[CH] Skyline chili
Alex Silbajoris (72163.1353@compuserve.com)
Fri, 24 Sep 1999 08:51:45 -0400
If you didn't delete the message as soon as you saw the subject, then
you're probably not a chile bigot. But Chris M.'s musings about Covington
made me wonder - is there anyone here who would stand to defend Skyline
chili?
For those who don't know about it, Skyline is a chili restaurant chain
which I think originated with a lunch counter in Cincinnati. It's a very
mild style of chili, with or without meat, and sometimes (always?) served
over spaghetti. I've had it maybe twice in my 40 years, and I never really
cared for it. It has its ardent fans, though, like White Castle
hamburgers; there are stories of people going to great lengths to get some.
The super-mild style of chili seems so contrary to the kind of thing we
seem to prefer here. It doesn't even have a rich pepper flavor as if it
had been made with a good amount of very mild chiles. When I have
something like that, I wonder how much actual pepper powder there is in
what I'm eating. There are all kinds of fillers and extenders, but how
much chile is in the chili that's named for it?
I do have to admit, though, that in the pre-chile-head days of my childhood
("BCH" or Before Chile Head) I loved a stovetop mix called Trail Boss
Chili. I liked the wagon-wheel noodles (get it? trail, wagons, wheels?)
but what I really loved was the strong taste of cumin in the seasoning mix.
I still love that flavor to this day.
Alex Silbajoris 72163.1353@compuserve.com
packing for camping - full moon!