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"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.

(News flash - some like 'em waaaaayyyy hotter!)

Special to AOL from our intern Jean Morrow

To the rest of the world, they may be "Buffalo wings," but to Buffalonians, they're "chicken wings." They are always served with blue cheese dressing on the side, and no one orders just plain old pizza in Buffalo. We go for "pizza and wings." I was born and raised in Buffalo, NY and every Friday night during my childhood, my family ordered just that.

In Buffalo, on a night in 1964, Teressa Bellissimo served the first batch of chicken wings to her son's hungry friends at the now famous Anchor Bar. These days, the Anchor Bar offers five flavors of wings: hot, medium, mild, spicy barbecue and suicidal, slathered in their famous sauce, which gets its zing from cayenne peppers. The Anchor Bar is the best choice for the traditional Buffalo Chicken Wing. Their reddish-brown wings dipped in thick blue cheese dressing are the ultimate Western New York comfort food.

The barbecue chicken wing is another story. For barbecue chicken wings, I always head to LaNova Pizzeria and Wing Company on the West Side of Buffalo. LaNova has perfected the barbecue chicken wing, served dripping with dark brown sauce. They are as messy as they are delicious.

Fans crave the chicken wings from LaNova and the Anchor Bar so badly that both restaurants offer overnight delivery to anywhere in the country. (You can order bottled chicken wing sauce too!) If you are going to splurge for the overnight delivery, there is one occasion for which wings are a necessity -- Sunday football games. When crowded around a television set on a freezing cold Sunday in Buffalo, pizza and wings are a must-have. And, please, go ahead and lick your fingers.

My friend's family business, Will Poultry, bottled and developed the official recipe for the Anchor Bar's Sauce about five years ago. She let me in on a little secret -- until recently, there was no branded recipe for chicken wing sauce. The Anchor Bar, and other restaurants, used their own version of an original, unofficial recipe: Frank's Red Hot Sauce and liquid butter.

Get the Recipes for Buffalo Wings, Barbecue Chicken Wings, and Anchor Bar's Wing Sauce

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Finger Lickin' Fried Chicken

Do You Wash Them Down With "Pop" Or "Soda"?

Special to AOL from our intern Jean Morrow

Buffalo Wings

Deep fried chicken wings

1 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce

1/3 cup melted butter

To deep fry the wings, remove the tips and cut each wing in half at the joint. Heat oil to 375 degrees. Cook the wings in the oil until they are golden brown, which will take about 8 minutes. Make sure to drain them well.

Mix Frank's Red Hot with the melted butter. Pour the mixture into a big bowl with the chicken wings, and let the sauce soak in for a few minutes. The wings are often served in restaurants nearly submerged in sauce, so don't be shy!

If you like your wings on the spicy side (and I do), then add a little less butter. If you like your wing barbecue style, you can order my favorite LaNova Barbecue Sauce, or use Steven Raichlen's Buffa-Que Wings recipe to make your own.

(News flash - some like 'em waaaaayyyy hotter!)

Guilty Pleasures: Buffalo Wings