Incredible energy!

Surprisingly, all top three finishers were from Spider Kelly’s in Clarendon! We don’t know their secret, but they’d better protect it like they protect their incredible recipes!

Please check out this new venue and tell ‘em The Fastest Bartender Contest sent ya!

You can support Fastest Bartender Charities and Madie Troy when she and fellow finalist Bridgette Turner host an 11 hour fundraiser Saturday April 3rd at the Buffalo Wing University in Reston Virginia. There will be raffles and specials all day with Bridgette and Madie who will donate all their tips to Fastest Bartender Charities.

Awesome job ladies, See you in at the finals!!!

Round 4 Winner: Cori Thompson

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!

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

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.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

_____________________________________________________________________________

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!!

_____________________________________________________________________________

]]> 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

________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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