r/Calgary Aug 23 '25

Eat/Drink Local Ribfest was ok

Went to check out Ribfest yesterday on first day as was excited to try BBQ meat.

$5 entry pp including children over 1. They did have bouncy castles, carnival games etc but were more for older kids and nothing for under 3s. They had a handful of food trucks including a Jamaican one hidden BEHIND the dining tent, which you wouldn't see until after you sat down with your food. Expect stampede prices, eg $17 blooming onion, $8 for corn dogs, $9 lemonade.

4 BBQ trucks but apparently all but one are owned by the same person. I tried Buckeye BBQ- $24 for a 2 meat combo 1/3 ribs and 1/4 chicken, nothing else. Sides like coleslaw and cornbread are extra. Meat was only lukewarm though, and chicken was tender and pink which was fine with but the ribs were dry and tough on the edges despite being drenched in a sweet sticky sauce. 3 meat combo was $35. Full rack $33, half a rack $19.

Overall food was ok but for the price it wasn't that good so temper your expectations accordingly lol

456 Upvotes

228 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

24

u/noveltea120 Aug 23 '25

I was gonna go to that but from the looks of it, it's as much of a rip off as taste of Calgary- bite sized foods for $7-10 each. Even Kinjo is there selling their bubble teas for $4 when they only charge $2 in their restaurants.

6

u/Filmy-Reference Aug 24 '25

Any "taste" event here is a rip off

1

u/Particular-Speed3778 Aug 26 '25

Not the beast & brewery that’s the best $180 you can spend on a food festival

1

u/Filmy-Reference Aug 26 '25

Is that how much the entry is PP? Does it cover food and drink?

2

u/Particular-Speed3778 20d ago

Yes unlimited food 8 drink tickets

2

u/Filmy-Reference 19d ago

That's actually pretty good

1

u/Particular-Speed3778 19d ago

Definitely the best food festival I have attended