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In my food and restaurant comparisons between LA and Chicago, so far, we are neck and neck with Chicago winning for upscale Mexican and LA winning for hot dogs.
Before we get to Round 3 with beef sandwiches, I'm broadening the competition beyond Chicago a little with a WWF (World Wide Food) Smackdown in chili. Milwaukee's Real Chili vs. Cincinnati's Skyline Chili.
Now, I haven't had Skyline Chili since I've moved to LA, which is a while now, but I can't imagine that the recipe has changed much. Both Real Chili and Skyline serve their mostly ground beef-based chili over spaghetti noodles, with optional toppings including beans, cheese, and onions. The noodles in both places are fairly soft (what? no gourmet al dente?), the cheese is shredded into long thin strands that looks like a neon yellow afro on top of the chili, and the chopped onions for both are pretty much just chopped onions.
So the real contest is in the chili itself, and here, I will have to say that Skyline wins out by just a hair, even though it was never quite spicy enough for my taste and had a slightly unique cinnamony sweet undertone. Real Chili's chili was spicier, but the fact that it was way too oily kind of stood out more. It's not Skyline's Chili wasn't oily, but by comparison, it was far less oily than Real Chili.
Now, had the competition been a three way that included San Antonio...both Real Chili and Skyline would have been put to absolute shame.
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12-08-2005 @4:20PM Pat Perez said... If you want to eat chili in Los Angeles (well, Burbank, anyway) you *must* go to Chili John's. It is an old school lunch counter place, with seating around a horsehoe shaped bar. They offer beef, chicken or vegetarian (made from bulgar) chili. It sounds like the chili described in the post as far as how they serve. You can get it on beans, spaghetti (my prefered way) or plain. They offer mild, regular and hot, but they do not pretend that hot will interest someone who searches for hot. In my opinion, the hot is just the right spiciness so that one's sense of taste and smell aren't shut down, and you can enjoy the rich flavor of spices.
Chili John's is originally from Wisconsin (I believe Green Bay) and claim to have invented the miniature Oyster Cracker. I can't compare it to the other restaurants mentioned in the post, but I will say it is a most satisfying bowl of chili. Be warned, the owners like their time off. They are open Tues-Fri 11-7; Saturday 11-3. They also close for the months of August and September. As the menu says, 'famous for always being closed'. The place is the ultimate in comfort food and friendliness. Everyone that comes in seems to be friends of the staff.
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12-08-2005 @4:52PM Ryan said... The surley wait staff at CJ's to fun to watch as well
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12-08-2005 @8:51PM Pat Perez said... Well now you're making me feel bad. I was in there once, and an elderly woman brought in a 'to go' container that had held a chili dog. She complained that there was so much oil in there; and that it obviously isn;t healthy. The guy behind the counter explained that the oils are necessaryu in chili, because that's what carried the spices and flavor. She left. Those of us that overheard here came up with the new CJ slogan: Chili John's; Come for the Grease, Stay for the Pie!
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12-10-2005 @9:05PM spline9 said... No mention of Chili My Soul? I hear that place is amazing.
4928 Balboa Blvd. Encino, CA 91316
Mon-Sat 11:00AM~9:00PM Sun 11:00AM~8:00PM
Admittedly, I have yet to check any of these places out but I've heard nothing but rave reviews about CMS.
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