THUNDER BAY - With fingers licked and the bones brushed aside, meat lovers celebrate another successful year for Ribfest.
The 5th annual three day festival wrapped up on Sunday with a downtown Port Arthur restaurant walking away with the top local ribber prize.
Portside Restaurant in the Prince Arthur Hotel earned the top spot for head chef Michael Ellchook’s Forty Creek style ribs.
“I don’t know his secrets,” said Tony Scarcello, general manager of the Prince Arthur Hotel. “I wish I did. I have to give all credit to our chef, Michael, or Haus. He knows all the secrets.”
Portside has been in the running for top rib in previous years, but this is the first time they took home the top prize. And Scarcello said it is well deserved.
“Thanks to our executive chef, Haus, he’s the mastermind behind these ribs,” he said. “The meat comes right off the bones quite nicely. It’s nice and tender and moist and it’s got a little bit of a kick to it, but it’s great.”
For Travis Caldwell, who keeps returning to Ribfest year after year, all the ribs have a special place in his heart.
“Hands down, these are the best ribs I have all year,” Caldwell said.
According to Caldwell, it’s the dedication of the ribbers that makes the ribs so special and so good.
“Seeing as how they go around Ontario competing, they are trying to be the best, so they are really working on getting those sauces proper and they work hard on it and I think they deserve it,” he said.
Daniel Prystanski, who was helping out on the grill at the Sweet Smoke BBQ booth, said that one of the best things about ribs is there are so many different ways to prepare them.
“There’s all different kinds of methods,” he said. “Boiling, smoking, cooking it in the oven. Whatever you like the best. Everybody has their different preferences.”
No matter what the preferences are, people just keep coming back.
“They’re loving it,” Prystanski said. “It’s nice and tender, the meat just falls off the bone.”
Samantha Lauersen keeps has been coming to Ribfest for the past three years, and it’s the ribs that keep bringing her back.
“I like the sweet taste,” she said. “The sweetness of the rib.”
Lauersen added that Ribfest has been a great addition to the city of Thunder Bay.
“I think it is a really good idea,” she said. “I think the city needs a lot of events like this to get people out and mingling. It’s good.”
Scacello agreed, saying that events like Ribfest help draw people to the city, which can be a real boon for local businesses.
“Ribfest is a great event for us,” he said. “It brings people from out of town. For the whole city it’s a great festival. We need to have more festivals like this throughout the year.”
