Cutchogue Chicken BBQ! (Finally)

I've been neglecting my blog - I know.  I have a new job and it's keeping me busy.  Every time I cook or bake Ron asks "Did you take pictures?" and I must admit that I've been saying "Um, no" way too often.  But after reading Smitten Kitchen's blog about the North Fork of Long Island, my home turf, I knew I had to get to my Chicken BBQ blog!

Now this is no backyard BBQ - this is serious stuff.  This annual Fire Department Fundraiser sells 3000 tickets and they're actually pretty hard to come by, luckily my parents have some new Firemen neighbors and they were able to score Ron and I two tickets.  You can smell BBQ starting early in the morning coming from massive BBQ grills.  Look at all that bird!  These dudes are chicken kings!

The Cutchogue Chicken BBQ tradition is that you bring a cooler full of beer and/or a purse full of wine (local North Fork wine of course!), hang out with old friends in the parking lot, and finally get in line when the Firemen threaten that they're about to stop serving chicken.  Then you grab your plate and you're served a half chicken, potato salad and corn all out of big plastic trash cans.  Grab your plasticware and you're on your way to your table where there are rolls, cucumber tomato salad, sodas, waters and pitchers of all the budweiser you can drink waiting for you.  Yum...

The corn, tomatoes, cucumbers and peaches that come on top of vanilla ice cream for dessert are all local.  The chicken is perfect and the potato salad is mayonnaisey and good, the fruits and vegetables are as fresh as they get.  The lovely volunteers come around offering seconds of everything but the chicken.  It's packed and loud and delicious and so very townie and I love it!

Ron and I are heading home again this weekend.  This time we're bringing our bikes, the best way to get to the beach and wineries from my house.  Oh I can't wait - it's always such a nice little getaway!