Tricked By The Free Sample at the Troy Pig Out
pig out
Illium Ribs
Our trip to Troy, NY started with an annual tradition of beer and buffalo wings, and ended with the surprisingly impressive Troy Pig Out. I wasn't expecting our second BBQ Festival of the summer to match up to its Boston counterpart, but the Troy event was legit. There were tons of vendors, lots of cheap options and a fantastic all-you-can-drink soda station.But it wasn't all good at The Pig Out. We got duped by the oldest trick in the book - the free sample switcheroo.There were about 20 different restaurants set up at the Pig Out, and we did our due diligence before settling on a place to get our ribs. We took a full lap and bought a few fantastic sliders at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Capital Q Smokehouse, and grabbed a free sample from Illium Cafe.The sample was simply ridiculous. Delicious tender meat, seasoned with the perfect amount of an amazing dry rub. There was no sauce on it, and it didn't need any. It tasted like it had been smoked low and slow at the perfect temperature for days. It was the first sample we got when we walked in, and it stuck with us through our tour of the Pig Out.Naturally, when it came time to make a decision and decide where to get our ribs from, we went back to Illium. The only problem was that the ribs we got didn't exactly taste like the ribs we had sampled earlier in the day.The ribs were over-cooked and dried out, especially the end pieces. It was actually chewy, and tough to get through. We had one of those awkward moments where everyone sharing the ribs wanted to say it was disappointing, but nobody quite wanted to say it. But before we got through the rack we all had to admit it: we had been swindled by the old bait and switch.If only we'd known then what we know now: Illium's not even a damn BBQ restaurant! On the list of things they promote across the top of their website, we've got:
Free WiFi
Open for Breakfast
Gourmet Sandwiches
Soups
Specialty Coffees
Fresh Salads
Dinner
Note that nowhere on that list is ribs.The lessons here? First, you have a smart-phone for a reason - make sure the BBQ you're buying is from a BBQ restaurant. Second, and more importantly: the free sample nevertells the whole story - sampler beware.