Recap: A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quick-fire

You couldn't have asked for a more beautiful, sunny day for A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quickfire at Liberty Land's park in Northern Liberties.

Shannon Dougherty and Liz Petersen, owners of A Full Plate Café always make sure their cook-off competitions are vegetarian-friendly with a buffet of veggie sides and at least one vegetarian cook-off category.

This year the ladies added a vegetarian quickfire, à la Top Chef, where contestants were tasked to create a dish from a table of vegetables and kitchen staples. It was a mad dash to raid the table I hear (as a judge, I stayed away from the fest until my services were needed in order to keep the judging blind) , then back to the grills for intense cooking.

Nine teams, both professional and amateur, competed in the vegetarian quickfire. Each dish was so different from the next, and they were all delicious. There were a few standout, though, all of which came from amateur teams!
This grilled watermelon gazpacho with cilantro and jalapeno oil from amateur team Pork Sword was perfectly balanced and absolutely delicious. Not sure if I've had a better gazpacho from a restaurant!
Amateur team Kimball Street put up an excellent caramelized onion, mushroom, cheese and basil flat bread with a perfectly grilled crispy crust, and harmonious toppings.

This eggplant curry from amateur team The Girls From Ipanema was totally unexpected from a grilling competition, and, man, was it good! This dish put to shame the curry dishes I ordered last week from a restaurant I shall not name.
With more room in my stomach, I moved directly from the judges tent to the buffet of sides from A Full Plate and desserts from Flying Monkey Bakery. The women behind A Full Plate and Flying Monkey do not scrimp on free food!

I had a great time judging the event, and think it's pretty cool that A Full Plate puts on cooking competitions that everyone — meat eaters and vegetarians — can enjoy. Don't miss next year's!

Update on winners:

Veggie Quickfire
1st - North Bowl (Professional)
2nd - Darlings Diner (Professional)
1st - Kimball Street (Amateur)
2nd - The Girls From Ipanema (Amateur)

Ribs
1st - Kyber Pass Pub (Professional)
2nd - The Blind Pig (Professional)
1st - Pork Sword (Amateur)
2nd - Rack Attack (Amateur)

Anything Goes
1st - Sonata Restaurant (Professional)
2nd - Khyber Pass Pub (Professional)
1st - Pork Sword (Amateur)
2nd - Kimball Street (Amateur)

Crowd Favorite (Best Dish of the Day)
Sonata Restaurant

A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off and Vegetarian Quick-fire

It's time for A Full Plate's 5th Annual Rib Cook-Off, and you all should come out. Especially vegetarians!



Professional and amateur teams will be judged on three categories — ribs, "anything goes", and vegetarian quickfire.



Vegetarian quickfire, you say? Yes! Similar to what you have seen on Top Chef and other TV food competitions, teams will be given a mystery box of vegetables from local farms, and tasked with grilling/smoking a vegetarian dish.



The $20 all-you-can-eat extravaganza includes food prepared on-site by competing teams, a buffet of vegetarian sides provided by A Full Plate, and sweets provided by Flying Monkey Bakery. Bottomless cups from Philadelphia Brewing can be purchased separately for $15.



A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Teens 4 Good, which works with youth to transform vacant lots into urban gardens/farms.



This truly is one of my favorite food events in Philly, because A Full Plate really does look out for and love vegetarians. I'll be there judging the vegetarian quickfire, so stop by and say,"Hi."



Stick around, as Northern Liberties Fall Music Fest kicks off after the cook-off is done. Gonna be a great day!



A Full Plate 5th Annual Rib Off and Vegetarian Quick-Fire

Sat., Sept. 10, 11am, rain or shine

Liberty Lands Park, 926 N. American St, Philadelphia, PA 19123

$20 all-you-can-eat

Recap: A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of being a judge at A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-off at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties. I've judged before for A Full Plate's Rib Cook-off (look for that event some time later this year), and it's always a good time to get outdoors and critically rate food with fellow food lovers, whether you're on a judging panel or part of the crowd casting your vote for people's favorite.

The great thing about A Full Plate's cook-offs is that they don't leave out the vegans and vegetarians. Competitors in the chili cook-off were strongly encouraged to make a vegan chili for the event (most did), and A Full Plate's buffet of sides also had vegan and vegetarian offerings.Before it was time to judge, I had the boy get me a plate of mac and cheese and a seitan-based hot dog made by Shannon Dougherty, co-owner and chef of A Full Plate. All of the chili that came my way at the judging table was good, but one stood out far above the others, at least in my eyes — the chili with black beans and tempeh topped with fried tofu and scallions. When judging, we have no idea of which team made what chili, and we aren't allowed to walk around the main event prior to judging, so after I was done with my official duties I made my way around the tables to find out who made my favorite chili.

It was Kraftwork. Good job guys!

Yet, Kraftwork's vegan chili didn't win any awards, despite my awarding them high scores. Shouldn't the vegetarian's vote count more? Just kidding. I'm all for fairly tabulated results.
Above is the first place trophy awarded to Darling's Diner for their vegan chili. Second place in the vegan chili category went to PYT.

All winners:

Red chili, professional
1st - Higher Grounds Café
2nd - PYT

Red chili, amateur
1st - Pork Barrel Politics
2nd - Bigg Rigg

White chili, professional
1st - PYT
2nd - Kraftwork

White chili, amateur
1st - Bigg Rigg
2nd - Pork Barrel Politics

Vegan chili, professional
1st - Darling's Diner
2nd - PYT

Vegan chili, amateur
1st - I Wanna Hallucinate Too
2nd - Chili That Will Get You Lei'd

People's Choice
1st - Higher Grounds Café
2nd - Darling's Diner

Reminder: Chili Cook-Off

This Saturday, June 11th at the Liberty Lands park, I'll be judging the vegan entries at A Full Plate Cafe's first ever Chili Cook-Off, and you should come out for the festivities, too!

For $10 you get to sample chili, and for $15 you get a bottomless cup of Philadelphia Brewing Co. beers. The beer cup is good for the cook-off *and* the Northern Liberties Music Fest that follows.

Professional teams include: Darling's Diner, PYT, Higher Grounds Cafe, Kraftwork, and more!

A Full Plate's 1st Annual Chili Cook-Off

After four years of hosting a rib cook-off, Shannon Dougherty and Liz Petersen of A Full Plate Café have decided to host a chili cook-off (don't worry, the rib cook-off will go down this year at a later date) Saturday, June 11 from noon to 3pm at Liberty Lands Park.

First, second, and "peoples' choice" prizes for both amateur and professional teams will be awarded in three categories of chili: red, white, and vegan.

If you think you've got a killer chili recipe and want to prove it, you'll need to pony up $25 to compete, and get an application in by Friday, June 3 at 4pm. To view the official rules and application form, visit A Full Plate's Chili Cook-off Facebook event page, or email info@afullplate.net.

Just want to eat chili? Come ready to rumble at high noon! Admission is $10 for adults and kids over 12, $6 for kids (5 and under are free), and allows all-you-can-eat samples of chili, and, of course, the always awesome A Full Plate buffet of veggie sides.

I will be one of the judges in the vegan chili category, so bring it!

A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off

Scenes from last year's event.

Hey, veggie kids, wanna go to an outdoor rib cook-off where you can actually eat something?

Get yourself on over to A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off this Saturday, September 11, at Liberty Lands Park in Northern Liberties, where professional and amateur teams grill up a vegetarian dish for competition, in addition to ribs and chicken.

A Full Plate Café will provide an all-vegetarian buffet of sides, and Flying Monkey Patisserie will provide sweet eats.

Stick around for the Northern Liberties Music Festival, which immediately follows the cook-off, and is also held in Liberty Lands Park.

I had a blast at last year's cook-off as a veggie judge and can attest to all the good food, but heed my warning: cook-offs are not events to show up to fashionably late! Hundreds of savagely hungry people line up waiting for the doors to open, and when the food is gone, it's gone.

A Full Plate's 4th Annual Rib Cook-Off
Liberty Lands Park - 3rd and Wildey streets
Saturday, September 11
Doors open at noon
$20 all-you-can-eat

I Got Ribbed Off

The rain stayed away and the crowds came out for the all-you-can-eat ribs, brisket, and other grillables from local professional and amateur teams at A Full Plate's Annual Rib Cook-Off this past Saturday, and what a great time it was!

FYI, the "I Got Ribbed Off" in the title of the post refers to the cute bovine T-shirts with the same saying being sold at the event.
All teams were required to grill ribs, so there were lots of those to be had, although some teams ran out of food quickly with the hungry people chowing their way full force through the crowd. Ribs, Brisket, Anything Goes, and Vegetarian were the four categories teams could enter into the judging, and, let me tell you, the food went fast!

As a judge for the Professional Vegetarian category (there was also an Amateur Vegetarian category), I wasn't allowed in the festival area so as to keep my peepers off the goods and keep the blind judging truly blind, so when my duties were over and I did get a peek at the competitors' tables, much of the food was already gone!
A Full Plate kept the buffet sides and desserts coming, though. E's mini red velvet cupcakes are too cute, and her oatmeal creme pies are one of my all-time favorite desserts she makes. Coleslaw, mac and cheese, baked beans, and brussel sprout salad were a few of the items off the all-vegetarian buffet we picked up.
Carnage from the Professional Vegetarian judging table.

Being a judge in the Professional Vegetarian category was a lot of fun, but I took the job seriously, thoughtfully scoring each entry on presentation, creativity, and taste. I think the Vegetarian category and the Anything Goes category (didn't judge Anything Goes) were truly the most interesting, with each entry being so different from the next. These categories weren't just plate of ribs, one after the other. Vegetarian and Anything Goes were where the grill masters could really use their creativity and bring something special to the table.

With first and second place winners in both amateur and professional divisions of four categories (Ribs, Brisket, Anything Goes, and Vegetarian), as well as a people's choice award, my little, end-of-the-day, non-note-taking brain just can't remember who won what, except for the category I judged and the people's choice award (that award went to Sonata), so you'll just have to wait for the official announcements. (Updade: and here they are.)
Tower Investments took home the second place prize in the Professional Vegetarian category with a grilled vegetable sandwich that was truly delicious -- and I encounter many grilled veggie sandwiches. Who'd a thunk a property developer could turn out good grub!
Q BBQ and Tequila took home the first place prize in the Professional Vegetarian category with grilled caramelized onions and mushrooms with toasts topped with herbed and sweetened goat cheese. This really was the tastiest vegetarian dish of the day in my opinion (and apparently others'), and Q deserved the win.

No pictures or prize, but Mermaid BBQ, 2008's first place rib winner and people's choice winner, made tiny bbq seitan sliders topped with chunky blue cheese dressing that was simple, but delicious. If I had the power (sadly, I have none) to grant a third place prize, I'd award it to Mermaid Barbecue.

I had a lot of fun and can't wait til next year! Check out a few more of my pics on Flickr.