Spicecapades: The NY Chili Fest will stew you good

If your like me, then you are a chili aficionado. I love the robust flavors, the spice, the subtle notes of coffee, brown sugar, and tomato sauce. It's an easy dish to make that many people can eat. It's a great one pot meal.  You can make it with almost any meat you can think of, you can also make it a vegetarian dish. Sometimes, I use beans as the filler or tofu. Tofu takes on any flavor you put it in and it's high in protein, which gives you energy.

Well, with all that being said, Here's a fest for you....

On these icy winter nights of late, we like to pour ourselves an extra-potent hot toddy, sit in front of the Fireplace app on our iPads, and relax with a rendition of Nina Simone's "Chili Wins Don't Blow." Well, that's how we hear the lyrics. And we'll be whistling the tune at the NY Chili Fest this Sunday when competitors fill up a 500-foot concourse of chili at Chelsea Market. These are some serious chili-heads, too. Chefs from Fatty 'Cue, Roberta's, The Brooklyn Star, craftbar, Vinegar Hill House and more will be filling their crocks with delicious cuts of organic animal from Dickson's Farmstand Meats, and competing for cash, gear, and a Golden Chili Mug. And, as with like any good food fest, you'll know that your ticket isn't only buying bowl after bowl of steaming red — it's also benefiting Food Systems Network NYC, which fights hunger (besides your own). Iron Chef Michael Symon will be on hand to judge the spicy stews, and you'll be drinking bottomless Samuel Adams in between bouts of chili-packed punches to your face. After all, beer pairs with chili a hell of a lot better than Lilac Wine.

	NY Chili Fest 2012 Sunday, January 29 7p Chelsea Market 75 9th Ave. (W. 15th St.), Chelsea chilifest2012.com Tickets: $45-55 here