Milwaukee’s Best Chili Bowl

Was a great experience right up until I realized I ate 10 completely separate cups of bowel cleaner.

Chilli Coma! Is there such a thing? Yes, most definitely. I’m hurtin’ for certain. The place was packed and in there was 33 of the most unique chili’s I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting.
Time is money so this being my first MKE chilli cook-​off I will not be going via the regular entrance next year. The VIP gets you an hour early access plus a t-​shirt. Seems silly to pay that you say, well not when your standing in a line that takes 20 minutes or so to get a sample of the goods. Like I said time IS money.
I watched as we arrived at 11:30 to get our will call tickets and people who got the VIP were already in and walking around sampling all the chillis available with ease. That’s what’s up.
Overall though the event is a lot of fun. We had more than an ample amount of tickets. They gave extra tickets if you brought 2 canned goods. I actually ended up giving a few of my leftover tickets away. Drink prices at the cash bar are reasonable which is a plus. Parking is free in the garage so it made for easy in, easy out. Great event and Potawatami is actually a perfect spot to handle the mass amount of people that come. Till next year!

I’ve been going to the Milwaukee Chili Bowl for two years now (thanks Groupon!) and it’s been a fun time.
First time when I went in 2014, it was super crowded. There were a lot of vendors in a space that created weird lines of people for different vendors (I couldn’t tell where the lines ended because of the crowds).
This year, there were 2 rooms for the different restaurants, which was super nice. They were spread out more and it seemed to be more space to wander & look at what the different places had for choices of chili.
Just get there early so you can get a table/​chair. Also, if you donate canned goods, you get 2 extra tickets for chili (but I ended up not using because I was getting full).
The one disappointment this year is that several restaurants were listed as participating but didn’t show up. I know my husband was looking forward to trying some of the chili of the MIA restaurants.

I loved this event other years but this year may be my last. Totally unorganized. They had long lines to pick up preordered tickets (so they punish us for ordering ahead). Long line to check coat and many in that line thought it was for tickets. Line was long again when wanted to pick up my coat. They were short on garbage containers and once you found one it could disappear ‘cuz they filled so quickly. Short on tables so you could taste chili and have beverage at same time. Were a few tables way off to one side for sitting. Short on beverage areas. Way on other side of room and always a line or even ran out of water. There was not one chili that I’d wait in a long cross crossed line to try so we left a bunch of our tickets on table since the people we offered them to declined. I can’t believe I went out in cold/​snow and paid to attend this.

This is my first time at the event, and the rating bears no reflection on the restaurants that took part in the event. Everyone at the tables were great, all of them did a wonderful job «selling» their product, and every last one of them seemed to enjoy being there.
That said, wow, what a clusterfu@k.
Logistics:
The entire room layout needed some serious work and forethought. You’re a casino, so you can afford an event coordinator who knows better.
–Opt not to leave tall cocktail tables ten feet from the restaurant tables. That left people leaning and eating in the middle of the space where lines were forming.
–Also, why, with two wings outside of the larger room for larger tables, did someone set more large tables and chairs in the center of the room? There was no dead space to speak of, so you were constantly brushing against people, chairs and tables.
–Better method of trash disposal: every three tables, have a can. Then people won’t stack trash on every free horizontal surface.
–Move the bar outside of the room, or, instead of the large tables taking up space, have it in the center and let the restaurant tables have more space than they did. Some seemed to have 10 feet of front, some only 5 feet. Made for some poor line organization.
—–
The people. Please, be more polite. The great majority of attendees were as good as you’d hope for anywhere, but some needed a proper shiv. I hate walking in the mall due to how people randomly stop walking and change direction or swing bags around as they point things out without concern for the personal space of others. This was Mayfair on the A-​Rod regimen. Leave the big bags, kids, strollers, and attitudes behind please.
And, for the love of whatever you hold dear, there are lines for a reason. Do not clump your group of five up to the front of the line and say you didn’t see the 25 people lined up behind you. Then you make the person serving either have to be a dick to you or serve you and encourage your rudeness.
—–
The chili:
Loved a bunch, disliked a few, but Burke’s lamb and black bean was my favorite on the day. O’Lydia’s had a nice one with chorizo that was good, but went awesome with their house hot sauce.
Seemed like 145/​2pm was the witching hour for chili running out, so they all seemed pretty prepared. Except for spoons. Those were a definite commodity.
—–
The non-​casino staff didn’t all seem to know what was going on. Some were pleasant and communicative, some were counting down til they could go in and eat. I was pretty neutral about them, but I appreciate how much patience they had dealing with some of these people who must’ve been out of their cages for the first time since State Fair.
—–
I might do this again, somewhere else. But not at this venue.
As a side note, the casino gave everyone a $ 10 voucher for their member cards. I won $ 20 off a buck, so my event was free at least.
Also, Pam was here too. She’s like a ninja.

For the most part I agree with Pam B.
It’s a total cluster. There are lines everywhere: groupon purchasers, other online purchasers (non-​groupon), no one knew where to put the damned canned foods… Ugh!
Very limited garbages (seriously?!).
Very limited seating.
Bar for drinks and water all on one side farther down at the end of the room. Random trash everywhere (a consequence of the limited garbage situation).
The setup was just f@!*ing dumb.
Lines criss crossed into each other. Random standing only tables interfered already confusing interfered with lines.
The Chili:
I loved the plethora of options. Some weren’t cooked right (raw veggies, dried out meat). Some tasted bad. Some were super spicy. Some were so totally weird. Some very very good!
Those that blew me away the most were several of the vegetarian options.
Ugly’s Pub had a great, meaty super spicy chili.
At the end of the day, though, the Mulligan’s Pablano pepper veggie chili got my vote for the coveted Golden Ladle.
It was so good and the one that I wanted to keep eating the most.
It irritated me that Mulligans had 2 chilies at the table but only one Golden Ladle vote bag. I feel like it should be a vote for ONE chili not per restaurant not including all the chili’s at the table (some restaurants had 3 chili’s!) It shouldn’t increase your odds of winning because you enter 2 or 3.
They started running out of chili around 2:30 and the event went until 4pm. I feel bad for anyone who bought ticket and arrived after 2. Then those restaurants that still had anything left were swarmed by people with insane lines.
It was interesting to get to taste so many chili’s. But overall a really unorganized and frustrating time.
I might come back sometime but I’m not really sure. At least I know what to expect if there is a next time and can get my mind dumbed down in preparation for the stupidity.