Here in the Queen City, we frequently have to deal with outsider morons who have no culinary acumen when it comes to the local delicacy that is Cincinnati-style chili.
Deadspin once called it "horrifying diarrhea sludge," and now New York Mets announcer Gary Cohen went off on the dish during Monday night's broadcast of the Reds vs. Mets game — specifically on Skyline's 5-Way — calling it "disgusting chili gravy."
Showing a video of someone expertly preparing the aforementioned dish, Cohen narrated its construction: “The 5-Way, with the spaghetti and the beans and the cheese — first the disgusting chili gravy. After the onions comes the cheese, and that’s what makes it the 5-Way. There’s the cheese. They put like 10 tons of shredded cheese on there."
“And this is supposed to be food that you actually eat," Cohen continued.
He then told co-broadcaster Ron Darling, "Try it once, and then you’ll never eat it again.”
The Reds and Skyline rightfully took offense to the commentary, tweeting last night:
Thankfully, there are some other media personalities out there with taste, who actually enjoy our chili — like tattooed Canadian chef Matty Matheson. He showed fans of his YouTube cooking show how to make their own at home.
And if you're looking for a different spin on traditional chili parlor eats, there's always downtown Khora's Cincinnati-style gemelli, with lamb ragout, pumpkin seeds and caramelized goat cheese; CityBeat's dining critic Pama Mitchell said "it’s quite delicious."
Or the Cincinnati-style ramen from the new Cafe Mochiko in East Walnut Hills.
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