What Sets Cincinnati Chili Apart From Other Chilis?
There's a ton of stuff to do if you ever find yourself in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. You could hit up the Cincinnati Zoo, which is home to more than 500 animals, take a stroll through the gorgeous Botanical Gardens, gaze out into the heavens at the Cincinnati Observatory, or even cross the Ohio River into Kentucky by traversing the picturesque Purple People Bridge (via Midwest Living).
If you get a bit hungry while exploring the city, you're in luck. According to the 2022 survey carried out by WalletHub, Cincinnati is the best food city in Ohio and the 21st-ranked food city in the whole nation.
According to Restaurant Clicks, you can enjoy fancy meals at Cincinnati restaurants like Boca and Pepp & Dolores. However, it isn't highfalutin fare that defines the city. Inarguably, the most famous dish in this Midwestern city is Cincinnati chili, a unique take on the classic meaty dish.
What is Cincinnati chili?
At a base level, Cincinnati chili is quite similar to other types of chili. This classic slow cooker chili has a base that consists of ground beef, chopped onion, and tomato — this Cincinnati chili recipe has an essentially identical list of starting ingredients.
The primary difference between Cincinnati chili and other chilis comes when the seasoning is introduced. While most chili, as the name of the dish suggests, brings the heat with a slew of different spices, Cincinnati chili is much milder, and features sweet seasonings, per the Chicago Tribune. The aforementioned Cincinnati chili recipe calls for ½ teaspoon each of both cinnamon and allspice, but the dish can also include spices like nutmeg and clove. Many people have speculated that Cincinnati chili's sweetness comes from chocolate, but that is a myth (via Cincinnati Magazine).
Introducing a sweet element to the generally savory chili experience is not a completely unique idea. According to Better Homes & Gardens, it's common practice in the Midwest to serve a cinnamon roll alongside a bowl of chili.
The past and present of Cincinnati chili
The reason that Cincinnati chili is different from other versions of the dish is because of its origins. It isn't an adaptation of your standard, spicy Texas chili. Rather, it's a descendant of pastito, a Greek dish that combines spaghetti and cheese with a meat sauce seasoned with sweet spices similar to those included in Cincinnati chili, per 91.7 WVXU. This is why Cincinnati chili is served atop a heap of spaghetti.
91.7 WVXU goes on to explain the efficient method that Cincinnatians have developed to order their chili. You choose a number on a sliding scale of 1-way to 6-way. 1-way is just chili, though it's almost unthinkable that anyone would order it that way. The standard is 3-way, which is chili, spaghetti, and cheese. Add either beans or onions by ordering it 4-way, or ask for 5-way if you want both. A 6-way chili includes an extra ingredient that differs from restaurant to restaurant.
If you want to enjoy a heaping plate of Cincinnati chili, you can't go wrong with Skyline Chili, a famous chain centered around the dish that was founded in 1949 (via WLWT). Alternatively, the Chicago Tribune recommends you get Cincinnati chili at Camp Washington Chili, where the chefs grind beef fresh every morning, and the sauce is thought to contain as many as 18 different spices.