Hot Sauce Fest Recap
yes we are sore losers.. yes, we are whiny babies, but for god’s sake, what is wrong with this world, when a salsa so simple, authentic, beautiful, fresh and full of love does not win a contest hands down?? ive got a feeling there was foul play involved and alot of money at stake behind the scenes.. who were these jueges? what were their motives.. who is the slimy bastard behind the scenes that is mastermining this evil plot?
we went thru the tasting tent, sampling the competition..it was a walk of shame, the majority of them paled in comparison to chappy’s tasty glory, which sat at the very end of the table, last in line, and the only one sitting in direct sunlight, and while this brought out the georgeous green hues admirably, its definitely not acceptable in a competition of this stature. i think the entry that ended up winning our category wasnt even green! it was red. there has to an audience choice vote in this shit (only “judges” get to choose the amateur competition), because the volunteer behind the table told us that many people had commented that ours was their favorite and many of them also made return trips just to get another taste.. even going to far as to double dip in the green glory that is Chappy’s Elbo Green.
rest assured, we are undaunted. we will continue our mission. we will not be swatted down by the man or entity that is behind this farse of a contest. we thought about staging a boycott, but a better idea is to infiltrate the seedy underbelly of this organization and root out the evil doers so that we may take our rightful place as best salsa in the world next year… please email us with any tips or info leading to a toppling of this dark and deceitful plot to rob true sauces of their deserved glory.
the sampling of booths was fun/excruciating to check out while hungover in the 105 degree heat. got a soft beef taco from the Santa Rita restaurant’s booth. It was quite tasty and their red sauce was on point. I’ll have to check out their establishment. the cute girls serving it up didnt hurt their case either.
i love the concept and the idea of this fest, I just have some constructive criticisms and while i’ll admit, this was my first time attending, its clear to me that there needs to be some rule and policy changes.. first off is the audience choice vote - of which there is none for the entry’s from non-restaurants.. and they should annouce the winners and allow a followup tasting of the winning salsas as a check’s and balances thing.. or they could pick 5 salsas to put into a round 2 playoff of votes by the audience..also, where does the $20 entry fee go? they have all thes volunteers working for free.. $20 per entry would buy alot of chips..we did get a “free” t-shirt and the trophies looked nice.
Cadeza De Taco said,
August 28, 2006 @ 1:41 pm
The people have spoken, and while no actual votes were tallied, the informal exit polls were unmistakably in our favor. We must not allow this gross oversight- at the hands of sun-baked, chipotle-loving, inexperienced, gringo, and most-likely Republican organizers- to squash the unflinching resolve of the people.
if we must take what is ours. Then we will take it. No matter the cost. No matter the loss of life.
And so, by the power vested in me by the great republic of Taco Town, which, being the foremost authority on all things taco, I, Cabeza De Taco, do hereby proclaim that
Chappys Elbo Green
is the
Peoples Choice - Blue Ribbon Winner - Green Sauce Division
at the 2006 Austin Chronic Hot Sauce Festival
Cadeza De Taco said,
August 28, 2006 @ 2:58 pm
the so called winners:
Austin, TX - August 27, 2006 - The Sixteenth Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Contest Winners were determined at the festival held at Waterloo Park today. The winners were:
Individual Category
Red Sauce
1st Place: Kim Johnson
2nd Place: Shawn Muncy
3rd Place: Steve Huskey
Green Sauce
1st Place: Mark & Margaret Harsh
2nd Place: Gene Golembiewski
3rd Place: Marti Cardenas
Special Variety
1st Place: Chuck Hell
2nd Place: Paul Peterson
3rd Place: Burt Friedman
Pico de Gallo
1st Place: Valery Dubon
2nd Place: Karla Uprety
3rd Place: Scott Willis
Commercial Bottler’s People’s Choice
Red Sauce
1st Place: Two Hot Mama’s Salsa Roja
2nd Place: Classy Delites Aztec Salsa
3rd Place: Texapenos Gourmet Red
Green Sauce
1st Place: Classy Delites Spinach Avocado
2nd Place: Two Hot Mama’s Chile Verde
3rd Place: Texapenos Gourmet Green
Special Variety
1st Place: Classy Delites Mango Salsa
2nd Place: Two Hot Mama’s Creamy Cilantro
3rd Place: Texapenos Orange Flame
Pepper Sauce
1st Place: Tears of Joy - August in Austin
2nd Place TIE: Texapenos Red Flame/Aztexan Habanero Supreme
3rd Place: Winston’s Hot Sauce
Restaurant Category
Red Sauce
1st Place: El Caribe Mexican Restaurant
2nd Place: El Chilito
3rd Place: El Rincon Mexican Restaurant
Green Sauce
1st Place: Cantina Laredo
2nd Place: El Rincon Mexican Restaurant
3rd Place: Torchy’s Tacos
Special Variety
1st Place: Rio Grande
Pico de Gallo
1st Place: El Caribe Mexican Restaurant
2nd Place: El Caribe Mexican Restaurant
3rd Place: Serranos Café & Cantina - Symphony Square
Cadeza De Taco said,
September 11, 2006 @ 2:03 pm
For the Record- we got honorable mention…Evan Bozarth presiding. wait til next year fools.
Green Sauce
First: Mark & Margaret Harsh (Round Rock)
Second: Gene Golembiewski*
Third: Marti Cardenas
Honorable Mentions: Marc Irving (Cedar Park), Marvin Perez, Marc Burgamy, Ned McDaniel, Evan Bozarth, Debra Jo Gilchrist, John Unger, Benita Trevino, Pamela Wells, Geoffrey Cry & Joel Smith, Kala Uprety, Marlo Cooper
El Boz said,
September 18, 2006 @ 8:12 pm
Well let’s don’t forget these are the same gringo pendejos that put on SxSW every year. Of course they are all on the take. And Democrats I might add. For instance how about your 2nd place green winner, Golembiewski. Why in the ding dang lollapalooza would you let somebody enter named Golembiewski!!. They should be in a bratwurst cookoff in Wisconsin wearing a cheesehead hat. Certainly not in the great state of Tejas scoring medals in a hot sauce contest.
Carry on green-winged warriors, Rome TX was not built in a day.