Tustin Street Fair and Chili Cook-Off

This is my favorite festival to look forward to. I usually ride my bike so parking isn’t an issue and for the last several years tickets for each tasting has been $ 1! You can’t beat that! There’s a variety of booths for you to try, some are of course better than others. So you just have to try and see which ones you enjoy.
There are 2 stages and the entertainment has always been entertaining. :) It’s fun to walk around and it supports charity so you really can’t go wrong. :)

In a man’s life, there exist 5 High Holy Days a year. These days are: your birthday, Father’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Tustin Chili Cook Off. Many meet their demise at the TCCO due to rookie error and make no mistake, this is a high level quest. So join me, the Pope of Chili Town, on my walk-​through so that you too may enjoy the spoils at the end of this grand and glorious battle.
Before Your Journey:
You have to plan ahead. I recommend that you stop eating around 5pm the day before. Your body needs to prepare before you throw copious amounts of chili nectar down your throat hole. (For bonus experience points — carve your own chili spoon out of a larger wooden spoon.)
The Arrival:
Oh, it starts at 11am? I’ll show up at noon — FAIL. You just lost at life. I award you no points and may God have mercy on your soul. The only way to succeed is to arrive at 10:30am. I recommend parking in the Souplantation/​99 Cent Store (Newport and Main) parking lot. Grab your canteen filled with cool delicious water and head down Main St. towards El Camino.
*Loading Screen — Welcome to Old Town*
Tickets will go on sale around 10:45am. Chili tickets are $ 1 each. 10 tickets will do for the novice but I always go 20 because I like to play at a higher difficulty level. Oh, look beer tickets!
DO NOT BUY BEER TICKETS.
First you have to buy a wristband for $ 2 so you can have the privilege of buying beer tickets. What? THIS IS AMERICA. We do not give you money so that we can give you more money. Unless it’s health insurance.
Now let’s look at the choices: Bud Light & Coors Light. Bravo. You just overpaid for yellowish water from Flint, Michigan. Wait… they’ve listed something under «Craft Beer.» There must be some mistake though — it says Blue Moon. Look, if you think Blue Moon is a craft beer then you probably also think that a hot dog is actual «meat» or that Donald Trump has «interesting ideas.» I can’t help you.
[Insert cheat code: Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A Start]
There’s several drinking establishments that are open in and around Old Town. They’re all selling good beer for cheaper prices. I enjoyed a few tankards of Grapefruit Sculpin for $ 5 each all whilst rejecting the tyranny of the wristband.
The Main Event:
You’ve got your chili tickets. Now it’s time to party. Even with 20 tickets, the choices can be overwhelming. Here’s a list of booths to avoid:
1) Anyone not ready at 10:45am. Why aren’t they ready? Because they realize their chili sucks and shame is preventing them from being punctual.
2) Christians. This one hurts to say — I love my Jesus. But even the risen Lord dislikes your chili. Trust me, brethren — it’s not a sin to use spices. The extra kick is not a nod to the fires of hell.
3) Any booth that consists of one pot and two inappropriately dressed girls. This is just pandering to the lowest common denominator. I do not believe for one second that you slaved away to create the perfect chili. If you can’t afford to buy the fabric for an entire shirt, then you probably didn’t invest much in smoked meats.
4) Anything featuring the words «colon» or decorated with pictures of toilets and lightning bolts. It’s not a sign of spicy chili — it’s a warning of what their chili tastes like.
So what will you spend your first ten tickets on? Behold:
1) Hit the booths on El Camino first and foremost. This street fills up fast with hooligans and scalawags so you want to be quick.
2) Judge a book by its cover. More often than not, those teams that spend the time and effort to put up a good looking booth also put forth a great chili product. There’s a lot of folks here who take pride in their chili.
3) High end restaurants. These guys already have a leg up and the quality will be a lot higher than Herb and Mabel’s Down Home Butt Blast Chili. Case in point — Smoqued. The dudes know meat and their cup was filled with brisket. That’s $ 1 well spent.
4) People that slay bugs and vermin. I’m not even kidding. The most consistent chili year after year is the Fire Ant Chili from Orange County Vector Control. It’s fantastic. It might even be made with real fire ants.
5) The side street up-​and-​comers. Don’t ignore the minor league players. These are your first timers with something to prove. Yes, some will never make it to the big show but others will blow your mind. This past year my favorite chili came from the guys at Bella Que. They were hidden on C Street and sandwiched between someone selling scarves and I think maybe a gypsy. These dudes hit a grand slam with their smoked pork green chili. Simply put — the best.
After you drop 10 tickets, reward yourself with a decent beer. Then head back out and spend five tickets on your top five favorites. Have another beer. Then take a nap in the hidden courtyard off 2^nd and C St. Finally, spend your last five tickets on your favorite chili. Oh yeah, and have one more beer.
Congrats. You did it.

#AchievementUnlocked

Located in Old Town Tustin on El Camino Real, this the City of Tustn’s annual chili cook-​off. Its a fun little cooking competition and street fair event. Lots of chili vendors of all types. This year there were three vegan chili vendors. Three other vegan vendors were listed but did not bring their vegan chili to the cook-​off. Sure wish there was a vegan category for the event to stimulate interest. Since this is southern california it is odd that there is not. Otherwise, this is mostly a meat eaters event. We bought five tickets each and got full on that. Finished off with some nice Italian ices. There is also live music on three stages and a classic car show. Plus a smattering of home improvement vendors, chiropractors, religious and political organizations. Parking is kind of hard because all the commercial lots are off limits, so its street parking for the most part. Go early or plan to walk far to your car.

Well, finally made it the Tustin Chili cook off. Glad I went, followed the tips of friends & fellow Unilocal patrons. Got there early for parking, ck. Didn’t buy too many chili tickets, ck. (Note that chili tickets are good for just that, Chili) Brought water, ck. Beat the heat by getting there at opening, ck. It’s a fun two hour event, tried 6 different chills, 2 real good, 3 good, one not so good. Root beer float was a highlight! By noon, it was getting packed and hot. 2 live bands, lots of people to watch, fairly organized event. Can’t say it’s really great chili, but a great event to visit, at least once! Update: Motezuma came to visit last night, reminded me that lukewarm chili is a bad thing! Evacuation in progress! Won’t tempt fate here again!

Got here about 10:45 and parked 4 blocks away, not bad.
Glad I read the other reviews though because it got super busy by 12:30 and if you are here for the food you can get a lot of tasting done in over an hour. I was surprised though that there was maybe 40% of the stands that were Chili tasting and 60% was a hodgepodge of drinks, tacos, religion, random consumer good stores. Disappointed there wasn’t much organization and you had to comb through all the stands to get chili.
Overall, good tasting size for $ 1 and for $ 5-​$ 8 you will have a normal sized lunch. Good selection though 10% was awesome, 20% was intriguing with a nice flavor and the other 70% was mediocre at best.
Worth getting off the main drag and hitting the side streets for future reference.

was fun this year for 2015. maybe next year I enter the Men’s Legs Contest.

I went 2 years in a row and enjoyed both visits and see the cook-​off as a new yearly ritual for my group. Parking can be a nightmare if you don’t plan ahead, aim on parking at supermarkets nearby and avoid the city hall lot as it gets packed and barely moves. Key here is to keep your expectation in check and bring good company.
The experience with chili here is extremely hit or miss. Some are unique and provide a satisfying burst of meaty and interesting chili flavor notes while others make you wonder if you just ate dog food. Since the chili booths can vary from year to year, I’ll generalize the tips.
Super Tips:
— Tickets are $ 1 each. 1 Ticket per chili sample. I was able to successfully satisfy 4 – 5 people with $ 25, 2 years in a row.
— Beer is appx $ 7(you have to pay $ 1 for a bracelet) and have its own separate ticket. (just pregame to save $ or stow some in a stroller or fill a camelbak. You get the point.)
— Do not be deceived by previously «placed’ chilis, most of them are bland. Try these last.
— Regarding the last note, go for the currently placed chilis ASAP, these tend to be the ones that run out first.
— Long lines do NOT equate to good chili, people generally believe so and the hype builds only to be let down by mediocre chili.
— DO try the small players away from the main street. I found these to be the most unique best tasting chili.
— Not all vendors take the tickets. This applies mostly to non-​chili or drink vendors.
— WEAR sunscreen. I forgot both years and turned pink.
— Expect lots and lots of people you might be pushing and shoving to get through at times.
This annual event will probably appeal to a niche group of people and if you enjoy fairs, you’ll probably enjoy the cook-​off. Grab some people you can have a fun time drinking and sharing with and have a good time!

neanderthal come to chili cook off with aspiration of becoming world class slob. read previous reviews that say $ 1 ticket per cup of chili, and that no need to spend more than $ 5-​$ 10 on chili as you will get full after only several cups. neanderthal scoff at this, HA! make me think, ‘what kind of puny human come to chili cook-​off and not try to eat far past the levels of comfort?’ chili cook off is american past time, where man go to eat himself into oblivion, requiring at least one full day of recovery. THAT is how you do chili cookoff. Here is history lesson: man go to chili cook off and eat mysterious guatemalan chili pepper that result in crazy hallucination. cause him to question whether his wife is really his soul mate. after much soul searching, he discover she is and they re-​discover true love. that man name homer simpson, and homer simpson is american icon.
but, other reviewers is right. after close to $ 10 of chili ticket, neanderthal very full already. try some very good chili. jurassic park theme chili taste very good and also make neanderthal miss home, very nostalgic. also try one that have waffle and chili. very interesting, but good. Roscoe deserve royalties for idea though. They sell beer, but neanderthal no drink any for two reason 1) more beer = less room in stomach for chili and 2) beer sale is scam at chili cook off. costs $ 6 for red solo cup of beer which only fit one can. Haha what kind of joke is that. 12 pack of beer costs $ 10 at store, but why buy that when you can drink 12 beers in red cup at chili cookoff for $ 75?! Haha psyche! what joke. this is why neanderthal master of ancient ritual call «pregame.»
overall, fun time. many good chili, some not so good. does not cost money to enter though, so no reason to complain. kind of like going to free swap meet that has many different chili booth. sound good to me!
as for parking, not sure what deal is here. but neanderthal park several blocks away because meet friends at nearby 7 – 11 anyways. dont remember street name.
neanderthal finish this review off with joke: why did neanderthal put on sweater before buying kidney beans? because he beginning to get chili! Ha ha! Have good weekend!

This was a great event. Free parking, $ 2 wristbands for drinking, $ 1 per sample for chili, $ 7 for a beer. We tried and saw a lot of interesting things. For $ 40 you can spend a whole afternoon eating and drinking… not a bad deal.

I have been to this event a few times over the last 10 – 15 years, most recently being on Sunday June 7, 2015.
I am all about street fairs, day drinking, and eating good food. We got there at about 11am and lucked out with parking in the center nearby for free. Walked in, and had friends that were at Black Marlin, so I went to locate them… that place was packed. And it became a hangout later in the day as well. Just go there and ignore the dumb cook-​off.
Got in line for tickets… WHAT A HASSLE!!! They are cash only, which is not posted. So, I got to wait in that line twice. The differentiate between the beer tickets and the chili tickets, so you have to plan in advance an decide how you want to divvy your tickets up. Which ends up with exactly what they want… you buy tickets that you end up not using. And then there’s places that serve food with more substance, that don’t take tickets, only cash. WTF. SO DAMN ANNOYING.
I had 2 thimbles of chili. And it was not exciting. Tons of places were OUT OF CHILI at 12pm? Is that not the whole goddam point of this event? And, the beer table was out of service too, so I wandered around looking for another one most of the time, whilst having beer and chili spilled on me from people who managed to get chili before it ran out, and beer before the tap malfunction.
I tried to sell my tickets to people in line before I left so I could recoup some of my money. People thought I was trying to run some sort of scam. LOL. I just wanted to Get the Fuck Out of Tustin!!! and get back some of the $ 40 I wasted on tickets.
I left after 2 hours, and I wanted to leave after 30 minutes. I wasted my money. It was not fun.
In the past it was not such a cluster-​fuck.
I only went because I was in town to visit my sister and it happened to coincide with a friends birthday and she was planning to be at the Chili Cook Off, so I went. It is not at all worth the drive from San Diego. I don’t think it was worth the drive from Costa Mesa, to be honest.
I will not be attending ever again.

Had a great sunny day. Didn’t buy tickets but still found food. Enjoyed talking to chili contestants. People here are pretty cool. Found some nice places in Old Town Tustin. Will go back to try some of the local shops. For sure again for next years event.

We got there at 10:30 am, half an hour before it started. Parking on the street in the residential area was already pretty tight! They advertise $ 10 parking lots, but if you look around and get there early enough, you should be able to find free parking.
They started selling tickets at 10:45 am, 15 min before they open. There is no entry fee, but it’s $ 1.00 per chili tasting ticket, $ 2 for a wristband (if you plan on drinking), plus $ 1 wine tasting tickets for a 1 oz pour, $ 5 for a full wine glass or $ 6 – 7 for beer. I don’t really understand the $ 2 wristband charge? We’re already paying for the alcohol.
There are plenty of chili booths along with regular food vendors (where you can buy tacos, hot dogs, etc with cash) and other vendors as well. It was actually much larger than I expected it to be. There are also some covered/​shaded areas with tables & chairs to sit down.
My favorite chili was from The Kroft. They offered a chili mac and it had a panko/​bacon/​parmesan sprinkling on top. I got 5 chili tickets total, and that was just enough for me.
It’s a good event if you live in Tustin and want to support your community, but I wouldn’t drive out of my way for it again unless you reallllly love chili!

Nice place to walk around on a weekend. Enjoyed trying the chili although I didn’t find any that we spectacular. Will come back again.

Had an absolute blast. i love the Tustin chili cook-​off! Last year was my first time in attendance, and i had such a good time, i vowed to come back. so happy i did; i left my house hungry, and returned very satisfied.
so, what makes the Tustin chili cook-​off so exciting? sure, its a street fair, but its also so much more than that. its a competition among vendors! all boasting to have the best tasting chili. you buy tickets, walk the streets, and get in line for whatever chili catches your eye.
what sets this event apart from other street fairs is the fact that it actually does what its supposed to — it focuses on chili. nothing is more disappointing than showing up to a food-​specific festival that doesnt deliver the goods (this happened to me at the lemon festival — it was fun, but, lemonade aside, there was nothing lemony about the festival at all. no lemon bars, lemon pie, lemon soup! just lemonade. but i digress.).
so, what do you need to know?
*show up early. the event says its from 11 – 530, but most vendors begin running out of chili by 2pm.
*get in the long chili lines. they are long for a reason.
*dont be scared to try booths that have no line. some of them have legit chili, too.
*bring ID. they serve beer! :D
i really want to give this event 5 stars, but i gave it 4 out of 5 because i hate how early the vendors run out of chili. i dont blame them, i know it isnt their fault, they cant exactly judge how many people are going to roll through for chili. i do think, however, that the time for this event needs to be adjusted. it says it runs til 530, but most people are done and wrapping up by 230 – 3. and thats cool, i get it — if its hot out, and you’re all out of chili, then why not wrap things up? its just a bummer for those who planned on spending most of their day there, also a bummer for those who decide to show up later in the afternoon.
All in all, awesome festival, ¹⁰⁄₁₀ would chili again.
Lastly, huge shoutout to Tustin Police for great chili, and double shoutout to Amigos de Yorba for not only great chili, but also that fun beanbag toss. what a brilliant way to reward people for standing in that super long line.

This is fun for all ages. It is huge. Craft booths are great. Parking is difficult. Now they’re bussing you to the fair & back. My hubby love’s the Chile tasting. Come check it out. Help support our local businesses and crafters. For just a little $ your able to get a chili card. You are able to pay for some beer or wine tasting too. Different foods to purchase. Deserts, breads, nuts, honey, jams, flower’s just endless be sure to check the date. Come have some old fashioned fun in old town Tustin

On the whole, I love the event but what I don’t like is the fact that a newcomer to the cook off can dish up the most disgusting, vile «food», let alone the vendor telling me that is was made with slow cooked pork butt, it’s no wonder it that it smelled like butt, wins second place for a «people’s choice award».
Either the event for these purveyors of food poop had friends give them hundreds of tickets or the judging is rigged.
I will go again as I have for the past six years but I won’t be sampling the chili.

— Locale Destination —
It’s in old Tustin — around El Camino Real and Main St in Tustin.
They block several streets around El Camino Real. The event held several blocks — you see baloons, the ticket booth, bathrooms, and beer cart at each entrance. Shops and chili are all over the streets. Relatively big — bigger than I expected. No entry fee.
They offer not only chili, but also other shops and foods. Many schools do this for their fund raising. Many local restaurants seemed to offer the chili, too. Parking is available around this place — lots of street parking spots are available. Cops were everywhere, so bring the designated driver if you plan to drink. Bring cash.
How to get the chili:
You buy tickets (cash only I think. I saw ATMs) at the ticket booths (several locations) and go to wherever you like and give them the ticket. Chili is somehow very filling despite of the tiny tasting size cup — 5 tastes would be enough. Don’t go crazy on buying the tickets ($ 20 etc.). Beers are 5 tickets, each chili is 1 ticket ($ 1).
Non chili spots: Not just chili shops — services, art & craft, organizations (charity, police etc.), drinks, sandwich, tacos, gyros, shaved ice etc. Unlike chili spots, you just buy stuff at each tenant. You should bring CASH.
Music: Country music for the live shows. I don’t listen «country music», so whatever to me. They had a DJ but he really sucked. He played one song for about 5 seconds and kept changing songs (all random — from «Nirvana» to whatever — no unified genres). It didn’t have any smooth transition from song to song. It was just terrible and painful to hear the chopped random «sounds». You should never hire the DJ guy again.
Classic Cars — I don’t know whether if they were just for a «show» or «for sale», but you see some cool vintage cars.
— Gluttony Expedition —
1) «Cecilia school chili»: It was the best out of all I tried. It was mild yet had a kick.
2) «Mugs n Jugs»: Very smokey and lots of spices. They even put blue cheese sauce on top of it… Too overpowering flavors. Meh.
3) «Blue Ribbon»: Very mild. OK.
4) «The Black Marlin Bar & Seafood Grill»: They got a chunk of meat but it was bland.
5) «Duffy’s Fantail Chili»: Terrible. No depth. The worst among all.
— Conqueror’s Deduction —
This «chili cook off» seems to exist for years. They should know how to run this event smoothly and efficiently already — obviously not.
That being said, many of the chili shops run out of their chili in 20 minutes (right after the shops started opening). Chili is the only item they serve, each chili is offered by a tiny tasting cup (very small portion, not a «CUP» nor «BOWL», and this is «Chili cook off»… Are you kidding??? No chili?
ONE tiny slow cooker you use at your house isn’t capable of serving hundreds of hungry people. You should bring bigger pots and multiple electric warmer/​heater. But the people who held the event should have advised the chili shops about it… Common sense?
Despite of «Chili cook off», no chili was outstanding. «Cecilia school chili» was kinda good but just better than the rest. Sadly, the chili from «Winerschnitzel» (they were there!) was better than most… But it was kinda fun as a festival.
P.S
One chili shop kept yelling «chili served straight from toilet». I don’t know what kind of world they live, but I don’t get that kind of joke.
Sound appetizing? No.
Funny? Maybe.
I personally don’t get the concept of «wife beater» nor «good food from toilet». Yeah, chili and beans associate with a toilet (to me) but I keep it private… ;p

Every year my friends and I look forward to the cook-​off, it’s like the official kick start of summer.
Every year it gets packed, so come early and parking is a pain but I think it’s worth it. Don’t buy too many tickets unless you use most of them on beer (which I think is a rip-​off but they have to make their money somehow). Most of the chili is good and some can just be really bad but that’s the point of the cook-​off you can try as many or as little as you want.
If you’ve never been go at least once and check it out, it’s definitely fun for the whole family.

Just got back From Chili Cook off 2014… Like a reviewer said from 2013, don’t buy so many tickets. Many, many vendors only take cash… esp the taco plates, enchil etc. And by the time you have had 3 to 4 tastes of chili, you are either full like me, or you want another kind of food. It was packed when we arrived at 1:30. We waited for people leaving to grab a parking place in the large shopping center on El Camino.
Next time, I might go at 11 am, as it might not be so crowded & not as hot. It was 86
today. There is plenty of shade to sit in tho. A good time for all.

We went with full intentions to kill our stomachs with chili samples.
Okay. Next time. We got distracted by an Indian buffet place down the street.
But, I did enjoy the lovely aromas of the chili while walking through!
My favorite themed booth for this visit– O’Connell’s Colon Cleanser
There was a really good country band up on the big stage
Good thing we went early right from the opening time.
Within an hour, this place was packed!
This event is still my favorite foodie festival!