Lansing - Close to 40 restaurants and businesses dished out more than 2,000 gallons of chili Friday night at the Lansing Board of Water and Light's Down-By-The-River Chili Cook-Off in the Lansing Center, 333 E. Michigan Ave.
"All the contestants take it pretty seriously," spokesman John Strickler said. "The first several years we did this, we really had to work to get them involved. But the last couple years, the word has gotten out - we've gotten great participation."
First and second place winners in eight categories received gold and silver ladle trophies. All proceeds went toward the Adopt A River Program and the Lansing Hispanic Office of Planning and Evaluation (HOPE) Scholarship Fund.
Some notable judges included: Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Beverley Nettles-Nickerson, Lansing Mayor Tony Benavides and WFMK (99.1 FM) radio personality Chris Reynolds. The panel reviewed 38 chills and six salsas for best in restaurant-made chili, corporate-made chili and salsa.
Three Lansing Board of Water and Light customers won an essay contest that enabled them to judge the hottest chili and the best meatless chili. Lansing artists volunteered to judge the most creative booth and name.
Best meatless chili defending champ Better Health food store, 305 N. Clippert St. in Lansing, had a new theme for its recipe, "Fire on the Mountain" - but the store lost to the Clarion Hotel, 3600 Dunckel Drive in Lansing.
"We'll be back next year - we don't go down like that." Better Health employee Corbett Hall said.
The Clarion Hotel attributes the win to a creative recipe, with corn as a key ingredient.
"It tastes as great as normal chili, so you don't even know meat's not in it," Clarion Hotel employee Carolyn Baron said of banquet manager Reesie Davis' recipe. "When meat's not in it, you have to think of other stuff to put in it."
Smoke streamed out of a welded pot sitting on top of the wooden sign of this year's most creative booth, Draft House restaurant, 12449 N. US-27 in DeWitt.
"Well, it took me a weekend to build, but it was a lot of fun," Draft House owner Lee Irish said. "I like the exposure and making people aware of where we're located.
"I'll get even crazier next year."
Thousands of chili fans ate so much that some booths started to run out of chili midway through the four-hour event. Meanwhile, patrons had the option to cast a ballot for the people's choice chili award.
General management freshman Molly Ryan's favorite chili was the restaurant-made chili second place winner, Texas Roadhouse, 280 E. Edgewood Blvd. in Lansing. Citadel Broadcasting won the top honor for best corporate-made chili.
"I'm always looking for something to do in Lansing and I was hungry, so I thought this would be fun," Ryan said. "The Texas Roadhouse chili wasn't too hot and tasted good."
In addition to the chili booths, live music and a mechanical bull entertained people at the cook-off. At 60-years-old, Fowler resident Charles Eaton, danced for hours to the live music. He has been to the cook-off each year since it started nine years ago.
"The chili's OK, but I really like the music and the dancing," Eaton said. "With all the jumping around I do, the chili gets mixed up in there."
Staff writer Rebecca McNulty contributed to this story.
