
YES, it is that time again, folks. Time for the annual HyperQuake Chili Cookoff, an epic interoffice competition with high gastronomical and personal-pride stakes. The fridge is filled, the Crock Pots are plugged in, one developer has somehow ALREADY needed a Tide Pen. For non-Cincinnatian readers, what you need to know is: this area of the Midwest is obsessed with chili. When asking a native what there is to do in this town, invariably they will say, “You HAVE to go to Skyline/Gold Star/Camp Washington Chili” etc. Try it.

Being a non-native vegetarian, I can be pretty ho-hum about chili, but last year featured several no- or faux-meat items that basically blew my face off with delicious, not to mention unusual items like the chili cake pictured above. (SPOILER: This year someone made chili ice cream…what!)

Prizes will be awarded in the form of trophies denoting “Overall Best Taste,” “Best Not-So-Chili” and “Weirdest Freakin’ Thing.” Mmmmm…weird.
