Cincinnati chili

A Cincinnati chili 4-way with oyster crackers

Cincinnati chili (or "Cincinnati-style chili") is a regional style of Chili con carne characterized by the use of unusual seasonings such as cinnamon, cloves, allspice or chocolate. It is commonly served over spaghetti or as a hot dog sauce, and is normally of a thin, sauce-like consistency, unlike most chili con carne. While served in many regular restaurants, it is most often associated with several restaurant chains such as Empress Chili, Skyline, Gold Star, and Dixie Chili. Restaurant locations are found pervasively in the greater Cincinnati area with franchise locations also throughout Ohio and in Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida. Restaurants that feature Cincinnati chili are frequently called "Chili Parlors."

According to the Greater Cincinnati Convention and Visitors Bureau, Cincinnatians consume more than two million pounds of chili each year, topped by 850,000 pounds of shredded cheddar cheese. Each September, the city celebrates "Chilifest" at Yeatman's Cove on the Ohio River, with food and entertainment.

Cincinnati chili basics

Ordering Cincinnati chili is based on this series of ingredients: chili, spaghetti, grated cheddar cheese, diced onions, and kidney beans. The number before the "way" of the chili determines which ingredients are included in each chili order. Thus, customers can order a:

• Bowl: chili in a bowl
• Two-way: chili and spaghetti
• Three-way: chili, spaghetti, and cheese
• Four-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and onions
• Five-way: chili, spaghetti, cheese, onions, and beans

and optionally, the:

• Four-way bean: chili, spaghetti, cheese, and beans (beans substituted for the onions)

The preceding basic menu is entirely traditional. Some chili parlors have altered the traditional menu method, declaring on their menus that a Four-way is chili, spaghetti, grated cheese, and either diced onions or beans. Other parlors have added ingredients to the traditional mix. For example, Dixie Chili offers a "Six-way" with the addition of garlic. Oyster crackers are usually served with Cincinnati chili, and a mild hot sauce is frequently used as an optional topping.

When served on a Coney-style hot dog, dubbed the "Cheese Coney", the chili is also topped with grated cheddar cheese. The default coney also includes mustard and a small amount of onion.

Origins and history

Cincinnati chili seems to have originated with one or more immigrant restaurateurs from Macedonia who were trying to broaden their customer base by moving beyond narrowly ethnic styles of cuisine. Tom and John Kiradjieff began serving the chili in 1922 at their hot dog stand, next to a burlesque theater called the Empress, after which their Empress chili parlor took its name.Tom Kiradjieff invented the style by modifying a traditional stew and serving it over hot dogs and spaghetti. The style has since been copied and modified by many other restaurant proprietors.

Empress was the main chili parlor in Cincinnati until 1949, when a former Empress employee and Greek-immigrant, Nicholas Lambrinides, started another chili restaurant called Skyline Chili. Gold Star Chili came along in 1965, started by four brothers who were originally from Jordan.

Empress has almost eliminated their locations and has basically franchised their recipe to local cafes and restaurants as well as making their product available in stores. Since 1971, Skyline, Gold Star and Dixie however have been aggressively adding new franchised stores, creating over 150 chili parlors in the Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky area.

Many privately owned chili parlors in the Cincinnati area have created their own historic following and have been covered on network news stories through the years such as Camp Washington Chili, Price Hill Chili, Chili Time in St. Bernard and Blue Ash Chili, to name just a few.