The Festival Fanatics hit the road for the Chili Cook-Off in Ithaca on Feb. 16. We sampled some 40 different batches of chili and even grabbed a piece of apple crisp.

The Chili Cook-Off brings in about half the number of people that attend the always popular Apple Harvest Festival in the fall, but still delivers a great all-around experience.

Dan “The Man” and “Big Chuck” sampled chilies ranging from vegan to one with water buffalo in it!

This one-day event comes around annually and is a great opportunity to explore downtown Ithaca, eat delicious foods and learn more about the plentiful offerings from the restaurant scene in the city. And at just $5 for five tickets, or $10 for 11, you can’t beat the price.

The top prizes are as follows:

Meat

1st Place – Mia Restaurant
2nd Place – Longview M&M Chili
3rd Place Tie – Cayuga Medical Center Medicine Man Chili & Greenstar Oasis

Vegetarian

1st Place – Taste of Thai Express
2nd Place – Moosewood Mighty Vegetarian Chili
3rd Place – Mahogany Grill – Pumpkin Quinoa White Bean

Other Item

1st Place – Life’s So Sweet
2nd Place – F. Oliver’s

Best Beverage

1st Place – Cortland Beer Company
2nd Place – Ithaca Beer Company

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