Chili for the Chilly
It was a damp, cold day, and I was a damp, cold gal when I first found my way into Cincy’s. But the little lunchtime diner warmed me up in every way.
Cincy’s, in downtown Greensboro, serves Cincinnati-style chili. It offers a vegetarian version, with lentils and bulgur replacing the meat. It also has a selection of sandwiches, soups and salads, including veggie dogs and veggie burgers.
But the chili is the main attraction. Cincinnati-style chili is remarkable for a couple of things. First, the chili itself contains unusual flavorings, such as cinnamon, allspice and cocoa powder. Second is the way - or ways - it’s served: Put the chili on top of spaghetti, and it’s two-way; add a mound of shredded cheese to the chili on the spaghetti, and it’s three-way; add kidney beans or chopped onions to that for four-way; add beans and onions, and you’ll have five-way chili. Oyster crackers are the usual accompaniment.
A regular-size order of five-way chili banished the autumnal chill for hours. And though it’s not always possible to get to Greensboro for lunch, it’s easy to re-create the dish at home. And you can use a vegan “cheese” such as Cheddar-style Vegan Rella to make it a vegan dish. So The Big M and I have been on something of a Cincinnati-style chili kick lately.
The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink by John F. Mariani has a brief history of Cincinnati-style chili, and a handy recipe. It says that those unusual flavorings stem from its origins as “the creation of Macedonian immigrant Athanas Kiradjieff, who settled in Cincinnati and opened a hot-dog stand called the Empress (named after the Empress Burlesque Theater in the same building), where in 1922 he concocted a layered chili (seasoned with Middle Eastern spices) that could be served in various ‘ways.’”
The Big M veganized the recipe by replacing the pound of ground beef it originally called for with about 3/4 cup of lentils, cooked and then mixed with about a half-cup of TVP, which reconstituted by absorbing the remaining lentil-cooking water. (You could also use vegetarian burger crumbles, or all TVP, or a mix of lentils and bulgur as at Cincy’s.) He made a few other adjustments as well, so here is his recipe, modified from The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink:
Lentil/TVP mix or other meat substitute equivalent to a pound of ground beef
2 chopped onions
3 cloves minced garlic
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 can tomato soup
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar
1 tsp black pepper
Salt to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp mace
1/4 tsp cardamom
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
Saute onions, garlic and lentil/TVP mix in the oil until the onions are tender. Add tomatoes, soup and seasonings, bring to a boil, and simmer for about an hour. Makes 4 to 6 or more servings.
Serve over cooked spaghetti, topped with chopped, raw onions, grated cheese or vegan cheese substitute and red kidney beans, with oyster crackers on the side.
According to the Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, it’s traditional to eat the chili with two hot dogs covered in shredded cheese on the side. Again, you could do this vegan-style easily enough … but finding room for even one verges on the impossible, in my experience.
