ASGC Chili Cook-Off: A Pictoral

Last Saturday, I had the honor and privilege of being asked back for the second year in a row to participate as one of the judges at the 2011 Greater Cleveland Chili Cook-Off For Autism. The charity event helps to fund the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland and provide support, education, and assistance to those dealing with, or are related to someone dealing with autism, a condition for which there is no known cause and no known cure.

As opposed to last year's venue at Jacob's Field, this year, the event was held at the Quickens Loan Arena on the third floor from approximately noon until 3 PM. As a judge, I was told to arrive by 11:30 AM and because I had never been to the 'Q', I decided to show up at 11:00 AM just in case. After pulling into the garage on Huron next to the Q, I made my way to the third floor, where helpfully, a skybridge connected the garage with the entrance to the event. After a quick check through security, I entered the original lounge of Bar Symon (the second location in Avon Lake now closed).

At the appointed hour, the judges gathered outside the main hall and Gus Gallucci, judge herder extraordinaire, explained how the judging would work and assigned each judge to assess four of the eleven chilies present today. Fortunately, with seven judges, we didn't each have to taste and rate all eleven.

Right at around twelve o'clock, we (the judges) entered the basketball court where all the contestants had set up shop:


From the chili cook's point of view, each wanted to walk away with one of these bad boys:


From the perspective of the chili eater, they were more interested in all of the auction and prize items that were generously donated:


Since I only judged four of the chilies and ate another three, I don't think I'm qualified to talk about some of them and not others. That being said, fellow food blogger and friend Nancy from Fun Playing With Food was a fellow judge and took copious notes and I'm sure that her write-up will more than fill in my woeful gaps. I'll link to her article once it goes live on her blog.

That said, I CAN at least show you who participated this year. Here's where the pictoral part of this post begins.

Ken Kostal from Big Boppers

Shana Trepal from Treehuggers Cafe (and Mr. Gallucci enjoying some samples)

Larry Chin from Market Cafe and Deli in the West Side Market

Pete Dressen from Inn Walden

Bill Polewchek and Fred Griffith (yes, THAT Fred Griffith) from 20 Mule Team Borracho

Michael Dehner(y) from Yours Truly
(there was some discussion as to whether his last name ended in a 'y')

Jeff Stanton from Zinc Bistro along with surprised fellow judge Brian Doyle

Doug Fulton from 5 Star Catering

John Wright from Peppermill Pub and Grill

Eric Wells and his lovely wife from Skye LaRae's Culinary Services

Samuel Quinones from Embassy Suites

In addition, Lucy's Sweet Surrender graciously provided these palate cleansers and sweet treats.

Finally, the Four Muskateers: Joe Harvey, Ellis Cooley, Jeff Jarrett, and Brian Doyle.

The judges awarded John Wright from Peppermill with first place and the People's Choice award went to Ken Kostal from Big Boppers. All of the chilies I tasted tonight were simply outstanding and it really was difficult to pick which one was the best because they were all so different (in fact, of the four I had to judge, there was only a four point spread between them).

By the end of the event, I was definitely "chilied out," and looking for something bland and innocuous, like Saltines, to tame the fire that burned within. Of course, the real winner here is the Autism Society of Greater Cleveland and even more importantly are the people and families it serves. I urge you to please show your support for this wonderful charity by supporting and visiting the restaurants and catering services of the contestants who participated today. While publicity is certainly a benefit to being a part of the event, I know that many of them hold the cause very close to their hearts as well.

Hello And Welcome Back

Welcome back, gentle reader.

It seems like forever and a day since I have posted anything to the blog. And, in fact, I didn't realize how much time and effort I had been spending posting to the blog until I went cold turkey for two weeks. Looking back now, it should be fairly obvious that experiencing, writing, and editing posts about food five to six times a week would've been a time-consuming task. And frankly, during that time period, it was okay because I have been out of work since mid-December and looking for a new job. Frankly, having my time pre-occupied with such a wonderful job as writing on this blog has been a life saver. I can understand how easy it is to fall into a funk when you fail time and again to find steady employment. Writing and pursuing this blog kept me thinking and focused on other topics. Sure, I occasionally felt depressed and despondent about not being able to do work which is something that I had never ever experienced in my life before, but writing and posting so consistently gave me little time to dwell over the bad things.

Fortunately, the last two weeks have given me the opportunity to pursue and accept a new job that will start on Monday, April 19th. After months of absolutely zilch, I was presented over the break with three opportunities from which I had to choose one. Had any one of them come along on their own, they would've been welcomed and appreciated. How odd that when things finally started to gain momentum that I was presented with three great jobs and had to agonize over which one to take. I suppose that is a great problem to have though and I certainly don't want to complain too loudly.

Just as a balanced work/life relationship is important to have with your job, I feel the same is also true with the blog. Don't expect the crazy posting schedule I attempted in February and March. My plan is to return to the Monday - Wednesday - Friday posting routine with an ever-so-occasional "Extra Helpings" thrown in just for good measure. Now that Lent, the Christian season of Friday fish fries and pierogi dinners, is behind me, there won't be the need to post so often.

A few other blog-related items to mention. First, I wanted to remind you, gentle reader, that I will be a guest judge for the sixth annual Cleveland chili cook-off benefit for autism that will be held next Wednesday, April 21st from 6 - 9 PM at the Terrace Club at Jacob's Field. The suggested donation is $20. There are going to be many fine chefs and home cooks representing the best chili that Cleveland has to offer and even better, the cause is outstanding. Read a more thorough discussion on my friend Nancy's blog (Nancy will also be one of the guest judges, too).

The following Wednesday, April 28th from 6 - 8 PM, another event is being held at Musketeers Bar in Richfield, Ohio to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. For a $20 donation, you get all you can eat bar foods such as salad, pizza, and chicken wings as well as beer and well drinks. While I am not a judge for that event, I definitely plan on attending the event and showing my support. More information about both events can be found on the right hand side of the blog on the Exploring Food My Way community calendar.

Speaking of Exploring Food My Way, I have set up an official Facebook fan page for the blog so that you will be notified whenever I post a new blog entry (assuming that you have a Facebook account). Click on the link to be taken directly to the page where you can "fan" the blog. The link has been placed in the "Five Ways To Follow My Blog" section on the right hand side of the screen along with my personal Twitter account. I often tweet on topics other than my blog, but I always post links on both Facebook and Twitter.

Finally, I have an upcoming article about a mushroom dinner I recently had at AMP 150 and tying into that blog post I have graciously received three $25 gift certificates that I intend to give away to some very lucky readers. I will post the details of the giveaway soon and you'll be able to access the blog entry during the course of the giveaway through a link at the very top right side of the blog. Chef Ellis Cooley is really doing some fantastic dishes with local farmers markets and purveyors and I am only too happy to help share the love (and the gift certificates) with those of you out there who are looking for a great place to eat.

Once again, welcome back and I look forward to continuing to take you to some fantastic new places all over the northeast Ohio area. While today's double-posting will be more the rarity than the norm, don't forget to come back in order to read the article that will post later this morning on a return trip to Louie's Bar and Grille where I apply some new perspective to one of Akron's best burgers.