The Chocolate is a Myth: The First Cincinnati Chili Review
**So, I'm going to add an edit about this chocolate situation. I have found multiple sources indicating that there is no chocolate in Skyline Chili. I have a few sources that say there is. I'm sticking with the title because I like it, but let's call the actual answer, "Ehhh, I don't know"**
I've considered joining the blogging life off and on for about five years now. Back when Myspace was turning the internet upside down, I kept a blog on their servers, and I always enjoyed the process and the release that comes from writing. I knew one day I would eventually take it up again, but for years I kept putting it off. One night last January, I was lying in bed and thought that it would be really cool to make it a point to visit all of the seventeen trillion chili parlors in Cincinnati and write reviews on them all using a fixed set of standards. From that little idea, this blog was eventually born. Obviously, I've turned it into a much more diverse platform featuring way more than chili reviews, but I never lost the desire to follow through on that original thought.
To understand why I decided to make this a thing, one must first understand Cincinnati style chili. The first thing to understand is that, to the uninitiated, the word chili in "Cincinnati style chili" is a complete misnomer. Anyone that approaches this delight from the perspective of traditional Chili Con Carne will, no doubt, walk away scratching their heads at what they've just experienced. In fact, a dear friend with no ties to the area once told me a story of his first experience with Skyline Chili. It seems he order just a bowl of plain Cincinnati chili and was quite confused and, perhaps, a little disgusted. Cincinnati style chili is more akin to a sauce than the stew like concoction that most people associate with chili. It is thing and while arguably meaty, there are no chunks of beef, vegetable, or beans apparent. While chili pepper and cayenne is often part of the brew, the spices are far more Mediterranean in nature. The notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and such make sense with the realization that this regional dish was born of Greek palates.
The first Cincinnati Chili was served in 1922 as a topping for hot dogs from a stand near the Empress Theater. The dog topping quickly evolved into a rich sauce for spaghetti and other treats, and the hot dog stand eventually turned into the Empress Chili chain. Empress remained at the top of the chili heap until 1949 and the birth of Skyline Chili. Currently only two Empress Chili parlors remain.
Skyline and Gold Star Chili now reign supreme in terms of volume of restaurants. While I'm most interested in exploring the hundreds of local chili parlors dotted around the city, I would be doing the world of three ways (chili, spaghetti, and an ungodly mound of cheese) and cheese coneys (hot dog on a bun, chili, onions, mustard, and cheese) a disservice if I did not acknowledge these two behemoths. It's also important to note that as of the start of this series, I am team Skyline through and through. Nothing gives me that happy content after meal feeling quite like a plate of Skyline. So, why not start with what I love!
However, I fully intend to be as partial as possible as I explore this regional cuisine. At each place I will be ordering the same thing, in order to keep it on a level playing feel. I intend to order one cheese coney with no onions (I don't care for raw onions) and one three way. The Mom will, of course be going with me. She will be free to order whatever she would like. I will be tasting her meal and reviewing that as well at each stop on our chili adventures. There's also the possibility that I will be tossing in other factors based on the ambiance and general experience. I intend to judge my food based on chili consistency, flavor, spaghetti to chili to cheese ratio, hot dog and bun quality, and overall.
I visited my favorite local skyline today in order to begin this strange yet exciting endeavor. I knew right away it was going to be tough to be partial. We are the definition of regulars at this store. As mom and I grabbed a seat in one of the distinctive blue booths, our regular server shouted across the store asking if we wanted our typical sweet tea and coke. Clearly, we know this place! We indicated we did and she quickly brought them.
A short aside... Skyline may possibly have the best sweet tea in town that doesn't come from the loving hands of The Mom. It is not overly sweet. It's never bitter, and it's strong enough not to loose its punch as it waters down. It will water down. Especially if you get a to go cup. It doesn't matter if it's their regular cup, the special edition Fiona cup, or the FC Cincinnati cup. They all sweat horribly, but I digress. The sweet tea is exceptional and consistent.
I ordered my obligatory coney sans onion and small three way. Mom ordered her favorite, the five way. The ways work like this.
I've considered joining the blogging life off and on for about five years now. Back when Myspace was turning the internet upside down, I kept a blog on their servers, and I always enjoyed the process and the release that comes from writing. I knew one day I would eventually take it up again, but for years I kept putting it off. One night last January, I was lying in bed and thought that it would be really cool to make it a point to visit all of the seventeen trillion chili parlors in Cincinnati and write reviews on them all using a fixed set of standards. From that little idea, this blog was eventually born. Obviously, I've turned it into a much more diverse platform featuring way more than chili reviews, but I never lost the desire to follow through on that original thought.
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| I do not own this image. It is property of Cincinnati Recipe Chili |
To understand why I decided to make this a thing, one must first understand Cincinnati style chili. The first thing to understand is that, to the uninitiated, the word chili in "Cincinnati style chili" is a complete misnomer. Anyone that approaches this delight from the perspective of traditional Chili Con Carne will, no doubt, walk away scratching their heads at what they've just experienced. In fact, a dear friend with no ties to the area once told me a story of his first experience with Skyline Chili. It seems he order just a bowl of plain Cincinnati chili and was quite confused and, perhaps, a little disgusted. Cincinnati style chili is more akin to a sauce than the stew like concoction that most people associate with chili. It is thing and while arguably meaty, there are no chunks of beef, vegetable, or beans apparent. While chili pepper and cayenne is often part of the brew, the spices are far more Mediterranean in nature. The notes of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and such make sense with the realization that this regional dish was born of Greek palates.
The first Cincinnati Chili was served in 1922 as a topping for hot dogs from a stand near the Empress Theater. The dog topping quickly evolved into a rich sauce for spaghetti and other treats, and the hot dog stand eventually turned into the Empress Chili chain. Empress remained at the top of the chili heap until 1949 and the birth of Skyline Chili. Currently only two Empress Chili parlors remain.
 |
| Image is property of impress chili |
Skyline and Gold Star Chili now reign supreme in terms of volume of restaurants. While I'm most interested in exploring the hundreds of local chili parlors dotted around the city, I would be doing the world of three ways (chili, spaghetti, and an ungodly mound of cheese) and cheese coneys (hot dog on a bun, chili, onions, mustard, and cheese) a disservice if I did not acknowledge these two behemoths. It's also important to note that as of the start of this series, I am team Skyline through and through. Nothing gives me that happy content after meal feeling quite like a plate of Skyline. So, why not start with what I love!
 |
| Image is property of Skyline Chili |
However, I fully intend to be as partial as possible as I explore this regional cuisine. At each place I will be ordering the same thing, in order to keep it on a level playing feel. I intend to order one cheese coney with no onions (I don't care for raw onions) and one three way. The Mom will, of course be going with me. She will be free to order whatever she would like. I will be tasting her meal and reviewing that as well at each stop on our chili adventures. There's also the possibility that I will be tossing in other factors based on the ambiance and general experience. I intend to judge my food based on chili consistency, flavor, spaghetti to chili to cheese ratio, hot dog and bun quality, and overall.
I visited my favorite local skyline today in order to begin this strange yet exciting endeavor. I knew right away it was going to be tough to be partial. We are the definition of regulars at this store. As mom and I grabbed a seat in one of the distinctive blue booths, our regular server shouted across the store asking if we wanted our typical sweet tea and coke. Clearly, we know this place! We indicated we did and she quickly brought them.
A short aside... Skyline may possibly have the best sweet tea in town that doesn't come from the loving hands of The Mom. It is not overly sweet. It's never bitter, and it's strong enough not to loose its punch as it waters down. It will water down. Especially if you get a to go cup. It doesn't matter if it's their regular cup, the special edition Fiona cup, or the FC Cincinnati cup. They all sweat horribly, but I digress. The sweet tea is exceptional and consistent.
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| Image is property of me, homies! |
I ordered my obligatory coney sans onion and small three way. Mom ordered her favorite, the five way. The ways work like this.
- 2 way: Chili and spaghetti
- 3 way: We covered this. Please reread for understanding. (Sorry, I just got all teachery on ya!)
- 4 way: Everything from a three way plus either kidney beans or onions
- 4 way: All the stuff mentioned all at once
I've heard some other parlors have even more options, but the two through five scale is fairly standard.
One great thing about Cincinnati Chili and Skyline in particular is the speed of service and delivery. All of their food stays very fresh and hot on steam tables. No taste or freshness (within reasonable time frames) is lost in this storage method. Because of this, you can count on receiving your order very quickly. Today, we received our full order in about four minutes.
My first observation was the chili, spaghetti, cheese ratio. All good Cincinnati style chili is topped with enough finely shredded cheddar cheese to cause intestinal issues in even the most hardened of guts. Skyline wins major points in the ratio department. You are able to taste every element of the oddly delicious concoction. This is a huge win. I've eaten enough Cincinnati Chili to know that just a hair in any direction and one element of the dish will be overpowering.
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| 3 way |
The chili consistency is my favorite part of the Skyline experience. It's smooth and hearty. I know there are people that will disagree with this assertion, but I love the texture. It's just at that right spot that it's not chunky or gritty, but it coats the spaghetti instead of sliding through to make a murky and appetizing mess at the bottom of the plate. It has just enough spicy bite to be discernible but not enough to be overpowering. Multiple flavor notes come through the chili. The meatiness comes through as well as hints of nutmeg, cinnamon, and something else my pedestrian palate has never quite identified. The chocolate does not come through because that is a myth. While some home recipes call for bittersweet chocolate, no Cincinnati parlor currently uses chocolate in their recipes.
I stumbled into a bit of a problem with my coney. I have to be honest. Integrity is a thing. It's a thing I like to abide by, so it kills my heart to say what I have to say next. My bun was stale. While this is not something I often come across at Skyline, I have to be partial and base my experience on just this visit. There will be many parlors I won't have the luxury of giving the benefit of the doubt, so it's only fair. The bun was hard and not particularly pleasant. Skyline hot dogs are on the small side, but they are distinctly a hot dog. They have that soft texture that separates a dog from a sausage. I particularly like them. They have a solid savory flavor that is complimented well by the slight spice of the chili and the coolness of the mound... seriously, people, this is a ridiculous amount of cheese. Overall, the coney suffered from the bun, and I can't give it the highest possible marks for this flaw.
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| Cheese everywhere |
The mom, as I mentioned, went for the five way with chili and beans. She tends to get hers with a touch extra chili because she loves to add some of the incredible complimentary oyster crackers. I didn't taste hers. I know I said I'd try whatever she gets for the sake of the review, but kidney beans and raw onions are both gross, so nope!! It was pretty though. Something about a good plate of Cincinnati Chili is just so appetizing.
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| Those crackers though! |
I'm going to break form slightly from relegating all my past visits to nonexistence while I talk about portions. There was a time when I put away a lot more Skyline at one time than I do now. Awhile back I discovered they offer all the ways in small versions. This is more than enough for a serving if you're a light eater. I tend to bring some of it home even, since I always add a coney. All that is being said to drive home that if you go for a standard order of anything you will likely be more than happy with the serving size and walk away stuffed.
I did my very best to eat this meal at Skyline in the most impartial way possible considering my experience with the chain. If I were to rate Skyline on a five chili rating scale for overall quality, taste, and experience, I'm going to go with four chilis, with five being the best and one being the worst. It hurts me to do it. I want to give them five so badly, but if you're unlucky enough to get a stale bun here, it will ruin the coney experience. Since that's possible, and since it happened this time, four it is.
Also, The Mom sang me a delightful ditty while we were dining. No way I was getting all the way through this without her going rogue.
Next stop is Goldstar. SHEESH!! It's going to be hard to be partial again for a whole different set of reasons.
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