Gold Star Chili began as Hamburger Heaven (1965) in Cincinnati, Ohio. The brothers who purchased Hamburger Heaven perfected their Cincinnati-style chili and renamed their business Gold Star Chili.
I was a slow starter when it came to chili. My family and friends know my Mom for making an incredible, slightly sweet chili with beans.
I’ve never been a giant bean guy except for black beans, which were part of daily life in my Cuban household. However, I fell in love fast love the minute my taste buds ate beanless chili in my early 20s.
Marcela Approves of Gold Star Chili
Marcela and I were staying for a few nights in Kentucky. Just a half block away, there was a Gold Star Chili that we drove by multiple times.
It turns out that a few years earlier, my friend John and I had eaten at that exact location. Marcela is a newbie to the awesomeness of Cincinnati-style chili, so she was excited to try it out.
She would not be disappointed.
The Cheese Coney (chili cheese dog), chili (beanless as it should always be), chili cheese fries, and a 4-Way with onions were on the lunch schedule. If you love their chili, you will love everything on the menu. If you don’t, then go elsewhere or update your palate.
However, if a Gold Start Chili were near me, I would be in severe trouble; I’d eat there every day!
Cincinnati Chili Ways Explanation
Before letting you go, I should probably explain the Ways on the Gold Star Chili menu:
The 3-Way is spaghetti topped with chili and shredded shoestring cheddar cheese.
The 4-Way adds to the 3-Way with either beans or onions.
The 5-Way comes all the way, aka spaghetti, topped with chili, shredded cheddar cheese, beans, and onions. I’m a 4-Way kinda-guy, but you know that by now.
Gold Star Chili
1900 Plaudit Place
Lexington, KY
(859) 263-2443
Also, some locations have burgers and chicken sandwiches on the menu; unfortunately, this location did not. Use the burger location to find where.
The first thing you have to explain to someone eating Cincinnati-style chili for the first time is that it really isn’t chili in the traditional sense. It’s more of a Mediterranean spaghetti sauce.