Chili, like barbecue, is a dish that men like to brag about. Every guy has his favorite recipe. Some like it blistering hot, some like it with beans and others say that beans ruin the dish. Some cook the beans in the chili and others cook them separately and add the beans later on. There are a lot of different kinds of meat that go into chili, good old American ground hamburger, chopped meat, bison, and sometimes even chicken. Some vegetarians leave the meat out altogether. Some people sprinkle cheese on top of their chili. Most of the stuff we know as chili has a red tomato base, but some “green” chili’s leave out the tomatoes. But most chili has two ingredients so it can at least live up to its name “Chile (or chili) con carne,” which literally means “chilies with meat.
There are lots of variations as to where chili originated. According to Wikipedia, (www.wikipedia.com), most of them say that it started in either Texas or Mexico in the early 1800’s as a cantina food that was served either cheap or free. Another theory has it that chili was developed on the cattle trail as a way of disguising meat that was starting to spoil. But like its Chinese cousin, chop suey, we’ll probably never know its true origin.
My own personal chili recipe is a basic Texas red that calls for lots of spices, chopped onion and garlic, fairly hot with jalapenos and Tabasco sauce instead of hot sauce, and chopped meat and beans. Some folks say that the original, true chili didn’t have beans and they were sometimes added when there wasn’t any meat, but I think that they are essential to the dish. Besides they have lots of fiber and are good for the heart.
There really aren’t any more chili parlors dotting the corners of St. Louis anymore. About the only thing that resembles a real chili parlor is the O.T. Hodges Chili parlor down on Jefferson. (1622 South Jefferson, 314-772-1215). O.T. Hodge began selling his recipe at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. At one time there were 17 of his chili parlors between Jefferson Avenue and the Mississippi River. The chili at O.T. Hodges is really good by itself, but I must say that it’s even better on a hot dog or on a “Slinger,” a Hodge’s original that consists of a couple of hamburger patties, eggs, sausage, and cheese, all topped with loads of piping hot chili.
Try not to eat any of the canned chili. It’s horrible. And stay away from the chains like Wendy’s and Steak and Shake if at all possible. Wendy’s uses old hamburger meat from the grill that is not servable because it’s either burnt or broken. Then it’s bagged up and put in the freezer until it’s needed for the chili. Don’t get me wrong, Wendy’s has some of the freshest, best tasting burgers in the fast food chain business, but the chili is just a way of not wasting meat that is unacceptable to serve. There is one chain that surprisingly has a decent bowl of chili though, and that is the Quiznos chain.
Another place that’s known as having a really good bowl of chili in St. Louis is Applegate’s Deli and Market at 1912 South Brentwood near the Galleria. (314-968-6466) It’s fairly spicy and packed full of beans. (Maybe a little too full.) It’s also some of the thickest chili that I’ve had, which is good if you like thick chili.
Tin can Tavern and Grill, (3157 Morganford), makes an excellent chili if you like it sweet, Blueberry Hill on the Delmar Loop advertises their chili as “World Famous” and El Scorcho Bar and Restaurant on Manchester in downtown Maplewood has an excellent fiery hot chili and several kinds of hot sauce if you want to make it even hotter. And with practically every brand of tequila made, El Scorcho is just the place if you want to eat it Cantina style. They even have saddle seats at the bar.
