Eat Up! – Cincinnati Chili

I love town foods. You know, Philadelphia cheesesteaks, Chicago-style deep dish pizza, Memphis barbeque, there’s even a town in Texas that’s famous for kolaches. What better way to get the feel (or should I say “taste”) of a new place than to sample its signature dish? Anyone who practices criminal law will tell you that visual memories are notoriously unreliable, but one sense that you can always depend on is taste. Once you have the first bite, it will be with you forever.

While it may not have the national recognition of those listed above, one dish that definitely belongs on the Pantheon of town foods is Cincinnati Chili.  Miles apart from the dense, earthy notes of the Texas-born chili con carne that is known most the world over simply as “chili”, Cincinnati chili is a thinner, sauce-like stew made with very finely ground beef and an alluring battalion of spices that packs considerable flavor and twang without the tongue-numbing ground and pound of what we think of as traditional chili (not that there’s anything wrong with that).

More than a dish, Cincinnati Chili is an experience. While some full-service restaurants do offer Cincinnati Chili, the best place to get this bowl of Greek soul is at any number of fast food/sit down hybrid restaurants, of which Skyline and Gold Star are the most prevalent. Here’s how it works:

A ”one-way” is a bowl of chili.
A “two-way” is spaghetti topped with chili.
A “three-way” is spaghetti w/ chili and a heaping mound of cheddar cheese.
A “four-way” adds either red kidney beans or onions to the three-way.
A “five-way” adds both.

National burger chain Steak n Shake actually serves a version of this dish, that is spaghetti with chili, but the chili itself is more Texan than Cincinnatian. Alas, this is one of those foods that’s hard to find too far from home, so the next time you’re in the Cincinnati area, do not hesitate to stop in for a bowl (or skip the bowl altogether are get yourself a chili cheese coney).

For Cincinnati hotels, we like the Hilton Cincinnati Airport Hotel. Technically it’s located in Florence, but it’s near the airport and offers a complimentary 24-hour shuttle.

Related Posts

No related posts.