Sarah Wood, the editor of Edible Monterey Bay , asked if I could take her place as a judge for the Chili Cook-off at The Park Lane today. Sure thing. So, I was there with Mike Hale, whose column Grub Hunter appears on Wednesdays in the Monterey County Herald ; you can read his blog: here . Someone asked, "So you're here to judge? You must be a food expert!" Well...I'm a food writer. Not sure if that makes me an expert, but I do love to eat. Mike and I were tasked with tasting - and evaluating - the eight entries. Interestingly enough we came to a consensus fairly easily. We both picked the same one as our first choice. And our second and third choices were the same - just flip-flopped. Done deal. And though we didn't talk about our criteria too much, I suspect that Mike and I were both weighing the offerings in a similiar fashion. I was basing my judgement on flavor, spiciness, texture, consistency, and overall enjoyment. But it got me thinking: what...