Cincinnati chili facts for kids
4-way Cincinnati chili
|
|
| Alternative names | Cincinnati-style chili |
|---|---|
| Type | Meat sauce |
| Place of origin | United States |
| Region or state | Greater Cincinnati |
| Created by | Tom Kiradjieff |
| Main ingredients | ground beef, tomato paste, spices |
| Similar dishes | Rochester hot sauce, Hot wiener sauce |
Cincinnati chili is a special meat sauce. It is used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs, which are called "coneys" there. This unique food was created in the 1920s by people who had moved to America from Macedonia. In 2013, Smithsonian magazine called it one of the "20 Most Iconic Foods in America."
Cincinnati chili is different from regular chili con carne. It has a thinner texture and different flavors. It is often served with oyster crackers and a mild hot sauce. People almost never eat Cincinnati chili by itself in a bowl.
You can find Cincinnati chili in many local restaurants. But it is most famous for the over 250 special "chili parlors" in the greater Cincinnati area. These restaurants specialize in Cincinnati chili. You can also find them in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, and even the Middle East. This dish is the most well-known local food from the Cincinnati area.
Contents
How Cincinnati Chili Started
Cincinnati chili was first made by restaurant owners who came from Macedonia. They wanted to serve food that more people would enjoy. They also wanted to go beyond just ethnic styles of cooking.
Two brothers, Tom and John Kiradjieff, came from a town called Hrupishta in 1921. They were leaving difficult times in their home country. In 1922, they started serving a "stew with traditional Mediterranean spices." They used it as a topping for hot dogs, which they called "coneys." Their hot dog stand was next to a theater, so they named their business Empress.
Tom Kiradjieff changed a traditional Greek dish to create chili spaghetti. He first tried cooking the spaghetti in the chili. But customers asked for the sauce to be a topping instead. Later, they also started adding shredded cheese on top of the chili spaghetti and coneys. This was also because customers asked for it.
To make ordering easier, the brothers created the "way" system. Many other restaurant owners copied this style. Often, these were other Greek and Macedonian immigrants. They had worked at Empress restaurants before opening their own chili parlors.
Empress was the biggest chili parlor chain in Cincinnati for a long time. But in 1949, a former Empress employee named Nicholas Lambrinides started Skyline Chili. In 1965, four brothers from Jordan bought a restaurant. They saw that Cincinnati chili was selling better than hamburgers. So, they changed the restaurant's name to Gold Star Chili.
By 2015, Skyline had over 130 locations. Gold Star had 89 locations. They were the largest Cincinnati chili chains. Empress only had two locations left.
Besides these, there are smaller chains like Dixie Chili and Deli. There are also many independent chili parlors. One famous one is Camp Washington Chili. In total, there are more than 250 chili parlors.
In 1985, one of the Gold Star Chili founders, Fahid Daoud, went back to Jordan. He opened his own chili parlor called Chili House. As of 2020, Chili House also had locations in other countries. These include Iran, Iraq, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Turkey, and Qatar.
Many other local restaurants also serve some version of Cincinnati chili. For example, Arnold's Bar and Grill serves a vegetarian "Cincy Lentils" dish. Melt Eclectic Cafe offers a vegan "three-way."
The story of Cincinnati chili is similar to how the Coney Island hot dog developed. Many of these dishes were created by Greek or Macedonian immigrants. They came to the United States in the early 1900s.
Making and Ordering Cincinnati Chili
To make Cincinnati chili, raw ground beef is crumbled into water or broth. Then, tomato paste and spices are added. The mixture is brought to a boil. After that, it simmers for several hours to become a thin meat sauce. Many recipes suggest chilling it overnight. This helps to remove fat and lets the flavors develop. Then, it is reheated to serve.
The "Way" System
Ordering Cincinnati chili uses a special system. It is based on these ingredients: chili, spaghetti, shredded cheddar cheese, diced onions, and kidney beans. The number before "way" tells you which ingredients are included.
Customers can order a:
- Two-way: This is spaghetti topped with chili. It is also called "chili spaghetti."
- Three-way: This has spaghetti, chili, and cheese.
- Four-way onion: This includes spaghetti, chili, onions, and cheese.
- Four-way bean: This has spaghetti, chili, beans, and cheese.
- Five-way: This is the full dish with spaghetti, chili, beans, onions, and cheese.
Some chili parlors might serve the dish "inverted." This means the cheese is on the bottom, so it melts. Some restaurants use "four-way" to mean a three-way plus your choice of onions or beans.
Some places might add extra ingredients. For example, Dixie Chili offers a "six-way." This adds chopped garlic to a five-way.
Cincinnati chili is also used on hot dogs to make a "coney." This is a local version of the Coney Island chili dog. If you add shredded cheddar cheese, it becomes a "cheese coney." A standard coney also has mustard and chopped onion. The "three-way" and the cheese coney are the most popular orders.
Very few people order a plain bowl of chili. Most chili parlors do not even offer it as a regular menu item.
How to Serve and Eat It
Ways and coneys are usually served in a shallow oval bowl. Oyster crackers are almost always served with Cincinnati chili. A mild hot sauce like Tabasco is often available to add at the table. People in Cincinnati eat this chili like a casserole. They cut each bite with the side of their fork instead of twirling the noodles.
Why the Name Can Be Confusing
The name "Cincinnati chili" can be confusing if you are not familiar with it. People expect it to be like chili con carne, but it is very different. Cincinnati chili is a meat sauce for spaghetti or hot dogs. It is almost never eaten in a bowl, like regular chili.
People from Cincinnati often say, "Well, it's not really chili..." Food experts agree that "It is not chili." Cincinnati chili always has spices like cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and chili powder. Some home recipes use a little dark unsweetened chocolate. However, chili parlors in Cincinnati do not use chocolate in their chili.
It is usually thin, more like a soup than a stew. It does not have vegetables or chunks of meat. The flavors and how it is served are more like Greek pasta sauces. It is also similar to the spiced meat sauces used on hot dogs in other places like Rochester or Upstate New York.
Similar Dishes
- Chili dog: This is a general term for a hot dog topped with meat sauce.
- Chili John's: This restaurant in Green Bay, Wisconsin offers "Green Bay chili." It is similar to a five-way and was created in 1913.
- Chili mac: This dish uses chili con carne on pasta, not Cincinnati chili.
- Coney Island hot dog: This is a hot dog similar to a coney. It was developed by Greek-Macedonian immigrants in different parts of the Midwest.
Images for kids
-
John Kiradjieff posing in Empress Chili in 1925
See also
In Spanish: Cincinnati chili para niños
