Category: All

I think I might have done an Ike’s post in the past but it has been a while. My thimble of chili was like I remembered it, thick…big chunks of meat and a “heavy” flavor. When I say heavy maybe that is due to the thickness of the sauce. I like that the “sides” came on the side so you can mix in whatever cheeses, sour cream you like. I think the stand alone chili wasn’t as good as when I added the sour cream as it lightened it up a little. Ike’s is a little more of a high end lunch option but $7.50 for a small cup is a tad outside of the norm, but as a side instead of fries it was only $3.00. I would get again as a side but not as a meal.

Overall taste – 7 could be a little less heavy

Spice level – 6.6

Heat level – 3

IT Factor – 6

Value – 2.6

Been meaning to get to this place for a while now and finally went this past Saturday around 1:30…and it was still packed and a 20 minute wait. Lots of people nursing that Bloody Mary and taking up space…

Did I come for the chili?? Of course I did…. I had the cup of “loaded brisket chili” along with my brisket grilled cheese.

Flavor was solid…meat was great…not too much cheese and sour cream to overshadow the main attractions. I really didn’t have much to criticize other than the sauce was a little thin/watery but it didn’t take anything away from the overall taste. It was a little smoky and had nice chunks of brisket, not too much for beans and veg so right up my alley.

Definitely will try again!!

Overall taste – 8.2

Spice level – 7.7

Heat level – 5.6

IT Factor – 7.9

Value – ($6 for cup) – 4.8 It is a good side but when I ordered my sandwich and said I’ll have the chili as my side there was no discount… I still got the fries I didn’t want and charged for the chili reg price.

Usually I go to the Hen House for lunch to get breakfast, which is usually great. I was always curious why they didn’t have chili on the menu so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the “turkey chili” on the daily special list.

When I thought turkey chili, in my head I was expecting something closer to a white chicken chili. You can see from the pic this was based more on a traditional red chili.

Not much great to say other than it was satisfactory. It tasted more like a vegetarian chili without that hearty meat and chili powder. I just tasted vegetables…

Overall taste – 4

Spice level – 3

Heat level – 2

IT Factor – 3

Value – 6.6

I was trying to remember the last time I had chili at Jack’s…. been a while.

The waitress asked if I wanted all the fixins and boy did it come with a lot. I would recommend not getting it as I had way too much sour cream.

I tried to mix around it to get at the raw chili and it was pretty solid. I got some smoky notes and good overall flavor. The cup was pretty good sized as well. It could have been a hair more spicy and bigger chunks of meat but not too shabby. I would get again for sure.

Overall taste – 7.1

Spice level – 6.1

Heat level – 3

IT Factor – 5

Value – 7

Been a while since I’ve been back to the old 5-8. I used to frequent this place when I lived close by although I really didn’t get the chili much back then.

It was a good sized cup and asked If I wanted cheese as that is how it comes. I assume this is “homemade” per their menu listing. Overall it was pretty solid, nothing jumps out at you, just good chili. I didn’t get a lot of heat, there were some larger tomato chunks that could have been a little smaller but other than nothing to complain about. This was more of a tomato based flavor and could have used a little more spice to it but I would definitely get again.

Overall taste – 8.6

Spice level – 5.8

Heat level – 3

IT Factor – 6

Value – 8 (4.99 for the large cup)

This was the XXX Bola Red (I’ll post the Lone Spur Mild later)

So I’ve been here in the past but just had wings…which are good too. There is a separate area on the menu just for chili so you have to deliver if you are touting it that much. I was told this would be a little spicy…and yes it was. In fact the hottest chili I’ve written about so far. Now I’m sure there are hotter ones and depends on your tolerance level. It did have nice hunks of brisket and a tomatoey sauce. I didn’t get a huge dose of chili powder or paprika taste so it was more of a meat/veg flavor. The heat was more immediate rather than on the backend. They do have some hot sauces on the menu so I’m thinking the heat came from the sauce vs any cayenne or peppers. It didn’t come with any cheese or sour cream. Maybe some of that could have cut the heat a little.

Overall taste – 6

Spice level – 3.4

Heat level – 10

IT Factor – 6.8

Value – 7 – I got the bowl for $12 which was decent sized and comes with tortilla chips and a nice slab of cornbread. So in that sense it could be your whole meal.

Any chance I get at a nice steakhouse to order a chili I’m all over it. I was surprised that the bowl was only $6. It had a nice appearance, just a little cheese and sour cream to mix around.

I’d have to say it was a little mix of sweet and smoky with some deep spice flavor. It was above average on all aspects except really no heat to it. The question is if you go to a nice steakhouse do you fill up on chili before or just have as a side?

Overall taste – 7.8

Spice level – 7

Heat level – 2

IT Factor – 6.7

Value – 9.2

I would definitely get this again, maybe lunch would be better as a lighter meal.

Been to Lyon’s a number of times but not in the past few years. The chili seems to have a perm spot on the menu so I would assume it is homemade…but I’m not totally sure of that. The price was ok at $4.95 for a cup and if you like tortilla chips there was a plateful on the side. I guess you could make a meal out of it if you aren’t terribly hungry.

I’d say this was pretty normal when it comes to chili… meat, beans, some veg with cheese and sour cream. Nothing really jumped out at me and nothing was really bad either…just a good middle of the road cup of chili.

It could have used a good amount of spices to kick it up.

Overall taste – 5

Spice level – 4

Heat – 2

IT Factor – 3

Value – 6

back from a holiday break….

I did a little search of Minneapolis chili and the Loon consistently came up so I made the long walk over lunch (10 minutes)…

Their menu does boast “award winning” and the bartender recommended the Pecos River Red, which comes either mild, medium or hot. I went with medium. It was pretty true to form of classic Texas style chili with the cubed steak and not much else. This did have a kick to it so I’d be curious as to how hot the “hot” is. Really good flavor which was a little smoky-ish, good meat flavor and some various spices. I did get that cumin note too. As I was finished this up he brought me some of the Pinto’s Diablo chili to try. This really was good and better than the Pecos in my book. It has a little sweeter profile but also a real rich, deep flavor. The ground beef was very small in size kind of like a chili dog consistency. I would definitely get both again in a heartbeat and like I said before try the hot Pecos. I do like the Texas toast it comes with too. It had a small amount of cheese and sour cream…. kudos to the Loon! I’ll be back for sure. The only thing I gotta give low marks on is the price… $8.95 for a cup. Steep but I’ll pay the extra $3 for the bowl.

Overall taste (Pecos-Pinto’s) 8 and 9

Spice level 7.5 and 9

Heat – 8 and 6

IT Factor – 7 and 9

Value – 3 and 3

First time at The Pub at the Aria hotel in Vegas. There wasn’t a huge menu but the “Brisket chili” stood out. I think it was like $12 (it is Vegas) so I thought something bigger than a cup. The skillet was nice and hot and big but not too deep. The cheese was baked on top and came with some cheddar jalapeño biscuits. There were nice chunks of meat and this had a really deep flavor. I’d say it was more on that smoky side than most and it had a nice kick to it. Well it was hot temperature wise too but enough zip to get your nose on the verge of running. I could have done with about half the cheese and a little side of sour cream might have been good. The was very hearty do you could get away with another app and be plenty full. Of course I had a chicken sandwich and a few beers so I was plenty full after. I would definitely recommend the next time you are at the Aria.