SteveM on 12/30/2007 at 6:07 pm said:
Jim, I understand your not wanting to be swayed, but I offer the following story anyway, which traces the origin of Cincinnati chili. (excerpted from a longer story to be found at http://www.inmamaskitchen.com):
Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist. Cincinnati style chili is also unique to the area (you can’t find it too far outside the greater Cincinnati, area, although I did hear that one company was considering opening a store in Phoenix, Arizona) and unique in the way it came to be.
In 1922, a Macedonian immigrant, Tom Athanas Kiradjieff settled in Cincinnati with his brother, John. He opened a hot dog stand, which he named ‘Empress’ and sold hot dogs and Greek food. He did a lousy business because, at that time, the large majority of the inhabitants were of German heritage, and nobody in the area knew anything about Greek food, and weren’t thrilled by it.
Tom was not to be defeated. He took a Greek stew, maintained the Mediterranean spices of Cinnamon and Cloves, changed the meat to ground beef, and added other spices, such as chili powder, to the mix and began to sell this stew over spaghetti and called it ‘Chili.’ It proved to be a successful experiment.
SM
I understand your not liking the cinnamon bite in chili. Cinti chili is supposed to be balance of spices. As I’ve stated in my posts and the recipe I’ve enclosed the recipe should and is balanced. This chili is designed to be served on coneys or on spaghetti with cheese with onions and beans if YOU desire. I do like just a plain bowl with cheese. If this has a heavy cinnamon flavour then this chili in my opinion is seasoned incorrectly and has been made wrong. But this my opinion! I like these flavours to be balanced, and my recipe in my opinion is balanced.
I do like MOMS style chili along with TEXAS chili, but I like Cinti chili the best. But that is my opinion. If you were not raised up in Cinti it is hard to accept the Cinti style chili, and there is nothing wrong wih not liking Cinti style CHILI. This purely a taste Preference, and NO ONE should be kept their opinions an TASTES!
Park Chili { Northside}
Kay’s Restaurant { Northside} You could 10 coneys without cheese for $1.00 that was in 1969! I loved their Chili!
Hazels’ Restaurant { Northside}
Angilo’s Chili { Northside}
Blue Jay Restaurant { Northside}
Elmwood Chili {Elmwood}
Mitroupoulo’s Chili {Northside} owned by Pete & Connie I loved their chili as well. They were related in the Camp Washington folks, and RESONABLE PRICES.
White Oak Chili {Groesbeck} Great chili and HUGE double deckers
Chili Time { Roselawn} Theirs chili was spicey! And Huge double Deckers
Atheniean { Sharonville}
Dipsy Doodle {Deer Park}
Pleasant Ridge Chili { Pleasant Ridge}
Blue Ash Chili { in Blue Ash on Kenwood Road}
Camp Washington Chili { Camp Washington} I think theirs set the Standard!!!!
Pete’s restaurant { Price Hill} owned by Pete and Connie
Price Hill Chili { Price Hill} GREAT CHILI as well.
Dixie Chili { Northern Kentucky}
Skyline { their chili is watery, but with a unique spice blend
Gold Star { theirs is a little greasey, but Good}
These are the ones that I mentioned because you could count on decent and consistent 3 ways and coneys.
There were others, but these were the places I ate at starting with the ones from my childhood, and did eat at on a regular basis.
Do you folks from Cincy remember these places? ]]>
Its true as stated by you folks from Cinti, all chili parlors have their own twist on the chili they serve. I don’t recall ever having bad chili, but some are better than others.
This is for Nick Lindauer; you have been workin hard, and all of you Cinti Chili lovers. This a was given to me 34 yrs ago by an old Greek friend who once owned a chili parlor in Cinti. He had retired and sold the place. It was scaled down to home sized batch by him.
Cincinnati Chili
1 46 oz. can tomato juice
2 lbs. ground chuck {don’t use any more}
4 tbsp. chili powder {I prefer Franks chili powder}
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground alspice
1 tsp salt {kosher}
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cayenne pepper { I use 1/2 tsp}
1/8 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
4 to 5 dashes Lea & Perrins worchestershire sauce
5 whole bay leaves
1 large onion, whole but peeled
{2 tbsp cocoa or 1 square of Bakers unsweetened chocolate optional} The cocoa was not in the original recipe, but it adds some richness and mellows out the heat.
In a heavy bottomed pot place the tomato juice and turn on the heat. Add the chuck and stir with a fork to break up the meat. After the meat has been broken up add the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a slow simmer. Cook for 2 hours stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. After 2 hours remove the onion and bay leaves and discard these.
Serve this chili over regular cooked spag-the kind that cooks up in thick strings. Ladle chili over the spag and top with shredded cheddar cheese for the 3-way. Diced white onions go between the chili and cheese for the 4 way. And if you want beans use Joan of Arc “purple” canned kidney beans that have been rinsed and drained. These beans are meaty and slightly sweet. These would go under the chili then the onions and finally the cheese for the 5 way.
They all build their 4, and 5 ways differently.
Serve oyster crackers along with this.
For coneys use a good quality bun lightly steamed., add a good hot dog. I put mine in the cooked chili to get them hot. Top the hot dog with good yellow mustard {French’s} and onions and top with shredded chedder cheese.
About the hot dogs, Skyline grills theirs, but I remember Park Chili dropping theirs into the deep fryer for 30 seconds. Also to get that smaller dog: trim the nubs from the ends. Cut the dog in half, and you have the right sized coney “dog”. No big secret just a Greek original method!
After you make this I don’t think you’ll be ordering on line to get chili any longer. Hope you all enjoy! ]]>
Also Skyline has its own hot sauce which is excellent. It is more vinegar based and is somewhat similar to original Tabasco with more flavor.
]]>SteveM on 12/30/2007 at 6:07 pm said:
Jim, I understand your not wanting to be swayed, but I offer the following story anyway, which traces the origin of Cincinnati chili. (excerpted from a longer story to be found at http://www.inmamaskitchen.com):
Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist. Cincinnati style chili is also unique to the area (you can’t find it too far outside the greater Cincinnati, area, although I did hear that one company was considering opening a store in Phoenix, Arizona) and unique in the way it came to be.
In 1922, a Macedonian immigrant, Tom Athanas Kiradjieff settled in Cincinnati with his brother, John. He opened a hot dog stand, which he named ‘Empress’ and sold hot dogs and Greek food. He did a lousy business because, at that time, the large majority of the inhabitants were of German heritage, and nobody in the area knew anything about Greek food, and weren’t thrilled by it.
Tom was not to be defeated. He took a Greek stew, maintained the Mediterranean spices of Cinnamon and Cloves, changed the meat to ground beef, and added other spices, such as chili powder, to the mix and began to sell this stew over spaghetti and called it ‘Chili.’ It proved to be a successful experiment.
SM
You are just full of facts….. i love it keep them coming
]]>Jim- StepUpForCharity.org on 12/29/2007 at 6:47 am said:
I’m with you Al- the only chili in the world I’ve found to be inedible is Cincy. Cinnamon is for toast, jerk, & pumpkin pies, NOT chili (my opinion). And, if’n I wanted spaghetti, I’d make spaghetti.
Each to the devil in their own way though 
Jim, I understand your not wanting to be swayed, but I offer the following story anyway, which traces the origin of Cincinnati chili. (excerpted from a longer story to be found at http://www.inmamaskitchen.com):
Cincinnati Chili is unique and quite different from its western cousin. In fact, about the only relation it has are the meat, cumin and chili powder it contains. After that, the recipe takes an interesting twist. Cincinnati style chili is also unique to the area (you can’t find it too far outside the greater Cincinnati, area, although I did hear that one company was considering opening a store in Phoenix, Arizona) and unique in the way it came to be.
In 1922, a Macedonian immigrant, Tom Athanas Kiradjieff settled in Cincinnati with his brother, John. He opened a hot dog stand, which he named ‘Empress’ and sold hot dogs and Greek food. He did a lousy business because, at that time, the large majority of the inhabitants were of German heritage, and nobody in the area knew anything about Greek food, and weren’t thrilled by it.
Tom was not to be defeated. He took a Greek stew, maintained the Mediterranean spices of Cinnamon and Cloves, changed the meat to ground beef, and added other spices, such as chili powder, to the mix and began to sell this stew over spaghetti and called it ‘Chili.’ It proved to be a successful experiment.
SM
]]>