Real Chili Restaurant

Recommends

number71

Joined 6 years ago

Amazing Chili that I Miss. How can you not love this place? Though crowded on prime drinking nights, there is a great camaraderie as you wait around the horseshoe of a counter waiting for a couple of spots to open up, staring out the windows that have steamed up from the pots steaming warm and wet in the center of the room. The chili is Cincy style--which is not to be found in New York City, that's for sure. I would get it with the well cooked spaghetti as a base, add some beans and then the chili on top. That's where the spice is. But you can get it with only the spaghetti or just the beans. On the counter is the oil---replete with hot chiles sitting inside to give it that extra kick. Add some sour cream and raw onions, mix in the oyster crackers and it's several layers of yum.

The other reviewer seems to be comparing this to a more traditional Texas style if chili---it most certainly is not that, though I love that too. This is midwestern style and as an example of that stands alone. Well worth a visit, even if you might be a 1200 or so miles away.

Chris O'Neil

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

Open since 1931, this Milwaukee institution serves chili the way chili was meant to be served: beefy, spicy and sloppy.. The Scene
This is no-frills eating at its best, and it seems as though everybody in town knows about it. Come lunchtime, you'll have to squeeze between college students and executives to find room at the horseshoe-shaped counter.

The Food
The slowly simmered chili packs a piquant punch, especially if you order the hottest variety (choose from mild, medium or hot). Get your chili on top of beans or spaghetti noodles; if you're really hungry, order it on top of both. A full spread of toppings elevates this comfort food to delicacy status. There are the requisite heaps of cheese and sour cream, of course, and even bulk containers of crackers. But seasoned chili eaters venture beyond the standard, garnishing their chili with vinegar and pepper flakes.

Doesn't Recommend

birdseyeview

Joined 11 years ago

Real Silly. I don't understand the hype about the chili here...not a whole lotta substance. If you're out for a decent bowl of chili your Ma' mighta made when you were a kid (I'd prefer Spaghettio's over this) and all's you got is a few bucks and don't mind awful atmosphere (maybe you're drunk) well then by all means--dig in. Best chili in town is on Michigan Ave. (The Soup House).