Mmmm...Chili!
How about a three-way with a coney on the side? A five-way sloppy? Or inverted (see above)? A chili sandwich? (Wait a minute. What the heck is a chili sandwich?) We took a seat at the counter in a dozen independent chili parlors, taste-tested the big names, interviewed the son of the man who claimed to have started it all, and even sacrificed a virgin on the chili altar. Behold, our guide to the hometown delicacy. (Burp. Pass the Peppermint Patties, please.)
By Donna Covrett, Brent Donaldson, Aiesha D. Little, Katherine L. Sontag, Jay Stowe, Linda Vaccariello, and Amanda Boyd Walters
Photographs By Ryan Kurtz
On the Side: Fun Chili Facts
Heartburn: An Interview with Joe Kiradjieff, former owner of Empress Chili
No Way: Where to find tasty versions of that other kind of chili
Going All the Way: A Chili Virgin’s First Time
The Night Shift: An Interview with Danny Lee, night manager of the Clifton Skyline
Anatomy of a Five-Way
Pot Boiler: A Highly Unscientific Chili Taste Test