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Let me sing you a song of immigrant pluck. Of how hard-working immigrants from Greece and North Macedonia worked together to create the most widely hated and mocked fast-food item in the country.  Skyline Chili. In 1921 some immigrants from North Macedonia named Tom and John Kiradjieff came to America and settled in Cincinnati selling hot dogs by the Empress theater. They topped these hot dogs with a meat bolognese-type sauce that they spiced with a Greek flavor palate: cumin, cinnamon and garlic. They called these hot dogs coneys and the first menu item that would define Cincinnati Chili parlors was put into place. Later Tom inspired by the traditional Greek dish of Moussaka began using the sauce to top Spaghetti and the second menu item of Cincinnati chili parlors was born. There are only two menu items at Chili Parlors and they stopped changing in the Hoover administration. They are the Coelecanth of fast food. Like many immigrants Tom and John Kiradjieff paid it forward to the community by mainly hiring other immigrants from Greece and North Macedonia to work at their restautants. Filled with gratitude for allowing them to get a foothold in their new home to pursue the American dream these immigrants repaid them through stealing their recipes and opening their own parlors out of competition. They had learned much from the Americans. One of these ungrateful... uh - scheming... no cunning entrepenuers was Nicholas Lambrinides who opened Skyline chili, by far the most succesfull of the big three Chili parlors (Empress, Gold Star, and Skyline) with locations in four!! states: Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida.  First things first. Skyline Chili is not chili. It's really more of a meat sauce. Second thing's second. Skyline Chili does not contain chocolate. This is a widely-held and pernicious myth used by those who can not appreciate the majesty of a 3-way to denigrate Cincinatti Chili. Some home cooks do use chocolate in their recipe but none of the major chili parlors have chocolate in their recipes. But how do Chili Parlors work? There's two menu items, coneys, and 3/4/5 ways. A coney is a hot dog with "chili" and shredded cheese on top. A three way is: 1. Spaghetti 2. Chili 3. Cheese A four way is 1. Spaghetti 2. Chili 3. Cheese 4. Onions or Beans A five way is everything. A two way is no cheese and I guess you could also just get only spaghetti or chili which would be a one way but what are you a psychopath? Skyline is always served with little tiny oyster crackers and the best soda pairing is Dr Pepper hands down.  Skyline is an extremely divisive food. It's generally speaking and acquired taste and you have to have eaten it a few times in order to really like it. This has been a pretty big problem with tourists who pass through Cincinnati or Kentucky try it once and hate it because they haven't had time to let their bodies learn to appreciate it. Coffee and beer are acquired tastes too and everyone loves them. Deadspin ranked all the state foods and ranked Cincinnati chili below being hit by a truck which caused a bit of a stir in the cincy area. However. I adore Cincinnati Chili, it is one of the most working class foods imaginable and it always makes me feel like a teamster when I eat it. It's hearty, it fills you up and if you get the coneys its one of the cheapest dinners you'll ever find. Thank you, God bless, and It's skyline time.
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Feb 5, 2020 16:59
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| # ? May 27, 2024 13:49 |
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I went to Cinci in high school with a friend's family who was from there. They were so excited to have me to go Skyline with them. I took a few bites and guess the secret ingredient of cinnamon right away and they were so crestfallen lol then I went back a couple years ago because we were driving through and my boyfriend wanted to try it. He absolutely hated it. I still didn't like it, but with less gusto. I appreciate that it's a cool rear end regional thing that people love though! Also it tripped me out that Skyline was a sit down place now? Like we had a server. Was that always the case or am I just remembering it as a fast food-type setup wrong?
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Feb 5, 2020 17:21
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Crusty Nutsack posted:I went to Cinci in high school with a friend's family who was from there. They were so excited to have me to go Skyline with them. I took a few bites and guess the secret ingredient of cinnamon right away and they were so crestfallen lol It took me 3 tries before I started liking Cincinnati chili. Also its always had a server as far as I can remember but I only started going a couple years ago. Most places have counter service though.
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Feb 5, 2020 17:31
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I haven't lived in ohio in a long time but when I did I was a Gold Star man through and through, but the habanero cheese from Skyline is worth the upcharge The enema of my enemy is my friend however and I will stand beside (not behind) anyone willing to ingest this stuff with me
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Feb 5, 2020 18:10
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I once married into a family from Cincinnati and I'd never heard of the stuff till then. But let me tell you, I adore the stuff. Adore. Only a couple times a year, but it's pretty terrific in my book. I get that it's not the classiest thing but it hits all the right notes, and it's so different from any other fast food place.
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Feb 5, 2020 19:42
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I enjoyed this video as an orientation to Skyline as I did not believe the amount of shredded cheese you get from just a still image. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZMZsIn4B_U It really is that much unmelted cheese. I desire this fast food strongly.
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Feb 5, 2020 19:48
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shadow puppet of a posted:I enjoyed this video as an orientation to Skyline as I did not believe the amount of shredded cheese you get from just a still image. "Midwesterners* Are Obsessed with This Chili!" *actually, just people from one mid-sized city that happens to be in the midwest
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Feb 5, 2020 20:07
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I went one time in Indy just to say I did. It was nothing.
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Feb 5, 2020 20:42
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shadow puppet of a posted:I enjoyed this video as an orientation to Skyline as I did not believe the amount of shredded cheese you get from just a still image. When you get it to go it comes with a plastic lid that if you put on after putting on the cheese (kept in a separate bag along with onions to prevent sogginess) will melt the cheese in like 30 seconds it would be the hands down best way to eat Skyline if it didn't mean you no longer got unlimited oyster crackers
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Feb 5, 2020 20:47
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I like Skyline on hotdogs Skyline on spaghetti just reminds me that better things can go on spaghetti
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Feb 5, 2020 20:53
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BIG FLUFFY DOG posted:inspired by the traditional Greek dish of Moussaka This makes a lot of sense actually. Pasta in spiced meat sauce topped with some kind of dairy. Cheddar cheese as the poor man’s bechamel. Now I want to try it.
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Feb 5, 2020 22:10
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wyoak posted:I like Skyline on hotdogs Greek immigrants in Rhode Island invented a different pseudo chili for hot dogs that's better. So even there Skyline is a loser.
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Feb 5, 2020 22:12
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Skyline is pretty ok from Skyline or if you're from the westside Goldstar. The "better" (I know this is gonna be argued if you think the food itself is unholy) are Pleasant Ridge Chili or Blue Ash Chili. It's still diner style but it's not true "fast food" in the franchise sense.
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Feb 6, 2020 02:36
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I could see it being a lot better on a dog than on spaghetti. The one time I tried it on noodles was pretty god drat odd. Not really horrible, per say, but I definitely didn't finish it. Thankfully I live way the gently caress away from all of the states Skyline exists in, so I have no opportunity to ever try it again.
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Feb 6, 2020 03:30
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it's good
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Feb 6, 2020 18:42
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I'd always heard the love/hate stuff about Skyline chili before, and then I tried it to find out it's just Rochester hot sauce on plain pasta instead of macaroni salad or something. Which I never would have thought of, but it's pretty solid.
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Feb 9, 2020 01:08
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Interestingly*, I tried Skyline Chili expecting to kind of hate it, since it had been talked up as being awful by The Internet Sites and also talked up as being THE BEST THING EVER by my friend from Kentucky, which seemed like a recipe for genuine food disaster. But then after a single bite, I was like "oh poo poo, this is only the second chili I have ever liked" and eagerly devoured the entire bowl. The secret: the only other chili I like is Steak 'n' Shake's, which it turns out is also basically Macedonian meat sauce, rather than what the rest of these American savages like to eat (you know, disgusting tomato/onion water). *debatable
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Feb 10, 2020 17:46
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gently caress Skyline Chili watery bullshit and feces, i would rather be raped by a porcupine than eat that poo poo
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Feb 10, 2020 20:03
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Zippy the Bummer posted:gently caress Skyline Chili Hmmm... By or with?
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Feb 10, 2020 20:14
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Zippy the Bummer posted:gently caress Skyline Chili shhh it's ok, no one will make you eat it
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Feb 10, 2020 20:19
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i had skyline chili a few times... at an expat restaurant in Shanghai, weirdly enough i have no idea how authentic it was but i thought it was p. good
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Feb 10, 2020 21:14
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Skyline is good. First time I had skyline I got chili dogs at Great American on a family trip and thought wtf is wrong with the chili. Now whenever I'm through Cincinatti I get the chili 5 way there or maybe one chili cheese dog and I really enjoy it. Wish they did loose chili sandwiches like maid rite or manwich or something.
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Feb 11, 2020 05:55
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i go every saturday with my family. edit: they have salads too. for a very long time skyline has had vegetarian chili where they sub rice and beans for the meat. gold star for a very long time just replaced the chili with vegetable soup. peas, carrots, corn and tomatoes. it was awful. gold star has since released a proper vegetarian offering that compares pretty well. gold star also owns tom + chee now Molybdenum fucked around with this message at 11:35 on Feb 11, 2020 |
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Feb 11, 2020 11:31
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Sorry that you like to eat trash OP have you considering eating non trash maybe you would like that even better.
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Feb 12, 2020 03:20
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Ate at Skyline today. Time from ordering to food on table: 30 seconds. Advantages of having two menu items.
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Feb 19, 2020 20:24
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I'd try it just to see see what the hatred was about, but I doubt I'd ever end up near one. 24 bucks for 4 cans on Amazon! Fuckin' steal.
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Feb 20, 2020 02:05
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That’s not unusual for Amazon and food, in my experience. Walmart and Target both sell it for like $3-4 a can.
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Feb 20, 2020 02:41
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Would Skyline get a better rep if it called itself something other than Chili?
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Feb 20, 2020 08:44
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DeadFatDuckFat posted:Hmmm... By or with? both
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Feb 20, 2020 17:39
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My roommate has a habit of picking up Skyline for us after appointments. I thinks she secretly hates me. That said, their little burrito wrap things are probably the best thing they make.
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Feb 20, 2020 18:38
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Embittered posted:Skyline is pretty ok from Skyline or if you're from the westside Goldstar. Get that bougie poo poo out. Camp Washington 24/6.
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Feb 21, 2020 00:32
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My Grandfather ate Skyline Chili every single week and he lived to be 88.
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Feb 21, 2020 17:17
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Tortured himself to death, the poor man.
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Feb 21, 2020 20:17
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BaconCopter posted:Tortured himself to death, the poor man. He could have lived to 108 if it wasn't for Skyline
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Feb 21, 2020 20:28
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Skyline chili is a topping whereas a lot of people expect chili to be a self contained meal. I make chili a lot in the cold months of eastern washington and probably 1 in 4 times I make it I'll prepare Cincinnati style to eat on dogs of spaghetti instead of the more typical stew style. Usually when I make it I'll invite people over who haven't had it before and I gotta say when they come in expecting it to be more like a sauce than a bowl of chili it always goes over well. I think the rift mostly exists from people who expect it to be more traditional, you gotta grade cincinnati chili on the metric of what it's trying to do rather than what you might think chili conventionally is. Keep and open mind and it's good for sure.
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Feb 21, 2020 21:34
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ArbitraryC posted:Skyline chili is a topping whereas a lot of people expect chili to be a self contained meal. I make chili a lot in the cold months of eastern washington and probably 1 in 4 times I make it I'll prepare Cincinnati style to eat on dogs of spaghetti instead of the more typical stew style. i agreed with your post up until that last bit
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Feb 21, 2020 22:34
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I have had a friend make lasagna with skyline chili in lieu of bolognese. Ricotta + cheddar. It was good haha
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Feb 22, 2020 00:35
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sports posted:I have had a friend make lasagna with skyline chili in lieu of bolognese. Ricotta + cheddar. It was good haha gently caress yes what a good idea
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Feb 22, 2020 01:46
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sports posted:I have had a friend make lasagna with skyline chili in lieu of bolognese. Ricotta + cheddar. It was good haha poor man's pastitcio
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Feb 22, 2020 02:10
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| # ? May 27, 2024 13:49 |
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Happy National Chili Day, skyline fans
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Feb 27, 2020 17:57
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