1st Annual Fried Chicken Throwdown

I had a really hard time buying tickets to a «1^st annual» anything, but my friend finally convinced me that the wording must be intentional and just to get over it. I’m glad I did, because this was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! And it all benefited charity because they partnered with Meals on Wheels! Overall, this was a very heartwarming event with great food.
It was so fun to arrive in Round Top, such an adorable teeny town, to see five tents set up with chefs frying chicken and serving up sides. This «1^st annual» competition for the «best fried chicken in Texas» included Bud Royer from Royer’s Round Top Café, Jack Gilmore from Jack Allen’s Kitchen in Austin, Hoover Alexander from Hoover’s Cooking in Austin, Brandi Key from Punk’s Simple Souther Food in Houston, and Jerry Lasco from Max’s Wine Dive in Houston.
We experienced confusion when we checked in, which got the event off to a bumpy start for us. We were told lemonade and tea were included with the ticket price by the check in people. Then when we tried to pick them up at the drink stand, we were told we had to pay for them. So back we went to the check in table to try to sort it out. We were then pointed out to the event organizer and directed to «take it up» with her if we had a problem with paying for the drinks — by the very same people had just told us the drinks were included and where to pick them up! What? The staff were doing the best they could, but it was not a fun way to start. The drinks were only $ 2, so it wasn’t a huge expense. Why not just increase the ticket price by $ 2, include the drinks, and avoid the drama?
After we PAID for our drinks, we headed for the food. The food was SO GOOD! We expected small portions or bites of chicken. Man, were we wrong! The fried chicken pieces were HUGE. And delicious! The sides were all very different and good in their own way. The food was worth the drive and price of admission.
As if the fried chicken and sides weren’t enough, there were slices of the famous Royer’s pies available for purchase. (But there was limited selection during the event. Thankfully my friend knew to walk over to the Pie Haven for a bigger selection.)
The live music was a nice touch. The gospel choir that was singing when we got there was absolutely adorable. The atmosphere was awesome when they were singing. I think they traded off with the other band billed as part of the event, the Black Cat Choir.
The main reason this is a four star event instead of a five star event, though, is that the event was held IN THE STREET in front of Royer’s Round Top Café, yet the street was not closed to traffic. It felt very unsafe to have people mingling and lines extending into the street with cars driving through the same space. There were sheriffs standing in the middle of the street, presumably to help with people and cars both using the street. If they would have just closed that very small stretch of Main Street, it would have made all of the difference in the world. I hope the organizers will close the street for the 2^nd annual throwdown.