Step, what Cincinnatians call chili is a different dish than what most of the rest of the country calls chili. If you can approach it with the attitude that it is something different, like pasta with alfredo and pasta with marinara are different, you may find you really enjoy cincinnati chili. It really is good, it just is not what everyone else calls chili.
I remember the first time I had chili in a restaurant outside of Cinci. Talk about blowing someone's mind!!!
If you haven't tried it and want to get used to the flavor before you try it on spaghetti, go get a can of Skyline chili at Krogers. In a glass pie pan, or microwave safe casserole dish about 8 or 9 inches around, put one 8 oz package of cream cheese. Microwave it for one minute and spread over the bottom of the dish. If it won't spread easily then give in 30-60 seconds more in in the microwave. After it is spread evenly, pour the can of Cincinnati chili on top of the cream cheese. Microwave this for 3-4 minutes. Then dump at least 8 oz of grated mild cheddar cheese over the chili and microwave for about 2 minutes - until the cheese is all melted.
Serve this with taco chips. It is AWESOME!!! The first time I saw it I thought it was gross looking and sounding, but it tasted AMAZING!!!!!! My kids will happily eat this for dinner - they grump when I insist they have a salad with it and plain fresh fruit for dessert afterwards, but they scarf the dip!! They quit fussing about the salad and fruit but stopped when I told them the alternatives were never having it again or having me stir mixed vegetables into the dip. (My kids will eat almost ANYTHING if it is "instead" of mixed vegetables, lol).
We don't have Kroger here and I miss them a TON. The grocery stores here just are NOT the same. How come OK doesn't have Krogers????? I have seen the mix for cinci chili in Krogers in many other states, but we cannot get it here. Not in stores anyway.
I can order the chili mix online at okay prices, but not Graeters. I just learned that Krogers in some TX stores now sells Graeters ice Cream!!! Did you know that Graeter's Ice Cream is the only company that uses the french pot method of making ice cream? It makes a product with MUCH less air in it. If you are in TX and see pints of ice cream in white pints with pink letters - TRY THEM ALL!!! This is the BEST ICE CREAM IN THE UNITED STATES!!!
Their flavors with chips have giant chips in them. They don't use chocolate chips. They use a super high quality chocolate and break it into random size pieces. They used to make the chips flavors by pouring melted chocolate into the almost frozen ice cream as it is mixing. I read that they had to stop this because some change in machinery. So they started pouring the chocolate onto big sheets and breaking those up to get basically the same sizes and shapes. It has been a long time since I heard this - the guy who told me this worked in their factory - so it might have changed.
Their mocha chocolate chip ice cream is to die for - the best you will EVER have. Their sorbets are incredible. They also make their own sundae toppings. The best one?? Bittersweet sauce.
It is liquid black gold. They combine cream and bittersweet chocolate and it is thick and rich and intense and is just the best chocolate sauce I have ever found. I have tried just about every single chocolate sauce I have ever heard of (except sugar free because I am allergic to them) and not a single one of them is as good as this one.
Star, THAT is what Graeter's bittersweet sauce is. Liquid black gold in a jar. It is also being sold at the Kroger's in TX that sell Graeter's ice cream.
