Cincinnati Chili & Coney Crawl - May 9, 2009 - The Trip Report - Updated Part #2

Incredible!  What a chili fest!

But forget the chili,  I'll take an Emma!  What a darling child she is.

wanderingjew


See, I was right about Blue Ash Chili, I always said it was my favorite of all the Cincinnati Chili Parlors I've visited (hey aren't I always right?)

Whenever we were discussing how good Blue Ash Chili was, I mentioned to CajunKing that it was your favorite and that we would undoubtedly receive a big "I told you so".  But, we went ahead and named it #1 anyway!

What a great adventure!!Food looks incredible...for a minute I thought nocarolina was taking a nap!

Ann-
You should have seen what tired faces the four of us had by the end of the day.  We all looked like zombies.  Nocarolina scared us by saying he wasn't sure if he was driving back to Chicago that night, but he definitely made the right call by getting a hotel room for the night.  But it was all worth it!

I still have quite a few photos and comments to add, which I hope to do shortly.....

Ann

We were all fairly comatose after the final stop, but it was worth it to spend the day with good friends.

 zzzzzzzzzz.....

Wish we could have been there with you all!  Amy & I were quite privileged to get a private chili tour with CajunKing a couple months ago, but these photos make us yearn to return!    Chris

Some other photos of Camp Washington Chili:

When you park in the lot next to the building, you can't help but notice this seriously bizarre mural in the back.

Now is that George Washington or J. Edgar Hoover?  If anyone has an explanation for this mural (like the flying pigs), I would love to hear it!

CWC is a long time staple of the Stern's books and they are well represented on the walls here.


I took advantage of being part of a larger crowd to order my very first double decker sandwich at a Cincy chili parlor and got the ham & ham & swiss. 

The ham was piled high, but sliced very thin.  It reminded me of the chipped ham that is so popular in Pittsburgh.  But, I enjoy the chili here so much, I still had to get a 5-Way,

which Mariton and I split.  As good as always, I was sure that Camp Washington Chili would be my #1 at the end of the day.

CajunKing and all - I really appreciated and enjoyed this trip report.  I must take another trip up North soon.

I'm actually surprised at everyone voting Blue Ash Chili #1 as I thought the chili tasted like Cincy chili with a hint of Castlebury's (I do like Blue Ash coneys though).  Out of the parlors I've been to, here is my list:

1.  Skyline - despite being a large chain, it is still my favorite.  I went to college @ the University of Dayton.  The old Skyline on Brown Street used to have all you can eat night for $5.  Incredible.
2.  Camp Washington - meatier than Skyline, but the taste is a tad below.
3.  Dixie Chili - a close third.  As I live in Atlanta, I have to supplement my chili craving by getting frozen Skyline or canned Skyline or Dixie.  Dixie Chili is definitely preferred if canned.
4.  Empress
5.  Blue Ash
6.  Gold Star - blech

JJJRFoodie - your name isn't Greg by chance, is it?  You look like an old friend of mine that I haven't seen for years.

I didn't vote for Blue Ash as #1; in fact I rate it as #4 out of the six places we ate at. Camp Washington is my favorite of the six; Empress is #2 and Delhi Chili is the one I liked the least. To tell the truth, I still prefer Skyline to any of the places on the tour. Gold Star's chili never has appealed much to me.    

nocarolina


I didn't vote for Blue Ash as #1; in fact I rate it as #4 out of the six places we ate at. Camp Washington is my favorite of the six; Empress is #2 and Delhi Chili is the one I liked the least. To tell the truth, I still prefer Skyline to any of the places on the tour. Gold Star's chili never has appealed much to me.    

Sorry about that - I meant to say something like prevailing opinion.  I need to go back to Empress, as I haven't been there in years.

Wow, now THAT is missing from the food scene over here. ::drool::

Shani

A big thanks to Cajunking for setting the crawl up! 

It was pleasure to be a part of it and while I apologise for heading out early but I was hitting "food coma" mode by the time I got home, and like buffetbuster, did not eat a single morsel til' lunch the next day.

As for my being from Atlanta,sadly I am not.  I've been there a lot for businees, but am from Cincy, OH.

Again, thanks for the great chili day and it was a pleasure getting to meet more roadfooders.

jjjrfoodie

Great job guys - excellent report, fabulous photos!

CajunKing, this is a few days overdue ( me much forgetful ), but I want to thank you for putting together a really great meet n' eat. I had a blast and wouldn't hesitate to do it again ( well, maybe I'd pass on that sixth serving of  chili. ) Now when are we gonna do that pintos n' cornbread crawl down in Kentucky??   :~)

Lord have mercy, my friends!!! You had a great time, and tasted the best of the best...

Fantastic report and photos, everyone!  :)  Wish I could've been there, but our schedule didn't allow for it.

A follow up

The maple creams at Aglamesis Brothers were outstanding!!  Almost truffle like, heavy maple flavor, delicious.

Chris & Amy & Buffettbuster

I did some research on the mural above, the one behind Camp Washington Chili.

Well, it has a mixed history, some love it, some hate it.


Some of the elements depicted represent businesses and the history of the community.
 
The cow, that beautiful cow, is the cow that was lost and roaming through, that left the stockyard a few years ago. (It made national attention and the cow was rescued by some farmer)

The pigs represent the meatpacking industry, and of course that's a nod to Cincinnati in general and our it's history.
  Schenz's Costume Design is referenced by the gown and the gorilla.
(schenz's is located on colerain across from CWC.)

The name 'Camp Washington,' with the face of George Washington
Well duh

The one I didnt see was the robot which represents Jacob's Manufacturing another Camp Washington business.

So now we know the history of the mural @ Camp Washington Chili

The referenced cow bolted from the stockyard on its way to being a hamburger or hot dog and wandered around Cincinnati for days.  When it was finally captured, the artist Peter Max rescued it and took it to his farm in New York where it lived several peaceful and bucolic years until passing fairly recently.

Big thanks to CajunKing and sudie for some answers about the cool mural.  It sure makes a lot more sense now.  As for a cow bolting for freedom, how cool is that?

Wow!  So the orders were for the table and people just shared?  That sounds right sensible to me.

Nancy

It depended on the place

Yes we shared off the others plates, as to save room for chili at the next stop.  8^)

the bowls of plain chili were sampled

the ice cream...... GET YOUR HANDS OFF!!!  8^)

CajunKing, what happened to all those photos? They're suddenly invisible!

umm not sure arent they there?

CajunKing did such a great job with the photos, I don't have too many extra to add.  Of course after eating all of that, I was just getting lazy and too full to bother.

At Price Hill Chili, here is the very good made here goetta

and the average at best 5-Way chili. 

It isn't that the chili here didn't taste good, it just wasn't as good as the others.

At Graeter's, here is the lovely Emma

deciding which from her cone sampler she wants to attack first.  Few things go hand in hand like ice cream and kids smiling.  I imagine the look on my face around ice cream is about the same!

Here is the 5-Way from Empress Chili,

which I would rank #5, just barely ahead of Price Hill Chili.  I appreciate the history of Empress Chili, but there are much better place in Cincy to go for chili.

At the day's big winner, Blue Ash Chili, Mariton and I ordered a 6-Way,

which came with jalapeno bottle caps.  Obviously, this is very untraditional, but we loved it anyway, especially Mariton.  I chatted with the owner, who told me it was his son's idea.  Before we left, we asked the owner to take a group photo of everyone left, who had managed to visit all six chili parlors in one day.

The weariness on our faces is quite obvious!
 
This was a particularly fun event to participate in and it was great to meet some new Roadfooders and get reacquainted with old friends.  But a special big thank you to CajunKing for all the hard work in organizing the day.  You did a wonderful job!

Great photo, my friends!!!Love to see old and new...I still think nocarolina needs a nap! And apparently he was smart enough to get a good nights sleep before driving home...

jjjrfoodie


As for my being from Atlanta,sadly I am not.  I've been there a lot for businees, but am from Cincy, OH.

jjr - I  grew up in Kettering (Dayton).  My friend went to high school with me in Kettering, but went to UC for college.

Great report!!

Ann, I definitely did need a looonnng nap; I drove all Friday night to get to Cincy on time Sat. morning. I may be a big goof but I'm no dummy... I wasn't about to risk falling asleep at the wheel and wiping out a carload of innocent folks.