The telephone rings, calling for another order of ribs.

It’s been ringing off the hook since Grasshopper Grill won both the Judges Choice and People’s Choice contest at the second annual Rhythm & Ribs festival in Cottonwood on Sept. 15.

The cook-off involved rib vendors from around the state. Each guest at the festival received three free samples of ribs from their choice of vendors. Individuals then voted for People’s Choice while a panel of judges, including Yavapai County District 3 Supervisor Chip Davis, decided the Judge’s Choice.

The Grasshopper Grill, owned and operated by Andre and David Caron in Cornville, won more than 1,600 votes from the 3,000 or so people who attended the event.

Almost immediately, the word was out.

“It started almost instantly,” Andre Caron said. “People were coming in to try our ribs that very night.”

Prepared by Mauro Trahin, spiced with a little kick and braised to tasty crispness, the ribs fall off the bone for a big taste.

Judges and participants were so impressed, they declared Trahin’s ribs the best.

Now private parties from across Northern Arizona are calling Trahin to cater their event, Andre Caron said. Naturally, ribs are at the top of the menu.

Sales at the restaurant have “gone through the roof,” she said.

Trahin prepared for the event by cooking 500 pounds, or roughly 3,000 individual ribs, to hand out at the restaurant’s booth.

“We baked about 17 cases,” David Caron said. That means the oven was glowing all day every day for about a week before the festival.

Once at the festival, the ribs, stored in 120 quart ice chests, were grilled on the spot.

“I had all my friends with me [behind the counter],” Andre Caron said. “We just got out and had a good time.”

They teased and cajoled passers by to give Trahin’s ribs a try. In exchange for a ticket, participants were allowed to try one rib. “People started telling us ‘you got it,’” as voters dropped their ballots into the Grasshopper Grill’s box, Caron said.

They were a little surprised when Grasshopper Grill was announced as the judge’s choice, “but we just screamed and jumped up and down,” when the People’s Choice award was announced.

“We didn’t go there to win,” Caron said. “We know our ribs are great. We just wanted to get the word out so people could come and try them.”

Ellen Houston, a regular customer agreed.

“I’ve been coming here since the day they opened. The people and the food are awesome.

Houston’s favorite menu item? The ribs, of course.

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