Search locations or food
OR
Already have an account? Log in
OR
Cincinnati Chili
Coming from the most chili-mad city in the United States after Texas, Cincinnati chili is a popular dish made with ground meat, stock, and unusual spices such as cinnamon, allspice, Worcestershire sauce, and chocolate or cocoa. The chili is usually served over pasta such as spaghetti, then topped with a flavorful combination of shredded Cheddar, fried beans, onions, and crushed oyster crackers.
With more than 180 chili joints in the city, Cincinnati takes great pride in being a chili capital. The dish was invented in 1922 by a Macedonian immigrant called Tom Kiradjieff. He opened a Greek restaurant called The Empress, which was a total failure until Tom started to serve chili prepared with Middle Eastern spices.
The locals went with it, and the results can be seen even today. Chili joints started opening all over the city, with Skyline and Gold Star each creating their own mini-empire after the Empress started the chili-craze.
WHERE TO EAT The best Cincinnati Chili in the world (according to food experts)
1
Recommended by Jane & Michael Stern and 6 other food critics.
"The air smells of onions and spice; and by late in the morning the dining room is packed with cheap-eats fans who fork their way into plates of five-way and heft chili-cheese Coneys and mile-high double-decker sandwiches."
2
Recommended by Lonely Planet and 2 other food critics.
"Cincinnati chili is a local specialty. A 'five-way' is a version comprised of meat sauce (spiced with chocolate and cinnamon) ladled over spaghetti and beans, then garnished with cheese and onions. Although you can get it three-way (minus onions and beans) or four-way (minus onions or beans), you should go the whole way. Skyline has a cult-like following devoted to its recipe."
3
Recommended by Jane & Michael Stern and 2 other food critics.
"The chili meat is dark and resonant, not too spicy but with complex character; and the spaghetti noodles are always fork-friendly: not too long, and squiggly enough that they stay on the tines of a fork with virtually no slippage."
4
Recommended by Austin Coop and 2 other food critics.
"Pleasant Ridge Chili’s coney was also packed with meat, cheese, and had us going for our forks."
5
Recommended by Austin Coop and 3 other food critics.
"Waffle fries covered with meaty chili and tons of cheese- that’s practically throwing everything good about America in a bowl and serving it to us."
