Cincinnati Chili

Posted Aug 10th 2007 11:05AM by Kat Kinsman
Filed under: Guilty Pleasures, Fast Food Review, Local Favorites

Special to AOL from Dr. Don Kinsman

"This here ain't chili, son. This here's soup." I don't know if that quote was really delivered, or if it is apocryphal, but some people around Cincinnati say a Texan passing through once uttered this as he tasted a bowlful at one of Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky's hundreds of chili parlors.

To be honest no one will ever confuse the chili Cincinnatians have loved for over 80 years with Texas style chili, or any other style chili for that matter. Cincinnati chili, truly a dish unto itself, first appeared on the scene in the 1920s when Greek and Macedonian immigrants started modifying the stews of their homelands. What they came up with doesn't have big hunks of meat in it and it certainly is not going to take the top of your head off with hot spice; maybe a mild mouth glow depending on where you go and how the chef is feeling that day. To be brutally honest about it, the Texan was sort of right in what he said. Cincinnati chili is used more as a sauce for putting on top of things than eaten straight -- and putting it on top of things is something the citizens of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky do to the tune of over 2 million pounds a year.

Most of that business goes to the big chains Skyline and Gold Star, but Empress and Dixie Chili, both with a good number of restaurants themselves, plus any number of small, neighborhood chili parlors have their own devoted clientele. Which chili is best can be a matter of some debate with claims that one is thicker, or meatier, or spicier than the rest, but what they are all serving is basically finely ground beef in a fairly thin chili sauce (stained shirts and ties are the norm for diners) made with closely guarded secret blends of spices. Recipes for the chili sauce at some of the big chains are said to be kept in locked safes and at some small places, in the owners' brains. And while no one is allowed to see them, claims of cinnamon and chocolate additions abound.

Oh, I suppose you could have just a bowl of Cincinnati chili, but I have never seen anyone actually eat it that way. I tried it at home once with one of the canned varieties and it was a definite no-go. You've gotta top something with it, and what you top are coneys, cheese coneys, three-ways, four-ways and five-ways.

The "regular" coney is a hot dog on a bun with mustard and onions and chili spread over it. Most people, however, opt for the cheese coney which is a regular coney topped with a generous portion of shredded, sort of orange colored, cheddar cheese. You have to know that Cincinnati chili almost MUST be eaten with this type of cheese. Besides those 2 million pounds a year of chili Cincinnatians put down over 850,000 pounds of shredded cheese along with the chili. When the taste of the warm dog with the tang of onions and the bite of mustard join with the cheese as it melts into the chili with all its secret spices, you can forget the calories. It is just too good to care.

Coneys and cheese coneys are eaten as a meal themselves, but more often they are consumed as an accompaniment to the real star of the Cincinnati chili world: the three-way, or its siblings the four-way and five-way. The three-way is a plate of spaghetti topped with chili and crowned with a large mound of that grated cheese. The four-way adds red kidney beans, or chopped onions and the five-way adds both the beans and the onions. I have no real data, but personal observation suggests that three-ways beat out four and five-ways in popularity. But whatever the case you must know that they all always served with a side bowl of oyster crackers and that there is almost always a bottle of hot sauce on the table.

You do see people dashing some hot sauce onto the three-way before eating and I once worked with two fellows who would each request his own bottle of hot sauce and then empty the whole bottle onto his three-way. Sort of a Texas-flavored three-way, I suppose.

Hot sauce aside, the burning questions are: "How do you eat your three-way" and "What do you do with the oyster crackers?"

Some folks like to start out by digging down and scooping up a fork full of the hot spaghetti and chili along with a generous amount of the cool cheese so that the first few mouthfuls have a both warm and cool sensation. But this holds true for only the first few mouthfuls because the cheese melts into the spaghetti-chili mix as you eat. Others like to smoosh the cheese right into the mix and melt it at the very start so every forkful comes up as a delicious cheesy mass. Although I have never personally witnessed it, I have heard that some few souls even order the dish made with the cheese on the bottom so that it is pre-melted. Personal choices are all best explored over time.

Now as to the crackers, I have seen many people munch them down plain while waiting for the three-way to arrive -- something not to my taste. I have also seen folks pour hot sauce over them and eat them that way and I can attest, from having watched a couple of ladies do this one day, that hot sauce makes a really wicked stain on hospital whites.

Then there is the contingent that mixes the crackers right in with the three-way; some adding them all right at the start and some mixing in a few from time to time. My personal favorite method of disposing of the crackers is to wait until the spaghetti, chili solids and cheese are virtually all gone and all that is left is a plate of sauce with all those secret spices and then drop in the crackers and stir them around to soak up that last bit of tasty goodness. Okay, I do look at it and things pass through my mind like "How many calories are in this?" and "Gotta be grease in there," but it tastes so good -- and besides I don't eat this every day, right? I just end up thumbing my nose at the food police, promise myself to walk a few extra laps and wolf down the soggy, tasty crackers.

"Good" and "delicious" aren't really all that descriptive so how does it actually taste? I don't think I can truly describe it well. Mildly spicy, cheesy, maybe even a touch "exotic?" I can't really say, but I can tell you that when I introduced my quite conservative older sister, a rather finicky eater, to this cuisine many years ago she said: "If I lived here I would have to have this at least once a week.

You need to try it yourself. If you don't happen to live around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, some of the chain chili restaurants have spread to several other major Ohio cities; Louisville, Kentucky; places around Indianapolis, Indiana; some spots in Florida; and even Monroe, Michigan. Or you could order cans and do-it-yourself kits on-line, but remember – you've just gotta have that cheese.

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

8-10-2007 @ 3:45PM

Kat K. said...

I was a vegetarian for 7 years, and the one thing I really, truly, desperately missed was Cincinnati chili. Now that I'm a carnivore again and live far away from a ready source, I miss it even more. Yo, Dad -- wanna hook me up?

9-13-2007 @ 10:53PM

Jenni M. said...

I am a Cincinnati native, and I eat the stuff once a week. Love it. Only the Skyline though, cause you can't like both Skyline and Gold Star at once. Try one and you will be a chili "brand whore" Nothing else will satisfy : D

9-14-2007 @ 1:11AM

nsj said...

I HAVE THE RECIPE FOR SKYLINE, BUT WHEN I MAKE IT, IT JUST DOESN'T TASTE SAME. WHEN I LIVED IN CINCINNATI, I FOUND THAT A THREE WAY AND TWO CONEYS WOULD PREVENT A HANGOVER. EVERY TIME I GET BACK TO CINCY, I MAKE A BEELINE TO SKYLINE JUST TO GET MY CHILI FIX. YOU CAN BUY IT, FROZEN, IN SOME NORTHEAST OHIO GROCERY STORES.

9-14-2007 @ 1:27PM

Benny said...

It's kind of funny that the best Cincinnati chili restaurant isn't even in Cincinnati!! It's in NKY. Dixie Chili is better than Skyline and Gold Star. I believe the term for putting the cheese under the chili on a 3-way is called a "Pete Rose 3-Way". I could be mistaken, though. Very thorough article. Rack it.

9-25-2007 @ 1:58PM

P.MacLean said...

Growing up in Louisville, Ky, my mother's chili had the beans cooked in the sauce (made with Bloemer's chli powder) and was served with spaghetti on the bottom, then the chili, then the orange grated cheese. And we didn't have oyster crackers, we just scrunched up regular old saltines and stirred them in.

10-13-2007 @ 11:40PM

Liz S. said...

My husband, a Cincy native, introduced me to Skyline Chili on our 3rd date. Can't get enough of the stuff ---- it's the BEST !!!! Anytime we travel back to Cincinnati or Ft Myers, FL, gotta stop @ Skyline !!!!

10-14-2007 @ 6:04AM

RS said...

I have a recipe that tastes exactly like Skyline, and every once in a while I get a yen to assemble such a feast. Never tried the canned Skyline which I discovered, much to my surprise, in a local store. I can't believe it's anywhere as good as fresh-made. But nothing is quite up to the ritual while visiting the midwest: spotting the Skyline sign, walking in those ultra-clean restaurants, ordering from friendly waitstaff, and in under 3 minutes getting a small 3-way spaghetti and a couple of those tasty little 4-way (hold the onions, they don't like me) coneys. Only thing better is stopping at White Castle the day before. Any time either chain wants to open a place in AZ is fine with me.

10-14-2007 @ 12:40PM

JSF said...

The BEST chili dog in the United States is at a little hot dog shop on West Liberty Avenue in Pittsburgh, PA called HANK'S DOGHOUSE.

I say this after tasting chili dogs in 40 states.
(But I have to admit I haven't tried Pink's in LA, which I hear is great too!).

10-17-2007 @ 10:27AM

PRT said...

I grew up in Cincinnati and there nothing compares to a 3-way from Skyline! Loads of cheese! And crackers for a chaser after you're done eating.

10-17-2007 @ 10:29AM

PRT said...

I grew up in Cincinnati and nothing compares to a 3-way from Skyline! Loads of cheese and crackers for a chaser after you've finished eating.

10-17-2007 @ 10:33AM

PRT said...

I grew up in Cincinnati and nothing compares to a 3-way from Skyline! Loads of cheese. Crackers for your chaser after you've finished eating.

10-17-2007 @ 10:34AM

PRT said...

I grew up in Cincinnati and nothing compares to a 3-way from Skyline! Loads of cheese and crackers for a chaser after you've finished eating.

10-31-2007 @ 10:59AM

Sha said...

We lived in Cincy for 10 years. When we move out of Ohio we couldn't get the Chili. If we visited family in Ohio the first meal requested by the kids was a stop at Skyline. 20years later I am now able to buy frozen Skyline Chili, and we enjoy it often!

1-14-2008 @ 2:04PM

Julie said...

I used to go to Skyline once a week-- besides the chili, they have great salads-- but my true favorite is Dixie Chili, in Newport. I love their greek salads and chili fries-- cheese, onions, chili on top of pretty decent fries. Yum!

1-20-2008 @ 4:54PM

Jody said...

Grew up in Hamilton, now I'm an Okie. Everytime I go home I have to have a 3 way with oyster crackers (don't really care if it's Gold Star or Skyline), Richard's pizza steak sandwich, Frisch's hot fudge cake and La Rosa's pizza. Nothing out here in Oklahoma compares to these Buckeye favorites!

1-20-2008 @ 5:05PM

Jody said...

1-31-2008 @ 10:14AM

kris said...

I'm grew up in boston never had anything like cincy chili till I came out to ohio. Love the stuff. though I am make it at home w/ the little blue packet you buy from the market. My husband likes it more too!

2-01-2008 @ 5:13PM

Cyn said...

I too grew up in Cincinnati, and Skyline was a big part of my teen years. We would ALWAYS go there for lunch and have three-ways and Cokes (they seem to go together really well). As I got older I began to prefer the four-ways with onions. It's SOOO delicious, and it's unique.

When I met my NY-native husband, I introduced him to Skyline, and he loved it. We don't live in that area anymore, but thankfully, Skyline Chili is available canned online. The canned is just as good as the fresh...you're just missing the whole atmosphere of the chili parlor! But this blog writer is absolutely correct--you MUST have the shredded cheese. You can order Skyline's cheese, but we have found that 'fancy shredded' (thin, longish strings of cheddar' cheese, such as Sargento, works just as well. It's not Skyline, but when you're 2000 miles away, it's certainly close enough.

I cannot recommend it more highly! Wish I had some right now!

2-08-2008 @ 5:38PM

Tina said...

I've lived in Cincinnati for nine years and I absolutely cannot stand Cincy chili. I noticed someone mentioned La Rosa's; don't like that either, the sauce is so sugary.

I'm not at all a picky eater. I love food! Traditional Cincy food just doesn't do it for me.

3-09-2008 @ 2:31PM

Mom4654 said...

Skyline is ok, but if you want really good Cincinnati chili, you will go to Camp Washington Chili or Blue Ash Chili. Skyline pales in comparison.

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