Winner of Round 3: Emily Corbin

A perfect venue, a great group of people, and customers that know how to turn hard times into the best of times promise to bring the house down this Sunday night.

If you haven’t been to a Hard Times Cafe you’re in for a treat. Their story is an American story:

Their roots: Ira Goodfellow was born in Grapevine, Texas in 1874. When he was 15 years old his father gave him a horse, double-barreled shot gun and a ten dollar bill and he told him it was time to go out and seek his fortune.

Ira Goodfellow

My brother Jim and I know of this story because Ira Goodfellow was our Grandfather. His first job was a trail drive cowboy at the Waggoner ranch near Wichita Falls, Texas. It was there he learned how to prepare chili from a chuck wagon cook.

He learned to cook more than chili because when he homesteaded in Oklahoma territory he taught his new bride how to handle herself in the kitchen. Irma, his oldest daughter eventually took over the kitchen chores and it was grandpa Ira’s chili recipe she used when she opened a small roadhouse in Gracemont, Oklahoma in the late 1940’s.

Irma became famous for her Texas chili and would have customers drive the fifty miles from Oklahoma City just for a taste. Her place finally succumbed to the new interstate highway system, a fate shared by many independent eateries on the secondary roads of the country.

It was twenty five years later around the mid 1960’s that brother Jim and I discovered the Texas Chili Parlor of Washington DC on Pennsylvania Avenue. This was a little joint that had been around since the early 1930’s and was located about three blocks from the White House.

Open until 3am it was a favorite hang out for cabbies, policeman, reporters and other folks working the graveyard shift. The Texas Chili Parlor also had a high profile clientele.

David Brinkley was a regular as was President Truman who lived a couple of blocks away in the White House.

The place was owned by two salty old ladies named Barbara Abbot and Hazel Caloway and their Chili tasted just like our Aunt Irma’s. The place only served straight chili, chili with beans, chili dogs and chili mac. That was it.

The two women had been feuding for years and would not work together , so they each would run the place two weeks on and two weeks off. Each had a loyal customer following and Jim and I were in Hazel’s camp.

Eventually they split up and only Hazel’s place survived. She died in 1971 and the Texas Chili Parlor went out of business.

For the next nine years I kept the memory of our local chili parlor alive by turning part of my home into a chili parlor.

Using the family recipe I served the famous Texas Chili mac to friends and family and we would sit around and tell Hazel stories.

In 1980 Jim and I decided to turn what had been a hobby into a real business and opened our first store on King Street in Old Town Alexandria where it still operates today. Since then hundreds of Hazel’s old customers have found us along with a throng of new fans each year. In October of 2005 USA Today named us as one of the 10 best places in the country for a bowl of chili.

- Fred Parker

Our Round 2 Winner: Chris “Diddy” Hollowell

Congratulations to Dan “Radar” Barnes who topped the other 12 contenders at the Fishmarket Sunday night in front of a standing room only crowd!

The competition was fierce, the music was loud, and the crowd was dynamite! But there was one lil’ fan that didn’t seem all that interested… maybe in 21 years or so!

The Fishmarket proved to be the perfect host for the kickoff to our 2010 Northern Virginia series of contests. Although they’re located minutes from D.C. when you step inside the Fishmarket the atmosphere makes you feel as though you’re on vacation at your favorite beach resort. What a great place!

Check out the great photographs from Sunday night on our Facebook page: 2010 Fastest Bartender Kickoff photos

Daniel “Radar” Barnes rules!

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The Fish Market is to Old Town Alexandria as Old Town is to Virginia. Located in buildings used as a hospital during the civil war the Fish Market offers regulars, newcomers, and tourists fantastic food in an environment that is unmatched and unforgettable.

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Their Anchor Bar offers a late night raw bar with the freshest seafood available, the coldest beer and a professional, friendly staff.

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Be sure to save room for a huge bowl of Pop’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream! Pop’s is an old-fashioned Ice Cream Parlor where they make their own ice cream on site. They also offer home baked desserts, espresso beverages, milk and protein shakes.

We’re excited about kicking off our biggest series of contests in our history at the Fish Market! Please join us for what promises to be a great night!!

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]]> http://fastestbartender.com/the-fish-market-host-to-the-21st-annual-virginia-fbc-kickoff/feed 1 http://fastestbartender.com/virginia-beach-here-we-come http://fastestbartender.com/virginia-beach-here-we-come#comments Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:17:37 +0000 David http://fastestbartender.com/?p=275 Our Virginia Beach series of the Fastest Bartender Contest kicks off Tuesday December 15th at Baxters Sports Lounge in Norfolk.

As always a series of qualifying rounds will be held at other bars to give as many bartenders as possible an opportunity to compete and their fans a chance to turn out to cheer them on.

For information on entering the contest please content Baxter Simmons at Baxters – 757.622.9837 or Billy Reilly at Fastest Bartender – 202.439.2001.

Here’s the schedule:

Opening round:

Tuesday Dec 15th at Baxters Sports Lounge in Norfolk

Monday January 11th at Wild Wing Cafe in Chesapeake

Monday January 18th at Cabo Café in Virginia Beach

The finals will be held:

Monday January 25th at Paradocks in Chesapeake

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The fastest bartender in the VA Beach area will win a $1,000 and the 2nd and 3rd place winners will walk away with $500 and $250 respectively. Everyone is all but guaranteed to have a great time competing for the honor of being crowned the Fastest Bartender!

In addition to having tons of fun while we work to discover who the fastest bartender in the VA Beach area is we’ll be working to raise awareness of, and money for, a great cause: K9 New Life.

K-9 New Life is an all breed, no-kill dog rescue organization located in the Tidewater area.
We are registered as a 501(c)3, non-profit organization.

The mission of K-9 New Life is to take in dogs from shelters when they have run out of time or are injured or too sick for the shelters to handle. We provide them with health care, rehabilitation, training and a loving foster home until they can be adopted. Our focus is to give these less fortunate dogs a second chance to live the happy life they deserve. http://www.k9newlife.org

Michelle Kestenbaum

Congratulations to Michelle Kestenbaum for winning the title as the Fastest Bartender in Hoboken New Jersey!

Our quest to find the fastest bartender in Hoboken began in early October and after a series of contests with dozens of bartenders from the hottest bars in town. Four qualifying rounds were held at The Shannon, Willie McBrides, Texas Arizona, Odd Fellows, and the finals began where it all started… at The Shannon.

The official list of winners:

First Place: Michelle Alana (Samarel) Kestenbaum, representing the Madison.
Second Place: Julie “Jules” Grills, representing Willie McBrides.
Third Place: Ben Prior, representing the Iron Monkey.

The winner for the H. David Jay Award for the top fund raising bar goes to The Shannon: $1,111.26. The raised money went to the YMCA in Hoboken.

We loved meeting the great people in Hoboken and thank them for joining in on the fun! Great people, great bars, great bartenders, and the Hoboken YMCA doing great things!

The fastest three bartenders in Montgomery County Maryland are:

The Champion: Rachel Burrell

Contest winners:
1st place ($500.00): Rachel Burrell
2nd place ($250.00): Andy Meyrowitz
3rd place ($100.00): Sonny

Growlers won the H. David “Uncle Dave” Jay award thanks to their strong fund raising efforts:

Growlers
227 East Diamond Ave
Gaithersburg, MD

A good time was had by all involved and we are excited about returning to Growlers in 2010 to determine if Rachel can hold onto her title as Fastest Bartender.

Be sure to check out all of the photos from the finals on our Facebook fan page: facebook.com/fastestbartender

And who thought bartenders were competitive? We’ve completed two qualifying rounds and the six bartenders listed below have qualified to move onto the finals at the end of October (Oct 27th Tue 8 pm The Shannon). Come out and watch these fantastic people push their skills to the limit for fun, a good cause, and for the right to bear the title of The Fastest Bartender in Hoboken.

The Shannon: Oct 6th
Cormac Gallagher:  Shannon
Heather Medina:  Black Bear
Ben Prior:  Iron Monkey

Video clips from The Shannon

Willie McBrides: Oct 13th
Julie (Jules) Grills:  Willie McBrides
Pete Dixon:  Willie McBrides
Bill Crecca:  Jenks

Photo album from McBrides

Texas Arizona: Oct 19th
Michelle Kesteabaum: The Madison
Jonathan Heller: Elysian Cafe
Kathy Nickolson: The Shannon

Odd Fellows: Oct 20th
Britney Gwinneck: Odd Fellows
Hillery Lenchus: Odd Fellows
Ryan Schmidt: Rogos

The finalists: The bartenders listed below represent the fastest (and finest) bartenders in Hoboken New Jersey.

1 Cormac Gallagher: The Shannon
2 Heather Medina: Black Bear
3 Ben Prior: Iron Monkey
4 Jule Grills: Willie McBrides
5 Pete Dixon: Willie McBrides
6 Bill Crecca: Jenks
7 Michelle Kesteabaum: The Madison
8 Jonathan Heller: Elisian Cafe
9 Kathy Nickolson: The Shannon
10 Britney Gwinneck: Odd Fellows
11 Hillery Lenchus: Odd Fellows
12 Ryan Schmidt: Rogos
13 Rafaela Moreno: 340 Grille
14 Jeremy Lindgren: Whiskey Bar
15 Chris Villavicencio: Mikie Squared
16 Mike Nuttle: Maxwells

Contest Schedule:
Oct 11th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers
Oct 18th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers
Finals – Oct 25th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers

Growlers – www.growlersofgaithersburg.com

227 East Diamond Ave
Gaithersburg MD 20877
301-519-9400

Map

We’re excited Growlers will be hosting our contests to find the fastest bartender in Montgomery County Maryland.

Growlers is located in the heart of old-town Gaithersburg in the beautiful historic J.A. Belt building (built in 1889) that has been a local bar for years. They serve a wide variety of high quality American and pub-style entrees and they also brew their own beer in-house, with a great selection on tap. This popular bar is always abuzz with conversation. In addition to hosting the Fastest Bartender Contests they host live music three nights a week and run a happening happy hour from 4 pm to 7 pm every weekday.

Contest Schedule:
Oct 11th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers
Oct 18th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers
Oct 22nd Thursday 8:00 pm Growlers
Finals – Oct 25th Sunday 8:00 pm Growlers

Growlers – www.growlersofgaithersburg.com

227 East Diamond Ave
Gaithersburg MD 20877
301-519-9400

Map