Monday, September 28, 2009

Chili Cook Off

My wife and I attended a competion Chili Cook Off this weekend. A couple of city blocks in the downtown area were closed off for the event. For $5 you get to sample chili from various groups and vote for a winner. Eating the chili is one thing, but people watching is another and it is a fun event held every year.
The Wichita Wagonmasters is a local group whose purpose in life is to help sponsor our annual River Festival which occurs in May. But they help sponsor this event as a fundraiser for the River Festival. Here is a picture of their land yacht which is used in the River Festival parade each year to transport that year's Admiral Windwagon Smith, who is the honorary dignatory for the Festival each year.
Each participant is given a little cup and spoon and then you go to each booth to get a sample of their chili. Sometimes you can tell which booth's chili is good by the length of their line. Sometimes not.
It always brings out some interesting folks for the event. No pictures of motorcycles or scooters taken today, but did see 3 guys, all on Honda Ruckus', milling about the area. Looked like they were having fun. (Just what is the plural of Ruckus?) A lot of the groups are there to promote a restaurant, a civic group, or other place such as a museum. People get dressed up a bit and you see some interesting sights. A band was performing on a little stage as well.
This group was from a museum and became my favorite of the day. They actually had 3 different kinds of chili to sample, all very good.
One of their chili's was made with chicken instead of beef and it was spectacular. They had one of the longest lines of the day that we saw. For good reason. They also had some assistance in passing out fliers as people stood in line waiting for chili. Jack "R" might have appreciated this person.
Then again, maybe his tastes cater more to a person like this. (Good witch or bad witch?)
The secret chili was on the back burner for this group. It was made with sirloin, rather than hamburger, and you had to ask for it. This guy was wondering what the heck I was doing behind their booth taking his picture.
We voted for this group, not because of the women, but because their chili was really good. All 3 kinds were good.
My wife also liked the chili that was presented by this group.
I didn't find it particularly ballistic, but it was a bit warmer than some of the others.
Some chili's were waterier than others, some chunkier, some with too much chili powder, some with ingredients that I am not sure I even want to know about. But mostly all were very good.
The weather was excellent and it was a good way to spend $5 and do some people watching.

6 comments:

  1. Good post, though I think Jack R. leans towards the jodhpurs set.....

    I am quite wimpy when it comes to the hot stuff...a good mild chili with lots of meat and beans is something to be savored after a cold ride.

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  2. One inflexible rule of blogging is to photograph the food. I mean pictures of women are good (none of us want to look like church elders for riepe's benefit) but what about the chicken chili?

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  3. Charlie6,
    You are so right about a nice bowl of chili after a cold ride. Back in my bicycling days we had a January 1st ride one year and met up at the Olive Garden for Soup and breadsticks after the ride. I will never forget how good the soup tasted that day.
    Thanks for stopping by,
    Jim

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  4. Conch,
    Your comment has been constructively taken about the inclusion of more food porn in my pictures. Frankly we were just too busy eating that day to take many pictures. We probably visited 12-15 booths for a sample. Would probably take about 50 visits for a full meal with the little cups they provided.
    Do you have a blog?
    Jim

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  5. cpa1234:

    tsk, tsk . . . chuckle, chuckle, Mr Conchscooter would be rolling in his grave while wearing his beloved PINK crocs.

    I have gotten in the habit of taking food pictures wherever we go but I only post a small minority of them. The other day I started eating right away and a voice blurted out "aren't you going to take a picture first", so I have a few with bite marks, and some others with empty plates full of crumbs.
    In order to satisfy BOTH Mr Conch and Mr Jack "r" perhaps dual purpose photos, a buxom lady eating. It makes for a perfect excuse, if Ms cpa1234 happens to notice that you are taking more photos than normal of young, delicious, buxon, blondes with blue eyes, your answer would be "They're not for me, they're for Jack r"

    bob
    bobskoot: wet coast scootin

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  6. BobSkoot,
    Ms cpa9876 gave up on me a long time ago as far as picture taking is concerned. But the truth is that nobody else can carry a candle next to her in my eyes. Absolute Truth!
    Thanks for popping in,
    Jim

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