Grayslake man wins Lake Villa Township rib contest
Grayslake resident Brian Everett bested seven other hungry competitors Saturday to win the first Lake Villa Township Winter Ribfest rib-eating competition.
When the 3-minute eat-all-the-barbecue-you-can event at Caboose Park was over, Everett didn’t exactly sound like a champion.
He sounded ... full.
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Everett, 24, said. “It’s not quite as easy as I thought.”
The competitors were given two dishes of ribs, each weighing 1½ pounds. Everett emptied one dish, a feat no one else accomplished.
Everett wasn’t the only person who ate his fill Saturday. The third-annual outdoor event featured professional and amateur barbecue cooks from throughout the Chicago area, and they made ribs, chicken wings, Italian sausages, jambalaya and other delectable dishes for the people who braved freezing temperatures and a strong wind to attend.
Lorrie Tinsley was part of a cooking team dubbed “The Big Ribowski,” an homage to the cult film “The Big Lebowski.”
The group’s two kinds of ribs — one with a sarsaparilla-flavored sauce and one with a coffee and Kahlua rub — honored the Coen Brothers’ film, too.
They even had a seating area decorated with bowling-ball bags and a rug, all nods to the movie.
“We watched it again this week to catch up,” Tinsley said.
Elsewhere, former Grayslake Mayor Tim Perry was part of a group called “Baby Back Bankers.” His group’s specialty was something he called “8-pound chili.”
“There’s 8 pounds of meat in it,” Perry said of the dish, which included hamburger, Italian sausage, beans and Guinness beer among its ingredients.
Back at the eating contest tent, organizers said the contestants could take their leftovers home when the gorging was over. Some did.
Not Everett, who wasn’t interested in eating any more ribs.
“Maybe tomorrow,” he said.