I braved the near-freezing cold last Saturday morning with Erin (LIKEAtl) and her husband to experience what I’ve heard to be an awesome event. Billy (RestaurantsATL) had been talking it up for weeks, so had to see what all the fuss was about. 

The rules - $5 buys you a spoon, this spoon is your chili-tasting life. Some people had them tucked in front pockets, many guys tucked behind an ear or on the side of their sunglasses. But you definitely did not want to lose this spoon.

The competitors - two streets lined with booths that featured ‘Individual Chili’ and another street with the ‘Pros’ - restaurants from all over Atlanta. I loved the spirit of the Individual chili makers - even spotted some friends and co-workers among the mix! The key is a great theme and these people really had fun with it. Here’s some of my faves:

Anchorman chili vs the Cobra Kai! One of the evil karate guys had a Flip camera interviewing people who had tasted or were about to taste their chili - can’t wait to see where they post these!

Chili Dream Triple Date - GTC (guidos Gym-Tan-Chili) meets Sex in the Chili!

Pros that know: Staplehouse and ScoutMob!

One of my fave individual chilis of the day had to be the Chicken Basil Lopan Chili from Big Trouble in Little Chili. I had to check them out since I love this movie and they featured both the Lopan Chili and the Pork Chop Express. Classic! Another great group - Chili Mountain! A funny take on the Chilean miners, their secret ingredient/ Freedom!

For those not interested in chili, there were tons of other great vendors with food, including Grindhouse Killer Burgers, P’Cheen’s Bone Lickin’ BBQ and lots of Sweetwater for everyone. Nick from The King of Pops was also on hand to put out any mouth fires with delicious gourmet pops! Great live music from bluegrass bands in the park, where people spread out blankets/chairs to enjoy the free show.

Also, big props to the organizers for smart thinking and having The Fur Bus as a shuttle from the MLK Station to the event. Parking in Cabbagetown is always pretty tight, so this was a big add to the event. Nothing like riding in style to a fun festival!

Want more? Be sure to check our Erin’s ‘Wordless Weekend’ post that features some of the really creative signs from the Individual Chili entrants at this year’s event.

If you weren’t able to make it out this year, highly recommend checking out Chomp and Stomp next year!