MTM Cincinnati: The Chili Wars, Chain Edition

A couple of weeks ago, I told you about Cincinnati-style chili.  I also passed on posting a recipe, since I’ve never made it from scratch.  George Matthai, in the comments section, offered one of his own.  I also promised to give you a run-down of the different chains and a few indie shops.  Today, I look at the chains after the jump.

I dined on Cincinnati-style chili for four straight days to compare one chain’s against the rest.  With the exception of Dixie Chili (for reasons that will become apparent later), I ordered a four-way onion.  That is chili over spaghetti with cheese and onions.

Although Cincinnati chili is an enjoyable dish, I can hardly recommend eating it everyday for lunch for the better part of a week.  I also don’t recommend getting a four-way after you’ve had a salad after a business meeting followed by lunch with your wife (which I did on my trip to Empress Chili in Wyoming, just north of Cincinnati).  It’s filling.

First up…

Skyline Chili is the largest chain and the mack daddy of Cincinnati-style chili.  The name has become synonymous with Cincinnati-style chili.  They’re everywhere in Greater Cincinnati, and have been spotted in Dayton, Columbus, and even a store in Strongsville, a suburb of Cleveland.  (Incidentally, the unwritten rule is Dayton is the farthest you can get from downtown and still have passable Cincinnati-style chili.  Hence, I’d avoid the Gold Star at Philadelphia Airport.)  However, you never see Skyline in a booth in a mall and, away from downtown Cincinnati, almost always in its own building or a sizable section of a strip mall.

Skyline’s chili is a watery paste with finer ground meat.  It’s most noticeable feature is the hint of cinnamon which gives it its distinctive flavor.  As I said before, I used to prefer Gold Star for coneys and Skyline for a four-way.  This is why.  The thinner chili with its unusual flavoring is better suited spaghetti than hot dogs.

Gold Star is a newer chain, “the taste that’s taking over.”  Unlike Skyline, they don’t think twice about taking over a mall booth and quite likely would be right at home in one of those gas station combo stores sharing space with a Subway or a Taco Bell.  (Taco Bell?  Bleck!)  Gold Star offers a thicker chili with an odd touch:  nutmeg.  I don’t know if Gold Star actually puts nutmeg in its chili, but there’s a nutmeg flavor in it.  Because of the flavor, it blends nicely with mustard on a coney.  The thicker chili is ideally suited for coneys, but it’s not bad in a four-way.

Empress is an older chain, the original Cincinnati-style chili parlor.  In fact, there are only three left in the city.  Depressing, really.  I first had Empress in Norwood.  The store is now a Gold Star.  Gone are the locations downtown; in New Richmond, east of the city; and Mt. Lookout, a neighborhood in the city overlooking the Ohio River.  Not much has changed in the Empress stores beyond now taking credit cards.  It’s almost like a cafeteria there.  Pay for your food, grab a tray, and they hand you your order at the end of the line.  The chili is very similar to Skyline’s and it’s no surprise.  Skyline founder Nicholas Lambrinides started out working for Empress.

Empress is a very satisfying alternative to the two big upstarts.  It does not have as much of a cinnamon taste to it as Skyline, but it is meatier than both Skyline and Gold Star.  It also is a little saltier, not a bad thing for chili.  It may have been the chili, but I’m pretty sure Empress uses a sharper cheddar cheese than Skyline or Gold Star.  Empress bites you back, with or without the hot sauce.

Which brings us to Dixie Chili.  I moved to Cincinnati in 1991.  I did not have my first bite of Dixie Chili until 2009.  There’s a reason for that.  It’s a small chain (currently three locations) located over in Northern Kentucky.  I’ve had Gold Star in Northern Kentucky.  I’ve had Skyline over there.  And I think I may have had Empress once over in Alexandria.  But I’ve never had Dixie, until now.

As I said, I had Skyline, Gold Star, and Empress as four-ways.  Dixie is different.  For starters, their five-ways and four-way beans use pinto beans instead of kidney beans.  Dixie also offers a six-way.  What’s a six-way?

Just add fresh garlic.

And let me tell you something.  The Dixie six-way is something special.  For starters, you can tell founder Nicholas Sarakatsannis originally worked for Empress, the same as Skyline founder Nicholas Lambrinides.  Like Empress, Dixie Chili is meatier.  Like Skyline, the cinnamon taste is very much in evidence.  And like Gold Star, it’s a thicker sauce.  The fresh garlic on a six-way, however, pushes Dixie Chili over the top.  I almost went back for seconds.

Almost.  The research for this post is slowing my efforts to slim down.  Sacrifices must be made.

So after four days of four-ways (and one six-way), I have to call it for Dixie.  I went home and raved about it to my wife, almost asking her to go down to Newport with me for dinner there.  (We ate at Rusty’s in Deer Park.  I needed salmon after 4 days of chili.)

I had fun checking out the four local heavyweights.  I’m sorry to see Empress fading away in the face of two bigger competitors, but glad to see Dixie carry on the tradition.  And there will always be a Skyline and a Gold Star.

In two or three weeks, I’ll post about some favorite indie shops, such as Camp Washington Chili.

Check out more My Town Monday posts hosted by Sepiru Chris and Junosmom until Travis gets his house back.