Sandy Springs Teams Big Winners At Atlanta Kosher BBQ Fest

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — The Sandy Springs Police Department Blue Smoke team smoked the best brisket, and the new City Springs in downtown Sandy Springs won kudos from the 3,500 barbecue fans who attended the 6th Annual Kosher Atlanta Kosher BBQ Festival and Competition there on Sunday.

The Brisketeers of Lodge Carmel, Hebrew Order of David, based at Congregation B’nai Torah in Sandy Springs were Grand Champions among the 20 teams that spent the previous night smoking brisket, ribs and chicken and cooking chili. We Don’t Give a Ham and Limp Brisket/Grillers Pride took second and third, respectively, in the overall competition.

Another Sandy Springs synagogue team, the Sons of Barbequers from the Congregation Or Hadash Men’s Club, had the best chili in the competition.

“The win for the Brisketeers was very special, and we feel honored to have participated in support of such a worthy philanthropic event,” said team captain Charles Goldberg. “Our primary goal for participating has always been to raise money for several amazing charities in Atlanta and to bring Atlanta’s Jewish community together.”

The other winners in the food categories that were judged for the competition were Limp Brisket/Grillers Pride for ribs and We Don’t Give a Ham for chicken.

BBQ’N Hebrew Hillbillies won the celebrity judges’ vote for the best booth, and Bubbe-Q from JELF won the best name vote. The nightgown-clad, gray-wigged Bubbes were also voted the fan favorites by attendees.

Keith Marks of Keith’s Corner BBQ, a founder of the AKBF, was presented with the Enoch Goodfriend Mensch of Meat Award for his continued outstanding support of the event. The presentation was by Avi Goodfriend, Enoch’s son and a big supporter of Maccabi Games.

JELF (Jewish Education Loan Fund) was the big winner as the primary beneficiary of the event, presented by the Atlanta Lodges of the Hebrew Order of David International with the Atlanta Jewish Times as the presenting sponsor. Other beneficiaries will be the charities chosen by each of the four lodges: Carmel, Bezalel, Magen David and Shimshon.

“The festival was everything we hoped it would be,” said Jody Pollack, executive director. “The teams faced cold, windy conditions while working all night, but the day was beautiful. Every item in our silent auction sold, and attendees told me they loved the venue and the food. It raised our game a notch, and we hope this was the start of a long smokin’ relationship with City Springs.”

Pollack was especially heartened by having four first-responder teams in the competition this year. The Sandy Springs FD and PD teams made their debuts, while the Cobb County PD and Dekalb County Fire & Rescue returned from last year.

Photos courtesy of Suncoast Multimedia, LLC.