Let's Start a Real Battle over Chili! (Cleveland, Cincinnati: appointed, camp)

[kjbrill]

Let's get down in the trenches and have a knock down drag out fight over whether Cincinnati Chili is chili or not.

My vote is the Greeks who came to Cincinnati and started their own brand of chili parlors, probably pre-date anything from the west in terms of a recognizable brand identity. The Tex-Mex variety grew out of the old Western cattle drives. You could call the trail mix either stew or chili, but was there actually a discernible difference?

I do make several varities of Tex-Mex chili and enjoy all of them. But to say they ovewhelm my 3,4, and 5-ways and coneys for pure enjoyment is just not correct.

I will defend Ccincinnati Chili as a great food. What say the rest of you?

[progmac]

Sure it is chili. When I lived in the southwest, they would call all chili either "Red Chili" or "Green Chili" - red was the typical texas-type chili (plus beans usually) and green typically what i might call green chile and pork (or chicken) soup.

I guess my point is that ANY type of chili needs to have an adjective to describe it. Depending on where you are at, to say simply "Chili" brings to mind any of a variety of possible concoctions.

It is acceptable, to say merely "chili" to refer to Cincinnati chili if you are in Cincinnati or otherwise mutually understand what you are talking about.

I have enjoyed experimenting with Cincinnati chili over the years. There is a wide range of flavor profiles depending on the spices, technique, meet used, etc. Much to the chagrin of many purists, I will soon be attempting a meatless Cincinnati chili that uses soy protein for the meat texture. I have found some of the key ingredients to be: All spice, cloves, unsweetened chocolate, and some amount of chili powder. The best chili was that with which my wife used the food processor, eliminating nearly all of the chunks.

[Cavaturaccioli]

It's real chili, fer sure. But it's best fit for hot dogs. A good, hearty chili should be made with chunks of stewed beef, not chopped meat.
(I mean, How many meat grinders did they have on the prairie?)

[abr7rmj]

I'm thinking it's Skyline time! Or Gold Star. Or Dixie. Or Blue Ash. Or Camp Washington. Or Pleasant Ridge.

[gentlearts]

If you put cinnamon in chili, then it stops being chili for me. I don't care if you dump it on spaghetti, or dump it on lettuce for taco salad, but if you mess with the spices, no good.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Skyline Chili is more a sauce than a real chili con carne. However, that doesn't make it bad. It isn't my personal favorite, but I know it's popular with some up here in the north of the state. If you enjoy it, call it whatever you like.

[abr7rmj]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Skyline Chili is more a sauce than a real chili con carne. However, that doesn't make it bad. It isn't my personal favorite, but I know it's popular with some up here in the north of the state. If you enjoy it, call it whatever you like.

Doesn't Cleveland have a Skyline now? Or a couple?

You owe us an Alesci's in return. I'd settle for a Winking Lizard.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Skyline Chili is more a sauce than a real chili con carne. However, that doesn't make it bad. It isn't my personal favorite, but I know it's popular with some up here in the north of the state. If you enjoy it, call it whatever you like.

Yes, the real chili con carne, which litrerally means chili peppers with meat. Now that is about as wide open a definition as you can get. I guess since Cincinnati Chili contains no peppers it may not meet the definition of chili. But since I have eatern many other so-called chilis which do not contain peppers I guess they are excluded also.

[kjbrill]

I know there is always a discussion concerning which local chili is the best. Whether it's Skyline, or Gold Star, or Dixie, or Camp Washington, or Pleasant Ridge, or Blue Ash. Some years ago I would go to the original Blue Ash and have both a large 5-way and a ham/beef double decker. Now either one is a struggle to get down. But since they opened a shop here in Mason less than 1/2 mile from me there is no argument, I have to go. Last Friday my wife spent the evening at a hen party, so I had to go to Blue Ash Chili. I just cannot resist their double deckers, had a ham/beef double on sourdough bread. Earlier in the week I was feeling hungry at noon and stopped at a local Arby's. The picture of the beef/cheddar/bacon sandwich on the sign board looked good, the actual sandiwch not so good. At $4 the Arby's was not even 1/3 the Blue Ash ham/beef double decker.

I see Gold Star is advertising double deckers. Wonder where they got the idea. Nothing especially new about it. Over 50 years ago the Marathon Inn in Silverton, also owned by Greeks, had the Cincinnati Style Chili and double deckers to die for. Haven't tried Gold Star yet for fear of being disappointed. Anyone tried them and want to compare?

[kjbrill]

Let's talk about the etiquette of eating Cincinncati Chili. First of all you do not twirl the spaghetti around the fork. This is not spaghetti and meal balls. You take the fork and slice down through the pile of cheese, onions, chili, and spaghetti until you reach the bottom of the plate and severe off a fork-full. Then carefully lift it to your mouth, savor, and repeat until extiguished.