Smoke & Bones BBQ from Vancouver took the title for Canadian BBQ Grand Champion last weekend at Dusty’s Bar in Whistler. This competitive BBQ championship is a favourite on the Pacific Northwest BBQ circuit, drawing an eclectic group of BBQ fanatics, locals, tourists and even a honeymooning couple.

The Creekside base was filled with the scent of smoke – both from the extreme grilling and the wildfires that have swept the Sea to Sky area in recent weeks.

From pulled pork to burgers to ribs to chicken breast – Dusty’s was a sea of BBQ’d meat and buckets ‘o beer. If visitors weren’t tasting the many samples offered up by the various BBQ crews, they were ordering big buckets of ribs and other delicious goodies from Dusty’s, complete with the famous Butt Rub Mayo.

The sweltering heat plus the meat lead to more than a few cases of meat sweats. But, the cold beer and rockin’ cover bands kept the crowd going long into the night.

In the end, after a hard fought BBQ Battle, Smoke & Bones took the overall grand prize, but there were a variety of BBQ houses awarded in their respective categories.

One of the unique events was a wine pairing with pulled pork. A panel of food and wine experts from Whistler judged the Ravenswood Cork and Pork Classic Sunday morning. Wine and pulled pork isn’t your typical breakfast, but this seasoned crew handled it just fine. Ravenswood Zinfandel, a wine made in Sonoma, California, is acclaimed for pairing perfectly with grilled foods. This year, winemaker Joel Peterson came out especially for the event. Smoke and Bones BBQ also won the Cork and Pork Classic title, winning a trip for two to the Ravenswood vineyard.

For a full list of the winners visit this site.

As the BBQ judging wound down, the party hit fever pitch in true Dusty’s style as Journey blasted from the speakers and Jagger Bombs replaced ribs. The honeymooning couple from New Brunswick made friends with the drunk Australians and everyone was getting a little bit tipsy as the balmy evening progressed. From Butt Rub to BBQ to J-Bombs.

And that my friends, is how you celebrate the BC Day Long Weekend.

PUBLICATION: Whistler Is Awesome