Is it better to have smoked and lost, than to never have smoked at all?


Philosophers have been asking themselves this question since, I think, the beginning of time.

While taking 1st place in Salmon is no small feat, to finish 23rd overall (out of 30), was, to be sure, a huge let down for the Smoker and his Bandits at the Central Market Cookoff this past weekend.

The other two catagories, pork butt and ribs, proved to be a perplexing riddle for the gang that prides itself on both.

Shots Fired! came away with the top prize, and the Smoker was left scratching his head as to what tricks he's going to need to pull out of his sleeve up in Whistler in August.

Now, if you've ever tasted The Smoker's butt, (and who hasn't), it's hard to imagine a tastier one. Could the Seattle Cops that comprise Shots Fired! really have that much tastier of a butt?

Hard to believe. And the ribs! So delicate, tender, and beautiful to look at. What went wrong? Who's to blame? What were the judges thinking? Were they high?

No, because if they were, their tasted buds would have perfectly primed for the Bandit's butt (and ribs).

All an all, it was pleasant, if uneventful day, with plenty of rookie BBQers laboring over underflavored and overcooked peices of pork on the weber grills they dusted off and hauled out of their backyards.

There were hordes of onlookers elbowing each other out of the way for a scrap of pork on a toothpick or a free rib. Humanity can get no uglier than when free food is handed out.

So it's back to the drawing board for the crew. We will see you rat bastards in Whistler!