REVISED: to provide better set-up.
10:58 am
We have arrived at the Elks Lodge for the Wake Co. Democratic Party rally and chili cook-off. This event seemed a good candidate for live blogging, as it combines food and politics. Since I'm a single Dad for the day, the latter is especially important, as my politics-obsessed 17 year-old is down with anything Democratic, and his siblings like anything that involves food and getting out of the house. As for me, I'm still smarting a little from not winning the chili cook-off at my wife's office, and I'm out for redemption. So I've been up since 6:00 am working on my 'Chipotle Chorizo Chili for Change', hoping its hot, slightly sweet and smoky flavor profile will resonate better with Democrats than the Fortune 500 equipment manufacturing drones who dissed me last week.
The venue at the corner of Millbrook and Lead Mine in north Raleigh is one I've passed for years, but never entered. It's a low-slung, rambling brick building on an attractive, wooded rise. The ballroom is pretty much what one might imagine an Elks Lodge to be like -- a glittering disco ball suspended above the dance floor, 'Smokeeter' (R) brand smoke filters on each wall, emblazoned with a sign reading "Please leave Smokeeters ON all night after bingo." The bar is open (what else would one expect from the Elks?) but thankfully there's no one smoking inside.
A crowd is gathering while a band sets up. Most of the attendees are on the far side of middle-aged, and nearly all Caucasian (not surprising for this part of town). As always at such events, it's a very friendly and outgoing bunch.
Finally, another word about the chili: it's a concoction I've been tweaking for years. Some of the eclectic contents include beer, coffee, maple syrup (or molasses), balsamic vinegar, chipotles in adobo, coffee, chorizo, smoked sausage, and Italian sausage.
Time to get a drink; more to come.
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