Wheaton restaurants set inaugural Chili Cook-Off

Six restaurants in downtown Wheaton are going to spice up the weekend with a culinary competition to see which serves up the best bowl of chili.

The Downtown Wheaton Association's inaugural Chili Cook-Off is planned for noon to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. Organizers are hoping the food challenge becomes a permanent replacement to Autumnfest, which was canceled when the Wheaton Chamber of Commerce joined forces with the Wheaton Park District to create the new Taste of Wheaton festival in June.

"We wanted to do something new and something that could grow into a significant event every year," said Tim Rater, manager of the Downtown Wheaton Association.

Instead of having the event at a single outdoor location, organizers decided to have the chili taste testers visit each of the six participating restaurants, which are within walking distance of one another. The restaurants are Muldoon's, 133 W. Front St.; Suzette's Creperie, 211 W. Front St.; Ivy, 120 N. Hale St.; Genghis Grill, 106 N. Hale St.; Front Street Cocina, 112 W. Front St., and The Bank Restaurant, 121 W. Front St.

For the cost of a $10 ticket, each diner can eat as much chili as they want at the restaurants. They then can cast their votes for their favorite recipe.

"The idea being that you'd want to save some room for trying all the chilis because there will be a winner and a runner-up," Rater said.

The chili champion, which will be announced about 3 p.m. at the The Bank Restaurant, will receive a trophy - and, more importantly, bragging rights.

Victoria Bromstead, who co-owns Genghis Grill, admits she's feeling "a little nervous" about the competition because her restaurant specializes in create-your-own stir-fry.

"You make your own bowl here, so the customer is the chef," she said. "But I can make some mean chili. I'm ready."

Bromstead said she's planning to use a healthy recipe: turkey chili with vegetables.

But don't ask Ivy co-owner Dick O'Gorman what kind of chili he's planning to serve up on Saturday. Earlier in the week, he was still trying to figure that out.

"We've got several of our crew making their chilis," he said. "And we're going to decide which one we like the best and bring that over and see if we can win it."

And while you won't find chili on Ivy's menu of steaks, chops, seafood and pasta, O'Gorman said the restaurant staff is going to give Saturday's competition its best effort. Because no matter what happens, the entire downtown Wheaton area could benefit if the event attracts a big crowd.

"We want people to be able to come down and experience what we have to offer," Rater said. "They will be able to get into the restaurants and perhaps visit these places that they have not been to before - and decide to come back at a later time."