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Discussion from last year's festival.

I've gone a few years in a row now. I always have gotten a FastPass and shared with at least one other person.

My guide:

Get there right before they open (11am) and bring a friend. You can also easily share a FastPass with a bunch of folks, send two people in, and have them bring the food back out to the park area. Passholders can only bring one person inside the FP area.

Go early. Later in the day is always worse because BBQ a) takes hours to cook and b) is always done in batches. The vendors estimate how much to cook the night before and they don't want to have leftovers, so most vendors do run out by the end of the day. And don't get mad at them for pricing, most of them lose money by doing this because they have to drive from their hometowns to NYC. They're doing it for cred and for charity.

You *must* hit up these out of town pitmasters:
1. Chris Lilly, Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q, Pulled Pork Shoulder. With the best BBQ sauce. My favorite, just barely, over The Pit.
2. The Pit, Ed Mitchell, for NC style Whole Hog (the entire hog is chopped up, not just the shoulder), it's very tender and finely chopped. Almost melts in your mouth. Nice vinegary sauce, with a bit of a kick.
3. 17th Street Baby Back Ribs, Mike Mills. Saucy and sweet. Very popular.
4. The Salt Lick, Driftwood, TX for brisket and sausage (ask for the deckle, which is the fatty part, I think their brisket is very good but not the absolute greatest, but I've been to places in hill country in Texas). There are only three brisket vendors this year, one is from NYC, the other I didn't hear good things about last year.
5. Skip all the NYC vendors. Don't eat a big breakfast. Eat some salad for dinner, if you actually get hungry later. Spend any excess money on merchandise, sides, and drinks. Note: the Eleven Madison Park and Tabla drink stands cannot be paid for using the pass.
6. Throw away the bread. Don't eat too much of the included sides.

Waits are highly variable on competing events, which vendor, time of day, FastPass vs. regular line, and WEATHER! Lines for Salt Lick and 17th Street are perenially long. Earlier is better. Sunday is always more smooth than Saturday since it's volunteer staffed. If it's super humid and looks like it's going to rain, a lot of people will stay at home.

@kathryn,
that's a great list. i tried maybe five places last year, and four of them are your top four!

Last year the weather was seriously brutal. It was hot hot hot. And none of these places are worth 45 minutes in 90 degree weather. They're just not. This is not BBQ that'll change your life. It's good, it's delicious. But I think the thing that's nice is you get to eat BBQ outdoors in Madison Sq. Park, and you have the option of sampling many different thing in one setting.

Also last year, tabla had some mangoes that were delicious. They were actually more expensive on Sunday than on Saturday. Go figure. Maybe it was a scarcity thing, but a sweet mango is a nice dessert.

Oh, and you can buy those Indian mangoes in Curry Hill (for a hefty premium) or just get an entire case at Patel Brothers (call to inquire about stock levels).

Stop by Big Bob Gibson's and watch 10-time world champion pitmaster Chris Lilly in action...check out this interactive featured in the New York Times this week http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/09/dining/20090610-barbecue.html?ref=dining ...I'll be at the pit cranking out pork butts with Lilly and his team...FUN!

Thanks! This will be my fourth year going and I'm also looking forward to trying a few new joints.