WMSE's Rockabilly Chili Contest is March 6
| Published: 03/01/2011 |
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WMSE 91.7FM's 9th annual Rockabilly Chili Contest is set to take place Sunday, March 6 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at MSOE's Kern Center, 1245 N. Broadway.
The annual fundraiser for the non-commercial, community-funded radio station will feature 45 restaurants, taverns, catering companies and cafés offering 56 varieties of chili (39 meat, 17 vegetarian/vegan), all competing for People's Choice awards in four categories: Best Meat Chili, Best Vegetarian Chili, Best Heat, and Best Table Presentation & Display. Last year's contest drew more than 3,000 people and the station expects even more people to attend this year.
This year's Rockabilly Contest competitors are:
AJ Bombers, Ball ‘n Biscuit Catering, Bar Louie - Milwaukee, G-Daddy's BBC, Beans & Barley, Blue Tomato Café, Blue's Egg, Branded at The Iron Horse Hotel, Brewed Café, Chili Lili's Chili Bar, Comet Café, The Fast Foodie, Flannery's, Good Harvest Market, Hector's on Delaware, Hinterland Erie Street Gastropub, Honeypie Café, Horny Goat Hideaway, Hotch-a-do, The Irish Pub, Jake's Deli, Kasana Concierge Gourmet, Koppa's Fulbeli Deli, Café Lulu, Maxie's Southern Comfort, McBob's Pub and Grill, McGillycuddy's Bar & Grill, Milwaukee Ale House, Molly Cool's Seafood Tavern, The National Café, Noble Provisions Catering, O'Brien's Pub, O'Keefe's House of Hamburg, Old German Beer Hall, Outpost Natural Foods, Palms Bistro & Bar, The Palomino, Red Rock Saloon, Riverwest Co-op, Riverwest Public House, Roots Restaurant, The Soup House, Soup's On!, Stack'd Burger Bar, Times Square Bistro Pizzeria and The Wicked Hop.
For the second year in a row, WMSE will unveil a new hot sauce. This year's sauce, "Rockabilly Red," carries a bit more punch while maintaining great flavor. "When you think of WMSE, we hope a part of you thinks food," said Tom Crawford, WMSE station manager. "As I said last year, we love spice and peppers and hot sauce, so continuing to create our own sauce just makes sense." The limited edition batch of 200 bottles of Rockabilly Red was created by local boutique hot sauce makers MBF Sauces. Crawford added, "Make no mistake, this is a great sauce made by a great local company. It's hot, but it's not a shock sauce. We want you to use it and enjoy it."
WMSE also plans to unveil "The WMSE Rockabilly Chili Cookbook Vol. 1." The station is gathering recipes from contest participants, WMSE program hosts and staff, and their listening audience. Recipes can be submitted at http://bit.ly/h9bpXH. The submission deadline is Monday, Jan. 31 at 5 p.m.
This event is again being co-presented this year by the Milwaukee Brewing Company and sponsored by AV Club Milwaukee, Clark Graphics and the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE). WMSE DJ's Jonny Z (of WMSE's Friday morning program, The Chicken Shack) and Dietrich (of WMSE's Saturday Morning Car Tunes) will provide music throughout the five-hour event.
Admission is $7 at the door, and tickets for individual two-ounce bowls of chili are just $1, but this year WMSE is also offering, and encouraging purchase of, advanced tickets for $10. The advanced ticket guarantees the purchaser express entry and four chili sample tickets. Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets (http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/141498) or by visiting the WMSE studios at 820 N. Milwaukee St. Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The ample street parking around the Kern Center is free on Sundays, and additional free parking is available on the MSOE campus in the lot at Broadway & Highland. Donations of non-perishable food items will be accepted for Milwaukee's Hunger Task Force upon entry to the event. Each entrant who brings two or more non-perishable food items will receive two tickets redeemable for two chili samples. Limit two tickets per person.
The WMSE Rockabilly Chili Contest is the original culinary fundraising event for the almost 30-year old radio station (the station celebrates 30 years on March 17), and through eight years of the contest, attendance has grown from 200 to over 3,000 attendees, making it the largest chili competition in Milwaukee. WMSE is 100% community-supported thanks to individual donations from listeners and the generosity of area businesses that sponsor programming. All proceeds from this event benefit the station.