In the city of Cincinnati alone, there are over 250 independent restaurants and 'chili parlors' that serve Cincinnati chili as one of their main courses. For those of you wondering what Cincinnati chili is exactly, it is spaghetti topped with a meat sauce consisting of ground beef, tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, allspice, nutmeg and more as well as onions, beans, and lots and lots of cheddar cheese. Some home recipes have been known to add unsweetened dark chocolate to the mix to give it a rather distinct flavor.
Despite its name, Cincinnati chili was originally created by Slavic-Macedonian immigrant restaurateurs from Greece in the 1920s. And now, the chili has found a home in Ohio where it has become a widely popular at-home meal quick and easy to serve large parties and families. This stick to your ribs meat sauce is also commonly found as a topping on hot dogs as well.