A review of Cinners and its so-called Cincinnati Style Chili
Those of you that also migrated to Chicago from Cincinnati likely had some sort of excitement in your pants when you heard that Cinners was opening (I sure did). Cinners is touted as a Cincinnati themed chili parlor and cocktail lounge. My initial assumption of what this place would be is Skyline + Reds/Bengals memorabilia, which continued the mental wet dream. After doing some research, I realized that the chili wouldn’t be exactly like Skyline, but I had no problem with that. Anything close is better than nothing. Plus, drinks called ‘Who Dey’ and ‘Red Leggs’ sounded like things I would enjoy regardless of flavor.
I ventured to Cinners on Friday night with 7 other Cincinnati Chili fanatics. Here’s my thoughts, which were mostly the consensus of everyone I went with:
Atmosphere
They mean it when they call it a “Cocktail Lounge.” It’s dark, loungy, and very “hip” feeling. Cincinnati decor is limited and this looks nothing like a place I’d eat chili in when home in Cincy. Where’s the Big Red Machine and Boomer Esiason stuff on the walls? Come on! Anywho, a good 4 Way could make me forget I’m in a Chicago Martini Bar in no time.
Drinks
I’ve been conditioned to only drink fountain Pepsi when chowing 4 Ways and Coneys. Regardless, Cinners definitely has a good drink menu and is worth trying if you’re in the Lincoln Square area. One thing to note is that the ‘Over the Rhine’ cocktail is made of Rum, Gin, Watermelon Vodka, Sweet & Sour, and Grenadine. We found that both amusing and wrong.
Food
Since this is the most important part of the review, I’ll write it in easy-to-read bullet point form:
- Cinner Dip
- For most of us, Skyline dip is our only taste of home here in Chicago thanks to canned Skyline
- This was our first taste of the chili, and it was good, BUT:
- Cheese was average - not shredded finely enough and didn’t cover entire dip!
- Everyone agreed that it could’ve used another 10 minutes in the oven
- 3/4/5 Way
- Besides being lukewarm and taking 45 minutes to come out, they weren’t very good. Here’s why:
- Spaghetti wasn’t cooked enough and didn’t have any of the chili (or chili grease) in it to keep the noodles from sticking together
- Chili is too dry. Best part of a 4 Way is soaking up the juice with crackers. This was not an option
- Cheese barely covered the chili on top of the spaghetti. I know it’s a minor complaint, but presentation is important!
- Timing-wise, what took so long? Everyone that has worked in a restaurant or been to a Cincinnati Chili Parlor knows that chili, like soup, sits in a well that’s heated. This is supposed to be in the fast food family! You would’ve thought that each item had its cheese individually grated. Parlor is a weird word
- Besides being lukewarm and taking 45 minutes to come out, they weren’t very good. Here’s why:
- Coney
- I didn’t have a coney, but those that did said it seemed like the buns were 2 weeks old
- Also, the lack of chili juice led to a dry coney. Most people like when the bun soaks up the chili and melts with the cheese. This was not the case here
- Hot Sauce
- They did a nice job of doing their research and providing hot sauce from the same manufacturer as Skyline Hot Sauce. High five!
- Crackers
- You’re given oyster crackers in plastic packages vs. the typical crackers in a bowl
- Crackers in bags seem to go against the classy lounge feel from the rest of the menu
Overall
The best way to describe everyone’s food was that it was on par with a Cincinnati middle school cafeteria’s 3 Way Day. That said, we all still cleaned our plates due to extreme hunger and its resemblance of the meal we grew up eating on a weekly basis. Heck, Skyline was to my friends like The Max was to Zack Morris and co.
We all agreed that we won’t return to Cinners for awhile. If it’s still around a year from now, we’ll venture back and assume they’ve worked out some kinks.
Try it out for yourself and let me know if you have a different opinion.
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