Velvet Smoke BBQ Highlights 3rd Annual Cincy Meat Week

Press release by Velvet Smoke BBQ (Cincinnati, Oh.) - Cincy Meat Week announced today the official schedule for the 3rd Annual “Tour de BBQ” event to take place in the Greater Cincinnati area from Sunday, January 29 through Sunday, February 5. Cincy Meat Week is a local chapter of a national week-long holiday devoted to the celebration of barbecued meats established in Tallahassee, Florida in 2005.  2015 was the inaugural event for the Cincinnati chapter of Meat Week. As the idea spread around Porkopolis, a tribe of like-minded carnivores formed drawn together by the intoxicating allure of smoked meat. “The Cincinnati barbecue scene continues to grow and flourish. Several past Meat Week stops have relocated or opened second locations. We have also seen the opening of several new establishments,” said 2017 Meat Week Captain Matt Schneider. “I am taking over the reins from our illustrious leader Justin Tabas who heads to Chicago Sunday shortly after the ‘Passing of the Rib Bone’ at our now traditional first stop Pontiac BBQ.” Matt added, “This year we are including Cincinnati’s original barbecue place Montgomery Inn as well as Colerain favorite Big Art’s BBQ and the recently opened BarrelHouse BBQ in Lockland. We look forward to MEATING you!” OFFICIAL 2017 CINCY MEAT WEEK SCHEDULE: Sunday 1/29/17 @ 12pm – Pontiac BBQ – 1403 Vine St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 Monday 1/30/17 @ 7pm – Montgomery Inn-Ribs King – 9440 Montgomery Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45242 Tuesday 1/31/17 @ 6:30pm – Just Q’in – 975 E. McMillan St., Cincinnati, OH 45206 Wednesday 2/1/17 @ 7pm – Big Art’s BBQ - 2796 Struble Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45251 Thursday 2/2/17 @ 7pm - Velvet Smoke BBQ – 10515 New Haven Rd., Harrison, OH 45030 Friday 2/3/17 @ 7:30pm – Rivertown Brewery/BarrelHouse BBQ - 607 Shepherd Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45215 Saturday 2/4/17 @ 12pm – Butt Shack BBQ & Grill – 500 Wessel Dr., Fairfield, OH 45014 Sunday 2/5/17 @ 12pm – Eli’s BBQ-Findlay Market – 133 W. Elder St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 “MEAT” up with Cincy Meat Week for 8 days of BBQ bliss starting Sunday, January 29th!  Follow Cincy Meat Week on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CincyMeatWeek for updates and info or visit the website at www.meatweek.com/cities/cincinnati. About Meat Week: Meat Week is the only national week-long holiday devoted to the celebration of barbecued meats. Started in 2005 in Tallahassee, Florida by co-workers Chris Cantey and Erni Walker, Meat Week has now spread across the country. Some years there have been as many as 15-20 cities celebrating Meat Week with their own chapters. Meat Week always starts the last Sunday in January. For 8 nights straight, friends and strangers alike gather to eat BBQ. The “Captain” of each city creates a schedule including 8 different BBQ restaurants to visit for the week. Many people attend all 8 nights of Meat Week, but no one other than the captain and/or first mate are expected to. There are also plenty of vegetarians in attendance, including a few vegetarian captains. Most of them come for the camaraderie but stay for the sides. There are no “rules” to Meat Week, but there are plenty of traditions that have evolved over the years. One of our original traditions is that of “meatography.” Everyone who attends Meat Week gets a photo with their meat each night. We also get a big group photo underneath the restaurant’s sign. At its core, this holiday is about togetherness. Gathering over BBQ harkens back to our family’s traditions. It’s not a prim and proper meal, it’s a down-home hang-out. Everyone can let their hair down and be themselves at a BBQ restaurant. We revel in the fact that so many people have latched on to this holiday and made it their own. Meat Week started with a couple of friends creating a new tradition, and it’s grown to an event that makes us feel close to people we’ve never even met. For one week out of the year, we get to see our friends every single night, look at pictures of our brethren in different cities, and bask in the greasy glow of delicious smoked meats. We get to see peoples’ creative sides and their senses of humor, which really come through in their hype. More than anything, this holiday is about an American tradition that is alive and well, and deserves to be celebrated all year long. But, you know, we also value our colons, so we squeeze this celebration into an event that keeps us from experiencing those post-Christmas blues. Soon as New Year’s is behind us, we’re ready to eat meat, repeat.