Good chili around Boston?

[climberguy]

I tried chili for the first time a month or 2 ago. Ready to move past Trader Joes chili in a can.

I live in Waltham and work near financial district though, in general, any good chili in or around Beantown?

[opinionatedchef]

good chili is like good soup- you never know where you're going to find it. and it is a real test of a good chef. I was delighted when I discovered Rick Katz's chili at Picco in the South End. It's a pizza/ice cream place but the owner/well-known Boston pastry chef Rick Katz has many talents!

[MeffaBabe]

Delicato's Deli has chili on the menu every M-W-F and it's really good. Big chuncks of peppers and tons of meat make it a worthy lunchtime treat. Not sure the street/alley name they are on but if you go to Pi Alley from Washington St and at the other end of the alley take a left- you will see Delicatos- they usually have a tripod sign out front.

[opinionatedchef]

Big chunks of peppers
and tons of meat
make it a worthy
lunchtime treat!!

MB, Maybe jingles bubble in your blood! Are you related to The Prizewinner of Defiance Ohio? (great film w/ Julianne Moore)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406158/

[BigBrother]

Actually, on a similar note, what about LA-style Tommy's/Cupid's/Pink's chili? For those who know what I'm talking about- it's the orange-y meat paste-like chili. Not at all like the stuff mentioned here, but heaven unto itself :) Anyone found something like this out here?

[ScubaSteve]

Lawton's Hot Dogs in Lawrence has this type of chili iirc, but i think it's only available as a condiment to the Dogs.

[ritcey]

I'm a fan of the chili at Audobon - the good chunks o' beef style, fixins on the side (including, oddly but deliciously, egg noodles).

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Audobon Circle Restaurant Bar
838 Beacon St, Boston, MA 02215

[SSqwerty]

I really love the chili at the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown. Just the right heat, big red beans, plenty of beefy goodness. I once ordered a "cup" of it (comes in a coffee cup) and then ordered a whole bowl, it was that good.

[firewrx612]

The Chili at Salsa's in Southie is great. Is has a great smokey flavor that I assume is from chipotles.

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

If it's still on the menu, the chili is one of the few food offerings at Deep Ellum that doesn't suck.

[BobB]

Do they use ordinary ground beef or real chili grind?

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Fairly chunky, not hugely so. Properly sludgy texture is the important thing.

[hiddenboston]

The chili at Paddy's in West Newton (just over the Waltham border) is excellent, in my opinion. It is very rich and hearty, with a good amount of ground beef in it.

[steinpilz]

The All Star Sandwich Bar in Inman Square has really good chili. It's spicy (due to it's East Coast Grill roots) if you don't mind that.

[mangorita]

I second the rec for the All Star Sandwich Bar Chili. nice and spicy, but not as spicy as their Atomic Meatloaf sandwich.

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All Star Sandwich Bar
1245 Cambridge St, Cambridge, MA 02139

[BJK]

Third All Star. It's worth pointing out that this is Texas style all beef chili. Think large chunks of beef cooked low and slow like a stew as opposed to Cincinnati style which is based on ground beef, with or without beans.

BK

[Harp00n]

Isn't "Cincinnati Style" with the WTF spaghettI???

[BJK]

True, Cincinnati style chili is usually served over spaghetti or hot dogs. Just trying to make the distinction that All Star is definitely Texas style, stew like, big chunks of beef, not ground beef and definitely no beans!

:)
BK

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

(Psst...opposition to beans in chili is by no means unanimous in Texas.)

[Harp00n]

BFP,
See, now that surprises me! Like BJK, I've always thought that, in my admittedly very limited Lone Star State experience, that beans were verboten. Is it a county by county thing or not that simple?

Harp

[BarmyFotheringayPhipps]

Not that simple. In a lot of ways, it's basically a matter of how hard you feel you have to prove that you're A Texan. For example, George W. probably insists very loudly on no beans, you know what I mean?

The rules of chili competitions insist on no beans, but that has little bearing on what people actually make and eat at home.

[Harp00n]

Gotcha...
Oh yeah, I can visualize '43 doing just that followed by a bodily function joke or two and a lot of heh, heh, hehs.

Harp

[Harp00n]

Since your in Waltham, for starters, try Jake's Dixie Roadhouse or Bison County BBQ, both are on Moody St.