Safeway BBQ Battle (DC)

One of the advantages of living halfway between Baltimore and Washington, DC is the wealth of things to do, some of them fairly unique to the area. 

This month we're highlighting the Safeway BBQ Battle, the 22nd Annual edition of which was held just a week ago on the weekend of June 21-22.

Each year Pennsylvania Avenue NW is closed between 9th Street and 14th Street in Washington, DC and turned into a combination food and music festival with a barbecue competition attached to it.

Regular attendees can't taste-test the competition BBQ entries, but the entry fee ($15/adult, 12-and-under free) gets you a fairly wide assortment of bite-sized samples and giveaways from commercial vendors.

While a lot of the samples are products you might find in the grocery store, this year you could have gotten freshly-grilled mouthfuls of pork, chicken, and beef BBQ -- and also crispy tuna from TGI Friday's, ice cream from Ben & Jerry's and Edy's, and small slices of pizza. Various barbecue restaurants also have stands selling full meals if the samples aren't enough.

Here are some more pictures from the 2014 Safeway BBQ Battle:

You can buy BBQ from vendors if the samples aren't enough 

Leftover schwag

Darryl Dawkins led kids through an exercise program in the NBA zone

Pork steak and pork ribeye

Not sure what they're implying here

All-female band Be'la Dona

Jazzy Blu

Jazzy Blu

The David Bach Consort