So, HG has been ranging far and wide in food appreciation (Palestine, Pittsburgh, Prince Edward Island, New Mexico, etc.). Time to talk about another distinctive, regional taste: Cincinnati Chili. This “chili” has nothing to do with the dense, fiery chilies of Texas and the Southwest; rather Cincy chili, like the chili that covers “Coney Island” hot dogs from Detroit to Rhode Island, is descended from Meditteranian spiced meat recipes (such as Moussaka) brought to the Midwest and beyond by Greek culinary entrepreneurs. Cincy chili contains cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cayenne, and other middle eastern spices. Very tasty but not particularly fiery. Cincy chili parlors (there are many) serve it in “ways” — the most iconic is “3 Way”, chili over spaghetti covered in a mound of shredded cheese. Beans are sometimes added as are chopped onions, splashes of vinegar, hot sauce (Frank’s or Tabasco) and you always get a side of oyster crackers. HG/BSK first had Cincy chili when (many years ago) they visited BSK’s sister, Noel M., and husband, Yossi M., when N. and Y. divided their time between Cincy (where they went to graduate school) and a farm in the Kentucky woods just over the Ohio border. (There are many good Cincy chili recipes on the internet if you want to make it at home). HG/BSK dined last night with N. and Y. at their beautiful Prince Edward Island Ocean Mist Farm. The main dish was Cincy chili over spaghetti. (Noel used ground lamb–raised by N. and Y.–instead of pork or beef. Very tasty). No oyster crackers but the first of Yossi’s potatoes. Gilded with good olive oil and sprinkled with kosher salt these were super spuds. And, took home some of Y.’s strawberries after having some with ice cream for dessert. Best berries in the world. They taste like old-time berries in the days before mega-agriculture took over with the mission of making natural food tasteless.
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