Destin Chili Cook-Off

What a fun weekend we had in Destin. It actually started Thursday evening. I stopped at Crab Island Cantina to talk to Carlos about booking Trop Rocker Paul Roush. We were able to make it happen and Paul will be playing at the Cantina on Sunday March 17th from 1-5 pm. That will be fun. Stop in at the Cantina in Harborwalk Villate to hear Paul. You will enjoy it.

Paul Roush

Friday night the ECPHC had our monthly meeting. The big part of the meeting was taken up with plans for the next day’s Chili Cook-Off that was being held in Harborwalk Village. The weather was nice and we had a decent sunset. Alan and Jackie were there as they contemplated when to return to Illinois. Harry T’s was packed for the music, meeting and fun.

We left the harbor and stopped in at Lucky’s Rotten Apple to hear Matt and Mindy. Rose was working the bar. A good crowd was there including a group of Parrotheads. With a busy day coming up on Saturday we headed home about 10 pm.

Cantina Chili booth

Harborwalk Village is a perfect spot for the Chili Cook-Off. They promoted the event and all the bars and restaurants along the harbor participated. There were about 20 individual entries plus a couple of other local restaurants including KC’s Sandbar and Landshark Pizza. I got down there about noon to help with whatever was necessary. There were probably close to 100 auction items. There were so many they had to find a bigger place to display them. All the cooks were setting up and everything was in order.

To be able to taste you had to purchase an armband for $10. The tasting was to start at 3 pm but there were so many people there it started about 2:30. The crowds were large and everyone had fun tasting all the different types of chili. While this was going on a band was on the big stage playing music. The highlight of the day was when a rumor was started that Kenny Chesney was walking around with a lady. Stephanie and I spotted the guy. He had a cowboy hat on and if you drank enough he might of looked like Kenny. LOL

Kenny Chesney?

The other highlight of the day was a contest at Crab Island Cantina. The first annual “Lick Em, Bite Em, Shoot Em and Eat Em” contest was a blast. I actually entered. The contest in a nutshell was you had to lick the salt, bite the lime, shoot a shot of tequila and eat a tamale. Who did this most in 89 seconds was the winner. I came in second in my heat with 4 total. Not bad. It was fun as I had a lot of Parrotheads cheering me on.

Getting ready for the contest

The evening on the harbor ended with the Sauce Boss playing and making his gumbo and awards handed out. I am not sure how much money was raised for Relay for Life but it had to be a good amount well into the thousands. It was getting cold so Sunshine Cindy and I decided to head to someplace warm. We ended up at Sago Sports Bar with Mark, Stephanie, Larry, Cathy, Judie, Kelly and their son and daughter in law. It was nice because it was warm!

The Sauce Boss on stage

For those keeping score there was no announcement yet about Margaritaville. Some minor issues still to be worked out I am told. Oh well, maybe this week!

Sunday I headed to KC’s Sandbar & Grill to hear Steven Youngblood play. He was sponsored by the Island Life Social Club. It was windy on the drive over but KC’s is sheltered. With the sun out it was actually hot. It felt great! A good group was there. Steven and Sandra did a good job and had people singing along. When I left I stopped in at Landshark Pizza to take some food home. Brian and James were there and we chatted while I waited for my pizza.

It was a fun weekend in Destin. With Spring here it is only going to get better. See ya Thursday!!!