The 2011 Milwaukee Chili Bowl Dream Team

Without any further ado…I’d like to share my reflections on one of my favorite events of the year and true chili lover’s paradise, Milwaukeefood.com’s 2011 Milwaukee Chili Bowl.

Here's how my roster stacks up:

Booth 21, Antigua - John Stockton:
Pale and deceptive. Antigua's chili was my first bite of the day.  Mild and not flashy, it was the perfect starter. Like Stockton, set the pace for the rest of the day.  I thought the olives were a great Puerto Rican twist on chili.  Who doesn’t love a twist?  Not this guy.  I don’t believe this chili is a staple on their menu, upon further review I think they should wise up and add it.  Crisp chest pass onto our next booth.

Booth 14, Chili Lili's - Charles Barkley
Hot tempered and powerful. My cup had a very large habanero pepper, which, like a fool I didn't hesitate to eat. Only to quickly realize it was like getting an elbow to the mouth from Sir Charles himself. 
Note: I would be honored to take and elbow from Barkley anytime.
It was rich and meaty, but sort of left a bit too much heat hanging out in my mouth. This also made Breadbowl Jones break the first chili induced sweat of the day.  I plan on giving Chili Lili’s more of my business.  It seems like the kind of place that would serve chili on anything, including a high-top sneaker.  Box out, back down, elbows up, crash the boards, outlet pass to…

Booth 10, Mulligan's Irish Pub - Scottie Pippen
As unbiased as I am trying to be about my selections here, Pip is near and dear to my heart.  Playing in the shadow of Jordan for a majority of his career, many would argue he was equally as talented as the Air Man.  Allow me to tie this into one of my favorite chilis of the day, “The one with the chip in it”.  Before I tried Mulligan’s chili, I was a bit skeptical.  “Chili, from an Irish pub?  I’ll save it for the end.”, I thought to myself.  But I kept hearing people say “The one with the chip in it is actually really good!” …SOLD.  After chatting with the friendly faces at the booth, I was treated to a fantastic bowl of chili.  The most balanced flavor of any I tried.  I think this chili had it all, just like Pippen.  It was the right balance in every facet of chilidom.
Time to get out of the shadows.  Tell the world!  Thumbs up Mulligan’s, I will surely hesitate before I doubt Irish pub chili again.  Bounce pass to…

Booth 7, Red Rock Saloon - Karl Malone
This one was a no brainer.  I think I actually said to myself before I even took a bite.  “This looks like what Karl Malone must eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and whatever odd fourth meal people in Utah eat.”  Red Rock Saloon was the hands down winner for the flashiest booth and the most women in tank tops.  They happily offered me a serving of their spicy and traditional.  It was immediately obvious that this chili was not for Lance Crackers.  Meat on meat.  Extremely tender and smoky, I think vegetables would have taken away from the chili’s panache.  I may have gotten the end of a batch, but I could have used a bit more sauce.  Although It wasn’t my favorite of the day, I would love to eat this chili on a bun with The Mailman himself.  I contacted Mr. Malone and asked him his thoughts on Red Rock’s Chili.  His response, “The Mailman is a big dude, so I could do some damage to Red Rock’s chili.”  Thank you Karl for your kind words.  One handed bounce pass through the lane to…

Booth 23, Molly Cool's - Christian Lattener
Clearly the guy that didn’t belong on the team.  Molly Cool’s Seafood “chili” really doesn’t count as chili in my book.  It belongs in the alt-soup genre.  But, damn was it good.  Just like Lattener, had the talent to be there, but just didn’t quite fit the mold.  To be fair, Molly’s offered a traditional chili as well, which I didn’t try.  The seafood “chili” was actually a nice break from all the heavy chili I had been chugging all day long.  Also, it was the whitest chili I ate all day.  So that just begs for the Lattener comparison.  This is a chili/soup that I would certainly order at the restaurant.  I really hope Molly Cool’s seafood chili has a better career than Lattener had.  Fundamental two-handed over the head pass to…

Booth 12, Il MITO Trattoria - Ervin "Magic" Johnson
Il MITO’s chili was magic.  Defiantly in my top 3.  One of the most creative chilis I’ve tasted.  It was so smoky and sweet, but had this great mildly spicy finish.  The highlight was the lamb though.  Probably not for everybody, but sold me.  This chili played in my mouth the way Magic played on the court.  Creative, yet fundamental.  Flashy, yet sophisticated.  And just flat out looked / tasted like he / the chili was born to be out there.  The gents at this booth were very cordial and insightful.  The chef even asked me if he could contribute to Chili Chat with an article about the origins of chili n the Canary Islands…yes, please.  If you’re reading this, that sounds like an article worth its weight in chili.  I also need to give Il MITO a pat on the back for letting people use their iPad with chili fingers.  Classy.  No look pass to…  

Booth 4, Crisp Pizza / Art Milwaukee - Larry Bird
This Larry Bird reference is strictly reserved for Art Milwaukee.  Which to my surprise wasn’t on the ballot.  They shared a table with Crisp Pizza, but in this chili fan’s opinion, should have had their own.  Just like Larry, Art Milwaukee was poised and ready to go.  Not only were they by far the nicest group of people I met, but their homemade-classic-by the book-textbook-traditional-old school-(insert cleche’) chili was excellent.  If I were a bettin’ man, I’d bet this was the same chili a young Bird would have been served by Mama Bird (minus the whole regurgitating it into his mouth thing.).  It tasted like that secret ingredient I think many overlooked, love.  Art Milwaukee was the only booth where I actually hung around at while I ate their chili.  Based on the overall experience, I voted Art Milwaukee my favorite of the day.  Bravo!  Standing O.  Larry didn’t pass much, so he’s going to drain a spot up 3 and the ball will be inbounded to…

Booth 13, The Fast Foodie - David Robinson
The Admiral, as he was so honorably known as around the Association, was a respected and well traveled member of the U.S. Navy.  I’m guessing Mr. Robinson had the opportunity to sample some of the finest cuisine the world has to offer.  I’m not sure if the chili from “The Fast Foodie” in Milwaukee, WI counts are world-class fare, but their Indian curry chili was simply splendid.  What a great twist on traditional chili.  It was sweet and savory and just a whole bunch of good things.  I considered filling my breast pocket with some to take home.  Over the top pass down low to…

Booth 3, Iron Horse Hotel - Patrick Ewing
There was always something a tad unusual about Patrick Ewing.  He had that strange hitch in his shot, was horrible in interviews, wore a t-shirt under his jersey in college (which I now refer to any tight grey t-shirt as a “Ewing shirt”), sweat like no-other and was a permanent headache for my Chicago Bulls.  The Iron Horse Hotel was my Patrick Ewing.  The weird one.  You know what, I like weird stuff.  Iron Horse’s entry was a totally bizarre concoction of blueberries, chocolate, venison, Lakefront beer (bonus) and who knows what else?!  I applaud their outside the box way of thinking.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the first bite or two, but after that I just didn’t feel like I was eating chili anymore.  I think they should serve this chili at their bar in a shot glass with a sour cream chaser.  I like the way you think Iron Horse Hotel.  Half court outlet pass to…

Booth 1, Port of Call - Clyde Drexler
One of the smoothest players ever to lace up a pair of Converse Weapons.  And “Smooth” happened to be the word I used to describe Port of Call’s chili on my comment card.  I was offered a sample from Breadbowl Jones before I even made it to the booth.  I made sure that was my next stop.  The smokiness was like a quick slash down the lane and the lingering spice was like that silky smooth finger roll to finish I needed.  Overall I think it was one of the most flavorful chilis that I enjoyed the whole day.  Drexler spent most of his career playing in relative obscurity in Portland, that’s why he never gets the credit he deserves as a great player.  I had never knew that Port of Call made kick ass chili, have they too been living in relative chili obscurity? Where have you been all my life Port of Call chili?  The kick out to…

Booth 23, Solly's Grill - Chris Mullin
Even though there were far more qualified players that could have taken his spot, there was a reason Mullin was on The Dream Team.  Not just to balance out the equation with another white guy.  Not to help the flat top haircut break out of the western world.  It was because he was the equalizer.  His skill set made him a threat to shoot, pass, rebound or grab a steal every time he was on the floor.  Great teams need that.  And you know what?  Chili competitions need that too.  Solly’s Grill provided me with a chance to enjoy a cup of chili for no particular reason, other than it was just really good.
No bells and whistles.  Just a rock solid chili that I felt I could eat anytime, anywhere.  It fell smack dab in the middle of the pack.  That’s what I liked about it so much.  Solid, Solly’s, real solid.  Here’s the alleyoop to…

…Michael Jordan for the slamma jamma!  The glaring omission.  I just felt like it was unfair to compare any of these chilis to Michael Jordan.
If I called one of these chilis a Michael Jordan, I’d be lying.  Only my mom makes a Michael Jordan-esque chili.  And probably Michael Jordan’s mom too.  It would be obvious that I clearly enjoyed one chili over the rest, which I really didn’t.  Call me old fashioned, but hanging out in a room with a bunch of really cool people, eating chili and drinking Pabst all day, is worthy of calling the 2011 Milwaukee Chili bowl line-up, a Dream Team!

Cheers.