Just had a great bowl of meaty stick to the ribs chili at Waterfront yesterday.

The folks at Duda's in Fell's Point are justifiably proud of their chili. It's one of the best versions I've had that wasn't made by me.

Mmmm...creme brulee!

Nino Taco in Owings Mills makes a mean bowl of chili.

Padonia Station and The Wine Merchant.

This is where I miss the Cafe Tattoo. I've not had great chili since they left.

Thanks guys! I will call the chefs and see what chili secrets they will reveal...watch for the story on Jan. 28 in TASTE.

I have to agree with MikeA. I've never had chili as good as what I used to get at Tattoo. I've been craving good chili since Rick moved to Florida. I was at a new years eve potluck a few years ago where Jenny ( Rick's daughter) brought a batch of the unleaded chili. That brought back many fond memories.

The photo reminded me- is chili over rice a local thing? A friend made a batch on New Year's Eve and one of the kids asked about rice- after some discussion, we found that quite a few people are accustomed to eating it that way. She's from Michigan, I'm from Philly, and neither of us had heard of that.

Chili served over rice??? Chili served over rice??? You've got to be kidding me! That must definitely be an East coast thing, as any able bodied Texan found to be eating Texas Red that way would be run out of the state on a rail!! HA! Go Ravens!!!!

sobo cafe makes a mean veggie chili (and I love meat).

My work cafeteria used to have a Great veggie chili...and then one day, "they" found out that I loved it, so they immediately changed the recipe. "They" either do that or stop having things once people fall in love with them. Case in point, the wonderful tomato florentine soup we used to have on a regular basis, and the Thai noodle soup - lines out the door for them...now gone...gone..gone.
I'm hoping "they" don't realize that we really like the gumbo because it will be out the door before we know it!

Joyce, "they" do the same thing with shoes.

I'm a little disappointed. I love me a bowl of Chili and was hoping for a lot more responses to this one. Is it that hard to find a decent bowl of red in Baltimore?

Me, too. I was hoping to get a Top 10 out of it. EL

"Veggie chili" is just spicy vegetable soup.;-) Chili con carne = chili with meat.

The problem with restaurant chili is that unless it is a restaurant that caters to chili-lovers the chili will be almost an afterthought - something to put on the menu because "we have to have a chili." Whenever my DW and I go out and she sees descriptions like "spicy-hot" and worries that it will be too hot, I remind her that it is "commercial hot" which means that it mustn't burn out the mouth of someone who's idea of chili comes in a supermarket can. I, on the other hand, often carry a small bottle of Tabasco sauce to spice up the "spicy-hot" offerings. "Taste buds? We don' need no steenkin' taste buds."

Chili isn't something I order out. I make it myself. There are so many variations that the chances that I'll receive something I don't actually consider to be chili if I order it out are too high.

Tambers in Charles Village. It's a classic 50's style, served with fresh onions and cheese and that lovely ring of yellow grease around the bowl -- just what you expect when you go there. Unexpected is how well it goes with a side of their naan!

RiE
I got a small stainless steel pill bottle at my pharmacy. It has a screw on lid w/a rubber gasket, and hangs on my keychain. It is the perfect size for carrying ground chipotle peppers or any spice mixture. I use it a lot more than I thought I would.

So for the shameless plug, but I make the best chili in town.
Joe Squared

I had a brother-in-law who was a printer. He used to hate getting printing jobs that had gold as one of the colors. He said everyone has a different idea of what "gold" is, and he would end up having to do the print job over, sometimes several times.

I think chili is like "gold" ink. Beside the problem of "how hot is hot" there are so many other variables. I was raised to believe that "real chili ain't got no beans." But most chili has beans. There is the rice question that was raised by other commenters. Prof. McIntyre's recipe for Cincinnati chili is served on spaghetti. (I tried it; it's good, if you leave out the beans.)

RiE, that's very true. I'm from Oklahoma. We take chili very seriously down there, and we don't serve it over, rice, spaghetti, or arugula

I make my own in general, but I'm a fan of the Duda's version. I also liked the chili at the late Fort Charles Pub, but it's no longer available.

Lissa, I agree with you. You just don't know what you're going to get if you order chili. Same reason I never order tuna salad unless I already know they won't put sweet relish in it (GACK)!

Joe Squared - Does your chili have beans?

The chili at Nacho Mama's is very good. It's basically chunks of tender beef, peppers and onions. It's moderately hot, but there are several hot sauces available.It's served in one of those fried tortilla bowl thingys so the whole thing is edible. Oh, and their guacamole is excellent. I'm starting to sound like a shill, but I'm not! I SWEAR!

RayRay, I may steal your idea and use mine for Old Bay!

As of now, I like my own chili the best. I start with a spice packet that I get from Nick at the Baltimore Farmers Market and then improvise from there. Sometimes beans sometimes not.Sometimes pork sometimes veal. I never use a recipe, and never make it the same way twice. I think it's medium spicy, buteveryone else who eats it considers it HOT. When someone asks how hot it is, I reply"how long is a piece of string?"

Giant Food actually has great chili at its soup bar.

I wonder if Nick is the same spice guy who's at Waverly on Saturday mornings? (Already, I'm thinking this week is too cold to get there.)

Joe, that is the proper way to shill! I approve.

My mother used to complain that my chilli ate her Tupperware. Usually as she started into her third bowl (laced with plain yogurt or sour cream to tame it down a bit).

It isn't the heat, though, it is the flavour.

Clementine has a great venison chili.

Glasz Cafe on Lake and Falls has a fabulous southern-style chili. Three different kinds of beans, just enough spice and chunky. Soups are good too.

Clementine has a great venison chili.

A child-friendly restaurant where they eat Bambi???

Lissa, I don't think Joe is shilling. He's being right up front about it, which I agree is the way to discuss your place on this or any other forum.

Henningers and One World Cafe both have good chili.

I have a very good vegetarian chili recipe I'll be happy to post if folks are interested.

Mary Roby I, for one, would LOVE your vegetarian chili recipe. I actually used to look forward to Wed at work when they had the old recipe of veg chili that I loved so much, so maybe if I make it at home and bring it with, Wed can be a good day again!

Jon, I was praising Joe, seriously. He called it "shilling". I think he was great - he identified where he was from, stated his point and stopped, all while participating in the blog.

Makes me more likely to try to get to Joe Squared, that kind of thing does.

I don't know about the Baltimore area but the BEST chili in the state of Maryland is at Duncan's Bar & Grill in Frostburg, MD.

The best part of Joe's shilling is that he's quick and funny and you can feel the grin.

HW Bob, you made me smile with the memory of Dunc's, buckets of beer and the CHILI! Miss the view from Dan's Rock too.

Santoni's chicken chili is pretty good. Hearty and well seasoned, my only complaint is that some of the pieces of chicken are too big. Panera's chicken chili was awesome when they were having it over the summer. With a small salad, it was a great dinner.

I'm more curious why Joe's chili is the best. Any dingleberry can claim to have the best chili. Joe - why is your chili so great?!

My complaints with the new pizza oven aside, the food at Joe2 is pretty good, so I'd be inclined to believe him.

We were there last week and the service was much improved.

I need to get a good chili recipe to make myself. As it is now, I've been lazy and buying different vegetarian kinds in the grocery store.

I'm not a vegetarian, but those are the only ones not packing a ton of salt.

I rarely see chili on menus, either down here or up in Baltimore.

Chili is one of those things, I think we skip over without noticing too, Fl Rob. If you're out to eat after all, you're going to scan the menu for something that really rings your bell, while chili seems to be more of a snack/appetizer kind of thing for many of us. My partner's band's second guitarist finds chili everytime we play someplace that has food whereas I don't even recall having seen it on the menu until I see him eating it. He's a die hard chili lover though and I'm dazzled by the crab cakes or the specials.

Chili as a snack/appetizer, Joyce W.? I don't think so--it's the main event! Especially when it's this cold!

Chili is the main event in our house for dinner tonight, Dahlink. You are right about that, but I still think if we were restauranting it, I'd be scanning the menu for something more interesting.

Wendy's and Grauls has tasty chili.

My family loves both my beef and turkey chilis, which I don't like particularly hot. I just want to tickle the back of the palate with heat, not burn it out. By the way, Trader Joe's has a WONderful canned vegetarian chili!

Jon, I was praising Joe, seriously. He called it "shilling". I think he was great - he identified where he was from, stated his point and stopped, all while participating in the blog.

Makes me more likely to try to get to Joe Squared, that kind of thing does.