – 8 dollars for 3 small ribs. a dinner is 12, ½ slab 12. so i am standing in line for 20mins to ½ hr with sweat dripping down my back waiting. why the hell am i here ?? i thought i would get to try some different foods. $ 4 .00 sodas. so i eat at 2 places, got a slush 3.00. THIS IS A RIP OFF AND SUCKED TO NO END ! SO 10 + 14+3= 28.00 TO EAT ABOUT 2.00 WORTH OF FOOD. I would not go again and not recomd it. then the over 21 show, beer tent. didn’t bother but all i heard was a loud mouth singer swearing and doing what he wanted, he was in totally in bad taste, when saying he’s sorry. what a freak’n idiot. boozer. you guys took my money now .i think its over priced and a event to help your egos. shame on you mayor ! is this ripoff for the people.

Wow. I should have learned my lesson from a previous Phantom Gourmet event I had attended in 2008, but the nice weather and the free tickets to this one provided by the lovely Jen H. made me ignore my previous experiences. Secretly, I was hoping that this event would be a step up from the previous one, a similar event which took place at Suffolk Downs. But nope, the Andleman «Fraud» Brothers struck again, this time with yet another disappointing and extremely expensive ‘beach party’
Note: Having the event on 0.0001% of sand doesn’t quality as a beach party. We had to look all over to find the so-​said sand. There wasn’t much of it. Might want to skip it all together next time.
Oh but I digress… Anyways, we went to the event on a Saturday afternoon and after walking in, we perambulated amongst the various BBQ stands in search for the first one to hit up. There were all kinds of rigs, from Texas BBQ ones to this one from Australia, one from Carolina and a bunch of others. Nestled in there as well was a stand that served up whoopie pies, another that dished out grilled corn and even one which sold the world’s ‘best watermelon’.
While the selection was decent I did have many issues with the event. First off, it was extremely expensive. You essentially have to pay for every single thing out there and if one were to want to sample a bit of everything, at $ 8 a pop for a few, mediocre, cold ribs or a small pulled pork sandwich, it all adds up very quickly. And by quickly, next thing you know you’ll be hitting up the mobile Bank of America ATM they setup a couple of times. Or once if you’re lucky.
While I have no problem with the concept of paying for food and didn’t expect things to be free, I do find it ridiculous to pay so much considering the quality of what is served there. The various BBQ rigs as swarmed with so much traffic that they overlook quality and only focus on profit and trying to serve as many people as they can as fast as they can. The food isn’t always warm and isn’t always plated nicely. It’s kind of ludicrous if you ask me and a real shame. I was hoping for some top notch ribs and various other BBQ delectables and was served lukewarm crap.
The festival is an excuse for traveling BBQ professionals to charge people $ 8 for 3 ribs, or $ 6 for a mediocre pulled pork sandwich. Or even $ 5 for a cup of watermelon. It’s outrageous.
They also have two «adults only» sections which served beer — but the beer selection was also pitiful. Bud and bud light only. And at $ 8 a pop, it’s just as steep of a price as one you’d get at the TD Garden or Fenway Park. So much for fun… Oh and once you’re in a section, they don’t let you back out with your beer, you have to consume it on the spot. And you get ID’d again when you try to get back in it, regardless of the bracelet you are given in the first place. It’s stupid.
All and all, I can safely say that I will never again partake in even put together by the Andleman Brothers. Much like their weekly show, their events are a complete joke.
On the upside, I did survive a ride on the most rickety-​assed ferris wheel I’ve ever seen…