Certain foods produce an emotional response, and chili is one of them. The hot and sometimes spicy fare can be prepared in countless ways and enjoyed wherever you roam. Check out the following responses to this month’s question: Where can you get the best chili?
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Unquestionably, the best chili is at a Middle Tennessee State University tailgating party. Fred Stott makes incredible chili. A California transplant, Fred has lived in Tennessee for the past 20 years. He and his beautiful Tennessee bride, Sandra, are avid motor coaching enthusiasts/MTSU supporters. We speculate that traveling influenced his recipe. Fred, however, declares that he has no “recipe.” Starting with browned ground round, he adds red, chili, and pinto beans. Tomato sauce and stewed tomatoes follow, along with an assortment of spices “” not necessarily searing-hot chili spices, just the right ones, give it a kick. Flavors blend, simmer, and get friendly together in a five-gallon stew pot. Blue Raider fans line up for a mouthwatering, lip-smacking serving any time of year. The ones at the end of the line need spatulas to scrape up the last little taste. Fred’s Bonafide Chili . . . umm, umm good!
Sperry and Pam Randolph, F384077
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
If you do an online search to find what city is known for its chili, Cincinnati comes up rather high on the list. I’d have to agree. After all, New York is famous for its hot dogs, Chicago for its pizza, so why not Cincy for its chili? According to one Web site, Cincinnati is perhaps the best city in the world for chili, and Skyline Chili is perhaps the best chili restaurant chain in Cincinnati. Greek immigrant Nicholas Lambrinides opened the first Skyline Chili restaurant here in 1949, treating locals to his chocolate-and-cinnamon-spiced concoction. Today diners order a three-way (chili, spaghetti, and cheese), a four-way (add onions or beans), or a five-way (add both onions and beans). Cheese coneys “” hot dogs topped with chili and cheese, and sometimes with mustard and onion “” are also popular. Cincinnati has other chili parlor chains, too, but perhaps none is as well-known as Skyline Chili.
Ranita Jones
Cincinnati, Ohio
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