(Opinion) FSJ Eats with Ed – Ribfest edition: A tale of beef briskets and fried Oreos

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Apart from Canada Day and New Year’s Eve fireworks, is there a bigger local event in Fort St. John than Ribfest?

There has been a swelling of support for the – quite literal – meat market since first coming to Fort St. John in 2020, organized by the Rotary Club of Fort St. John.

For three days, people have the option of throwing their conventional diets out the window and their waistlines out of whack, as residents congregate at Centennial Park to eat ribs, beef briskets, blooming onions, live music and only the finest of deep-fried desserts.

Unfortunately, due to my financial (awaiting pay day) and dietary (I can’t eat pork) constraints, you’re only getting an abbreviated version of what was offered from the four different meat vendors: Billy Bones BBQ, Blazin BBQ, Buckeye BBQ and Silver Bullet BBQ.

After selecting Billy Bones and Blazin BBQ to taste some of their fares, I present FSJ Eats with Ed – Ribfest edition.

Beef brisket sandwich

Each vendor offered a beef brisket sandwich, doused in barbecue sauce, complete with an order of beans and coleslaw as a side, complemented by cornbread.

The first bite into the Blazin BBQ sandwich wasn’t sweet enough, like the brisket had been hanging on to be picked for dear life. Perhaps it was by the time I got there?

Billy Bones BBQ sandwich offered a little extra: it was a little more tender, a little more juicy. 

Round one goes to Niagara Falls-based Billy Bones.

Now onto the baked beans. I liked the smoky taste of Blazin BBQ’s beans, which were consistent in texture and had a lovely aftertaste. Billy Bones was ordinary, definitely not bad, but the taste complemented the sandwich.

Round two goes to Blazin BBQ, a truck the event’s website described as offering treats that promise a “mouth-watering, finger-licking good time.”

Since coleslaw all tastes the same (at least to me), it’s up to the cornbread to decide the winner of this beef brisket battle.

Unfortunately, Billy Bones didn’t offer me any cornbread. Blazin BBQ wins by default.

Sandwiches on the Ed-o-dometre: Billy Bones, four stars out of five. Blazin BBQ, 4.25 out of five.

Deep-fried Oreos

As I mentioned earlier, financial constraints limited my choices at this year’s event. However, an angel came in the form of an aspiring filmmaker.

Identifying herself as Katie, I was offered a voucher toward a dessert or blooming onion as a means of supporting the event.  

Being a guy with a sweet tooth, I was definitely going for the deep-fried variations of childhood favourites, like deep-fried Snickers, cheesecake, Oreos and Mars chocolate bars.

Each was offered with the choice of four different sauces, and I chose Oreos with chocolate sauce.

While I have been critical of deep-fried confectioneries before, this one was different: like a cornfritter or a pancake and an Oreo if they had a lovechild.

Ed-o-dometre score: 4.5 out of five. 

Fort St. John Ribfest took place from July 11th to 13th at Centennial Park. Find out more here.

Read more food reviews from FSJ Eats with Ed here.