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LeClaire hosts chili crawl

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By Mary Louise Speer | Sunday, January 20, 2008 11:35 AM CST | () comments

LeCLAIRE, Iowa — Saturday’s bitter chill didn’t prevent families from venturing out to sample mouth-pleasing chili during the first LeClaire Chili Crawl.

The event, featuring 13 LeClaire businesses and restaurants, was part of the Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard weekend activities.

“Basically this is giving people the flavor of LeClaire. I think for the inclement weather today and for the first year we did better then we expected,” event organizer Robin Chenoweth said.

Amateur cooks competed to see who could make the best dish and crawlers warmed up with tastes of chili concocted by professional chefs at LeClaire businesses. Visitors came from the Iowa Quad-Cities, Illinois and Kansas City, Mo.

CHILI

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Judy Tanner of Illinois took first place honors for her chili in the amateur cook off. Patrick Cullen won second place for his colorful cornucopia of bits of ham, peppers, tomatoes and corn and Toni Yanek won third place for a thick and meaty mixture with a hint of zesty spice.

Sitting down to a meal of homemade chili is a familiar custom, especially at Halloween, in the Tanner house, said daughter Kristin Tanner. “Mom makes chili all the tine. It’s not too spicy and it’s really flavorful,” she said.

The recipe features taco seasoning, lean ground beef, Heinz ketchup and secret ingredients, she said. Occasionally Judy makes a spicier version with jalapeno’s, but Kristin prefers the milder version. “I’m not a spicy fan so I like it when she doesn’t make it too spicy,” she said.

Kim Collier, owner of Grasshoppers, was pleased with the strong turnout. The shop is located in the 1870 McCaffrey House and business proved brisk. “It’s the perfect day for a chili crawl. We have a fire blazing in the fire place, a wine tasting and lots of people, lots of shoppers,” Collier said.

Candace Voss, the front of house manager at Pebble Creek Clubhouse, was also pleased with the numbers of people stopping in for a taste of executive chef Shawn Timmerman’s chicken enchilada chili. The clubhouse offers a family oriented atmosphere and fine dining, she said.

“He’s one of the youngest executive chefs in the area. He’s very good at what he does and he’s got a very broad understanding of food and what tastes good together,” she said.

Timmerman, 25, began working at a local country club when he was 16 and decided the culinary world was his calling. Pebble Creek hosts three chili opens a year and golfers, he claims, like his chicken enchilada chili the best.

Chenoweth is already making plans for next year’s chili crawl. “We’ll do this again,” she promised.

Be a Tourist in Your Own Backyard included discounts and specials at area attractions, hotels, restaurants and stores and the opening of “Buddy Guard,” a locally-made movie showing at the Showcase Cinemas 53 in Davenport.

The city desk can be contacted at (563) 383-2450 or newsroom@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.