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December 1, 2009

It's the Chili Takedown

Whole lotta Chili going on

Matt Timms and his Chili Takedown returned to Brooklyn and I was doing back flips that this wasn’t another chocolate event.


Highlights include - Nick Suarez’s Chili Heaven consisting of a staggering 30 ingredients. That makes for one blended and damn fine chili.



30 ingredients in Chili Heaven


Chili Five Oh got my winning vote and came in as the judges number one pick. Yep, I can pick a winner. Made by Melissa Sands, this chili featured beef, pork, grilled pineapple and bacon. It was meaty, chunky, had good heat, and was topped with shredded cheese and cilantro.


Phoebe Lapine and Cara Eisenpress of Big Girls, Small Kitchen (the blog and now book) made voting a cliff hanger for me with their Brisk Autumn Chili featuring brisket, pumpkin, and cilantro lime cream. I kept waffling back and forth, agonizing between this chili and Chili Five Oh. Who knew chili could be so stressful?



Check out Phoebe & Cara's blog - biggirlssmallkitchen.com


I must mention my adoration for Monte Isom. Not for the taste of his chili perse, but for the name he bestowed upon it - Monte’s Patented Bitchin Panty Removing Chili. Monte I give you a thundering round of applause.



Its all in a name


Alas, this Takedown couldn’t hold a candle to Nick Suarez and Theo Peck’s smooth running food “Experiments” held in the same venue - The Bell House.


Timms’ Takedown lacked the free beer with admission, had fewer people, and no kick ass DJ. I’m not sure who chose the heavy metal I heard blaring....


Strike one - they ran out of paper plates and napkins only an hour into the event. The horror....the horror.


Strike two - Seek and ye shall find your ballot with Matt Timms. Why did I have to hunt him down for a blank scrap of paper ballot?


Streerike three - Where oh where is the ballot box? Matt said he didn’t have one yet when I was ready to leave. So I asked the friendly guy selling Matt Timms’ hot sauce near the door to kindly cast my vote. He already had two votes in his pocket. Seems I wasn’t the only person who had to eat, vote and run.


Posted by Amateur Foodie

4 comments:

  1. were the winning chilli's, beanless???

    i always am lacking for the beanless chili's when eating at a place that serves it...

    P.SBS

    :)
    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Nora, thanks for your vote! I've posted the recipe for my "Chili Five-O, Hawaiian Heat!" on my blog. (www.forkthis.blogspot.com) And to answer the above commenter: no beans were harmed in the making of my chili!

    In defense of Mr. Timm's Takedowns - he limits the amount of tickets he sells so that the amateur chefs don't have to kill themselves to compete - this one was actually sold out. I have also competed in the Suarez/Peck "Experiments," and I was really overwhelmed. Yes, they are more organized and have nice things like "enough plates." Haha. But each cook-off event has it's place in our burgeoning food scene here in Brooklyn. They are just different experiences. The Experiments allow professional chefs to compete - and often those chefs win - take for example, Nick Suarez's mom who won the grand prize at the Cheese Experiment. Hmm....

    Anyway - as both tend to sell out and have plenty of competitors I think there's room enough for everyone... I just see the Takedowns as punk rock to the Experiment's smooth jazz. kwim?!

    Melissa
    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Melissa,

    Thanks for the comment! Of course the Takedown was sold out...Matt has been doing his takedowns for a while and he can put together a heck of an event.

    Most events I go to are very different and the variety keeps it fun. I would have nothing to write if the same events were held over and over.

    This time, I intentionally drew a comparison between the Takedown and Experiment due to same venue, being 1 week apart, and overlapping competitors since they are larger events.

    I'm sure Matt will have additional success with his Cookie Takedown on 12/20.

    I'll be sure to check your fantastic recipe. Thanks for the link.
    ReplyDelete
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