The Search for Cincinnati Chili at The Airport
by Liv | Published on May 6th, 2007, 10:40 am | Food
So I'm less than 2 weeks till I leave for California. I've been going over my itinerary and for some odd reason have been flown into the Cincinnati airport with about a 4.5 hour layover. So I think to myself, what the heck is there to do in Cincinnati, what are they known for? Is there going to be some good food or shopping in the airport? I mean, I always look forward to flying into Memphis because I can get the best damn ribs in the world. LAX prior to 9/11 was always fun because you could carry on a conversation with someone with a red dot on their head about ascension and middle eastern beliefs, and buy a book for $5.00 that would blow your mind.
No, I had no clue what could possibly be in Cincinnati. Wait! Chili, yeah Cincinnati is known for Chili! Isn't it? Dad happens to drop by around this time, and I ask if he's ever flown into Cincinnati, and he advises me it's in Kentucky. At this point I begin to wonder if my dad's better days are behind him, and speculate whether I should call "Old Folks Anonymous". After-all I grew up in Ohio till I was 8, and was born in Toledo. I was sure Cincinnati was in Ohio.
Turns out Cincinnati is plagued with lots of fog, and after a prank joke from a Kentucky politician suggesting the Cincinnati airport be built in Kentucky, the people rallied behind the "joke" and the rest is history.
The Irony of the whole thing is even though the airport is built in some rural farm land in Kentucky it's just minutes from the Ohio border. The majority of traffic is Delta passengers, and that probably means if your in Cincinnati then you're too damn cheap to fly a airline that can land somewhere expensive.
So without any further understanding of what my 4.5 hour layover will be like, or exactly what possible excitement or trouble I can get into while I spend my time in this Kentucky-Ohio Limbo, I look up the CVG airport on the Internet, and hunt down some authentic Cincinnati chili to buy. I discover that Delta is in terminal 3 of the airport, the largest of the 3 terminals. A little more research indicates the majority of Delta's flights are in concourse B of Terminal 3. Doing a quick search I discover a restaurant called "Gold Star Chili". Hmmm... I was right!!!!
So I Google them up and discover their website which states:
Looking for Cincinnati chili? You found it with Gold Star Chili. We offer the best Cincinnati chili, offering fast casual chili, and cheese coney's.
Oh yes, I've hit Cincinnati nirvana. God forbid the passengers who will be riding with me from Cincinnati to San Diego later that day.
