tesg's guide to big chain road food consumption

CHAIN -- Skyline Chili
Owner -- Privately Held
Primary Operating Region -- Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and for some reason, Florida
Number of Locations -- 126 (December 2002)

Cincinnati chili is not chili as you know it. It is not made for eating in a bowl as a standalone dish. It's a topping. It's a meaty brown beanless sauce that tastes like cinnamon. Yes, cinnamon. No, I didn't consider it a good idea either.

The original chili parlor opened as a Coney dog parlor in 1922 next to the Empress Burlesque Theatre on Vine St. Greeks Tom and John Kiradjieff modified traditional Texas chili to sort of Greek it up (bay leaves, vinegar, cinnamon) and Cincinnati chili was born. The chili was sold on the dogs, then as a bowl, then on spaghetti noodles, then with other typical hot dog toppings like cheese and onions. Thus Empress Chili, Cincinnati chili, and the Chili 3-Way, 4-Way and 5-Way were born. Many employees went on to start their own chili parlors using modified recipes.

Of the three big players in the Cincinnati chili game, Skyline is the one most call the best.

Skyline was started by Nicholas Lambrinides in 1949. The Skyline name came from the view of the Cincinnati skyline that was visible from the original location. That skyline is the silhouette in the Skyline logo.

I visited a Skyline in an Indianapolis strip mall. Enter, grab a plate and utensils, then head down the cafeteria-style line and order. The man behind the counter is a friendly guy who, when I ordered an actual bowl of chili, asked "Have you had our chili before?" "No." So he gave me a detailed explanation as to why that wasn't such a good idea, while at the same time marketing to me how amazing and wonderful the chili is and why. He then gave me a free sample of a 3-Way. I went with the 3-way. The woman who rang up the total also encouraged the idea that I would totally fall in love with the chili and never eat it Texas style again. Too bad I already had made up my mind otherwise with the free sample bite on that one, but hey…she tried.The cook's layout is efficient and simple. Nothing needs to be cooked to order so everything is ready for assembly. The cook, who takes the order, just puts the plate together and hands it to the cashier. Most items take very few steps to put together.A Chili 3-Way is spaghetti topped with chili topped with a mound of cheddar. 4-Way adds onions. 5-Way adds beans.

The chili dogs are small, about two-thirds the length of a standard hot dog (and much slimmer). The buns are slathered in chili sauce and heartily topped in cheese, just like you see in the ads. You're just not expecting that dog to be as small as it is. So what else do you put it on? Skyline puts it on baked potatoes and burritos. But I'll tell you right now…the way to go is on spaghetti. I've tried Skyline's own chilidogs and put the chili on other dogs. The chilidogs don't work for me.

I was apparently not alone as a Skyline rookie in the building. Another group of out-of-towners came in and got the whole explanation on what the deal was. He also tells them if they like the chili, they can order it frozen or in cans through the website (it's also available at the Skyline restaurants as well as area grocers). He says the canned version is much better than the frozen one. This guy really has a passion for his product. That's a refreshing thing to see in a fast food concept of any kind. I took some canned home and amazingly found it to be a dead-on accurate replica of the restaurant chili. It may have even been a little better. For the price (I found it ranged from under $3 to over $4 per CAN), it better be.

I got some friends together, broke out the spaghetti, chili, cheese, dogs, and buns, and introduced everybody to Cincinnati chili. Even after I warned them, they weren't expecting what they tasted and they universally decided they liked their 3-Way better with traditional chili. That was my first assessment as well. But this was past my first try, and I started to find myself liking it. Maybe it grows on you.

Cincinnati chili will probably always be a regional thing. An occasional franchisee strays out of the normal trade area (like the Skylines in Florida) but the players today don't appear to be going anywhere...i.e., leaving the tri-state area, or adding on further territory.

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