We came, we saw, we ate. Chili, that is. And with four different selections on the menu, we didn't even have to choose. A sampling of all four was the order of the evening on Dec. 29 at the American Legion, and dozens of Borregans showed up and donated whatever money they felt appropriate for chili and refreshments. And then they voted for the best one.

After Brenda from Alpine sampled the fare from the chili pot of Gary Saunders, she declared, "This is the winner!" Not so fast. Chili enthusiasts ended up dropping the most tickets into Jim Battaglia's cup, followed up by second place winner Mike Kitten. Saunders took third place.

Battaglia took his win in stride. Well, actually, he taunted Kitten a bit, showing off his chili pot scraped clean to Kitten's mostly empty pot. Battaglia was well within his rights, as chili bragging rights in Borrego are nothing to scoff at.

Jim Battaglia is now officially king for the 2018-19 chili season, so Mike Kitten will just have to wait until next year to get a chance to express his own bragging rights.