Just like the presidential candidates, my picks for Chicago’s best chili are fiery to mild, sometimes full of beans and frequently send you running for the Tums:
THE TEXAS BAR-B-Q AND CHILI HOUSE (101 N. Main St., Algonquin, 847-658-2130) is one of the few places in the Chicago area that does Texas-style everything rightfrom melt-in-your-mouth barbecue to authentic, jailhouse-style, no-bean chili. In mild, spicy or super-hot, get it by the bowl or in an omelet, or try the Texas chili lunch (grilled pita bread with a heaping pile of chili on top).
For 70 years, BISHOP’S CHILI (9253 Cermak Rd., North Riverside, 708-442-5600; 250 N. Cass Ave., Westmont, 630-852-5974) has been serving up mild, non-tomato based ground-beef-and-bean “Chicago-style” chili. A fall favorite is the chili, brat and beer (or root beer) special. Chili is available by the bowl, pint or quart.
CHILI MAC’S 5-WAY CHILI (3152 N. Broadway, 773-404-2898) specializes in slightly sweet and cinnamon-flavored Cincinnati-style chili (with beef, spaghetti, cheese, beans and onion). But don’t miss the “13-way” vegetarian chili (potato, carrot, celery, turnip, eggplant, green pepper, tomato, mushroom, tofu, artichoke, horseradish, jalapeno and cilantro).
CHELI’S CHILI BAR (1137 W. Madison St., 312-455-1237) still flourishes even though its owner, former Chicago Blackhawk Chris Chelios, now wears a Detroit Red Wings jersey. Open only during hockey and basketball seasons, this West Side sports bar hollows out a loaf of round Italian bread and fills it to the brim with traditional Chicago-style meat and bean chili. Long after the chili is gone, there’s great munching to be done on the sauce-soaked “bowl.”
