Elkhorn Ribfest – Day 2
Day 2 of Ribfest kicked off at 11:00am and they had their first full day of food, music, and carnival rides. We didn’t arrive until about 4:45pm and there was a decent crowd. Upon arrival, we ended up walking through all of the BBQ vendors again just to take a look at their menus to be sure we didn’t miss anything yesterday.
What We Ate on Day 2
We knew we wanted to try some more ribs and one of our daughters wanted shrimp. The only stand that we saw selling shrimp was Desperado’s, so we decided to give their ribs a try. They had a 3-Meat Combination Meal, so we went with the ribs, brisket, and shrimp. It also came with coleslaw and beans. To the side of their stand, they have a few BBQ sauces that you can use: original, hickory, and spicy. We decided to take a small container of the hickory and spicy BBQ sauces. The first meat we tried was the brisket, which was shredded. Now, I’ll be honest, I usually like my brisket sliced, but this brisket was delicious. Full of flavor and no fatty pieces to be found. The ribs were lightly covered in BBQ sauce and the meat was literally falling off the bone; they were that tender and they were delicious! Pieces of the meat were also a little caramelized, which really enhanced the flavor. By the time I was ready to try the shrimp, my daughter had pretty much eaten them all, so I really only had a bite of one, but it was also pretty tasty. The beans and coleslaw were a hit for me, and both were a miss for my wife. We also preferred the spicy BBQ over the hickory.
Score for Desperado’s Combination Meal: 8.5/10
Right next to Desperado’s was Salt Creek Barbecue. Leah was looking for something different besides ribs and saw Texas Nachos listed on their menu, which were waffle fries, nacho cheese, and pulled BBQ pork. It was something different and sounded good, so we decided to give it a try. Leah enjoyed them and commented that she liked the BBQ pork. For me, they were a little disappointing. I am not a fan of the nacho cheese and really think they could have used a better cheese and topped it with some chives and sour cream to improve the fries. Good idea and concept but could have been better.
Score for the Texas Nachos from Salt Creek Barbecue: 7/10
A quick side note – for those with kids that might not want BBQ or for those parents that don’t want to spend a ton of money on food for their kids, the Walworth County FFA has a stand that sells grilled cheese and milkshakes. $4 each or 2 for $7. That right there is a deal, and it also supports a great cause in Walworth County.
After we ate, we decided to do a few rides with the kids. You can buy single tickets for $1 each, 22 tickets for $20, or you can buy a wristband for $30 and enjoy the rides for the day. Most rides are 2-4 tickets each. Parents, you also need tickets if you ride the ride with your little ones. I think we counted about 10 carnival rides at the event. The rides can get a bit expensive, but the kids really do enjoy them. One thing we noticed is that they only had one ticket booth and we both thought that the line for tickets might get a little long this weekend as the crowd increases.
It was a quick stop on Day 2, but it was another great night. The food was good, and the weather was perfect. We will say that some vendors did have some lines for food, but they seemed to move along quickly. They are calling for rain for part of the day tomorrow, but hoping it clears up so we can enjoy Day 3.