This is the food that put Cincinnati on the nation's culinary map! Our menu features all of Cincinnati's classic chili parlor favorites: 3, 4 and 5-Ways, Cheese Coneys and Double Decker sandwiches. Plus, our unique Cincinnati-style Burritos & Burrito Bowls, a delicious line of fresh, made to order salads and our 100% real premium ice cream shakes.
We have our own language for ordering the subtle variations of our hometown favorites. Shout out a few of these phrases and you'll be able to impress a fifth generation Eastsider.
For 3-Ways…
"Inverted" – Cheese on the bottom, chili in the middle, and spaghetti on the top
"Make it sloppy" – An extra amount of chili; up to the rim of your plate
"Firehouse it!" – Add our very hot and tasty roasted red pepper hot sauce and 5-pepper spice blend.
"Make it dry" – A little light on the chili, please.
For Cheese Coneys
"3 CC, Mo, No O" – Translation: Three cheese coneys, mustard, no onions.
"Phony Coney" – A cheese coney, sans hot dog; bun, mustard, onions, chili, cheese aka the "Chili Pup"
Extra Credit…
"Cracker Bomb" – Poke a hole in an oyster cracker; fill it with Gold Star brand hot sauce
"Dessert" – One more cheese coney for the road.
Eat It Like A Native
There is a protocol for properly eating Cincinnati-style chili. Ignore it and you'll immediately identify yourself as an un-initiated out-of-towner. Here are a few tips to blend in:
A "Way" is eaten front to back.
Orient your plate length-wise, perpendicular to your body before taking your first bite.
Cut, don't twirl your spaghetti. You're in Cincinnati, not Sicily!
Cut. Scoop. Savor. Repeat.
Refuse a bib – The precise, seasoned chili eater would never waste a delicious drop of the stuff on his/her shirt/blouse.
One hand only to eat a cheese coney; always leaving the other had free to signal the server to bring you another.
Cleanse your palette with an oyster cracker after every bite.
