Price Hill Chili

4920 Glenway Ave., Cincinnati, OH - (513) 471-9507

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Posted By Michael Stern on October 3, 2010 8:10 PM

As its name suggests, Cincinnati-style chili is the specialty of the house; and Price Hill's is dandy chili. But that’s only a fraction of what makes Price Hill a long-time favorite among Cincinnatians. Other uniquely local dishes served with high style include Coney Island hot dogs (topped with chili), double-decker sandwiches, and goetta (a locally preferred breakfast loaf made of pin oats, onions, and pork that is grilled to a crisp). Price Hill will serve goetta as a side dish with any meal or in a sandwich on rye, white, or whole wheat toast.

The chili is distinctive, with a meaty stratum that is not quite as complicated as that served by Camp Washington Chili Parlor, nor as spicy as Gold Star’s and Skyline’s (the city’s two most popular chains). Price Hill’s version is actually rather mellow, easy for tastebuds to understand at first bite. Beyond chili, we are particularly fond of this kitchen’s variation of the Coney known as a Wiener Bun: two grilled wieners in one bun, with or without cheese.

A charming family-friendly diner (with a larger cocktail lounge adjacent), Price Hill is open from dawn to late at night and has a full menu of normal sandwiches, hot dinners, salads, and breakfast omelets. The homemade soup of the day, in our experience (Monday chicken noodle and Tuesday beef barley), is fantastic. And there are gigantic goopy cream pies which we’ve never eaten … but need to mention because the first time we dined at Price Hill, about three in the afternoon, a slender, elderly lady sat in a booth near ours and spent an hour eating an entire pie – eight slices – to top off her lunch of five-way chili and a pair of Coneys.

*NOTE: We have been informed by a Cincinnatian who definitely knows her beans about chili and chili parlors that the pie-eating woman is a regular at Price Hill and in fact does NOT eat an entire pie, but only her favorite part -- the topping -- off an entire pie, three times per week.

Overall Rating

Five Way Chili

Coney Island

double-decker sandwich

goetta

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Posted By Bryan Dove on June 25, 2009 6:26 PM

Price Hill Chili was a go-to parlor for me right after getting married. You see, the thing that very nearly ended our nuptials early on was that my wife didn't like Cincy-style chili, while I ate it three times a week as a bachelor!

The strength of Price Hill is the diversity of the menu. The sandwiches in particular are fantastic; the BLT with fried egg is a classic, not to mention the double-deckers! And a note on the chili: it's rich but subdued. The noodles are much thicker and juicier and always remarkably fresh. For this reason I label it a great beginner's chili.

The joint itself has great history and atmosphere. It's located right across from Elder High School making it a mecca for high school football fans. Don't even try getting in on a Friday night in the fall! But the clientele is shockingly friendly, family oriented, and you know the moment you walk in that "regulars" are marked by generations, not years in attendance.

Overall Rating

double-decker sandwich

Five Way Chili

Coney Island

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