Grillin’ In The Grove

We bought 2 VIP tickets for $ 80 expecting to get the best of the event, but we were surprised that VIP tickets were treated like cattle, enclosed inside a horrible tent, and they would not let you go out carrying your beer and food to talk to your friends outside. And the best food was outside the VIP area. The food in the VIP area was ok but in very small portions, and far from being great food. Beer came in half of the cup, I asked them to complete the cup and I got the answer: «talk to the boss». We ended up not trying all the amazing vendors outside the horrendous VIP area or we would have had to spend even more. Never again!!! Terrible experience.

The bottom line is to pay no attention to the VIP offerings and instead, just get general admission tickets and buy food at the vendors that most interest you.
After spending $ 80 on two VIP tickets and $ 20 on parking, you’d hope that you’ll feel satisfied in your festival experience but instead, we left disheartened. I’m a very big fan of Pincho Factory so was excited to hear they would be catering the VIP tent; unfortunately, the food sounded better on paper than was delivered. The brisket sliders were skimping on meat, the ribs weren’t really ribs at all, the corn tasted like it came from a can, I could go on and on… It doesn’t deter me from the restaurant but was just a little letdown in the quality of the whole thing.
After leaving VIP, we walked around and were super impressed by the number of BBQ vendors here and prices that weren’t all that bad. Unfortunately, after already doling out $ 100 on this lunch, we couldn’t justify spending more money.
I definitely think the whole VIP-​experience needs to be rethought. Until then, I’ll just opt for GA and would recommend you do the same (unless you’re looking to drink $ 80 worth of Yuengling).