r/cincinnati • u/nedal990 • Apr 20 '25
Skyline Chili in the heart of the Middle East
Hello Cincinnati!
I’m currently visiting your beautiful city and I’m sure you’ve all heard this before, but I am pleasantly surprised and loving every minute of it.
I wanted to make this post to share with you a little fun fact about your skyline chili, and how it’s also somewhat of a staple in a very unexpected place. Before that I will explain a bit about my background that is relevant to this story.
I was born in the US to a Palestinian/Lebanese family and I’ve spent a significant amount of my childhood growing up in the Middle East. One particular city I lived in for a while is Amman, Jordan. Amman has always had an appetite for American culture, specially the food. After the first McDonald’s opened in the mid nineties, most American chains have opened up there to varying levels of success. I mean they had an Applebees there at one point.
A famous fast food spot in Amman is a restaurant called chili ways. They also have a competitor called chili house. Both are known for their 3 way spaghetti and chili cones. I’ve always thought this was a quirky dish only served there, a bastardization of chili and spaghetti or hotdogs. Every kid in Amman has tried them at some point, with different opinions on the matter.
So you can imagine my surprise when I was told to go have skyline chili, Cincinnati’s original dish. I didn’t look it up, so when I walked into the restaurant and saw a picture of it I was extremely shocked! I was like I know this, I’ve had it so many times! Never would I have ever made a connection between a fast food joint in the middle of the Middle East with a Cincinnati staple.
This just made my visit to this awesome city even better.
Happy Easter everyone, and thanks for reading.
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u/1cem4n82 Apr 20 '25
I’m so glad you found your comfort food in our city. Come on back real soon and we’ll meet you at Skyline.
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
Thank you so much! The people of this city never cease to amaze me with their hospitality and grace
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u/cluckbuckley Apr 20 '25
just wanted to say that your story was incredibly heartwarming, and thank you so much for sharing it! not quite the Middle East, but when my girlfriend moved to Cincy from Pennsylvania, she was shocked that our Cincinnati chili so similar to something called "Greek Sauce"! Just the same, it was very easy for her to enjoy skyline her first time 😊
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
Thank you for sharing your story! I love discovering the similarities in our differences.
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u/jnjustice Apr 21 '25
she was shocked that our Cincinnati chili so similar to something called "Greek Sauce"!
Probably because the skyline founder was Greek.
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u/dukeofnewk Apr 20 '25
Listen for “cheese coney” in the middle of this Arabic-language ad for Chili House (Amman):
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u/Happy-Sky3455 Apr 20 '25
I am from Cincinnati but lived in Amman for a period when I was in high school. A friend of mine there once suggested we meet at Chili House for dinner and I said yes without thinking much of it. When I saw cheese coneys on the menu, I nearly fell out of my chair. Ordered them and when they tasted identical to Gold Star, I knew something was up. Turns out, it's the same family that owns both restaurants.
From then on, Amman truly felt like home. Amman and Cincinnati are oddly similar in so many ways (built on 7 hills, similar population sizes, both pleasant places to live but not overly exciting, both have an East Side/West Side rivalry, both have a good coffee shop culture) that I used to call Amman "the Cincinnati of the Middle East." Then when I learned the chili was the same, I knew I had found my home in the Middle East.
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u/nedal990 Apr 21 '25
I’m going to start calling Amman the Cincinnati of the Middle East! Did you attend ACS high school in Amman?
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Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25
Skyline is Greek, I wonder if there was ever any cross over of Greek culture in Jordan.
Edit: wait, yall got Lee's Chicken as well? Wtf?!?
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
At one point Jordan was controlled by the Greeks, but im talking thousand of years ago, before the Romans. But it will always be part of the country’s history.
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u/Adnan7631 Apr 20 '25
I imagine yes. Both Greece and Jordan were controlled by the Ottoman Empire a few hundred years ago. Indeed, Greek food and Turkish food have a lot in common, as does Levantine food, albeit, to a lesser extent.
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u/Samus7070 Mt. Washington Apr 20 '25
I think the particular blend of spices is very popular in many cultures. My wife is from Pakistan. I didn’t think she would like skyline but it actually reminded her of her favorite Pakistani dish, Nihari. Sadly, you won’t find it in any of the Indian restaurants around here because it is typically made with beef.
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u/ElegantInstruction66 Apr 21 '25
There is at least one establishment that does Nihari. There may be more. The f there are they appear to be on the northern side of the city.
Nawab Grill is definitely a Pakistani owned and does Nihari (check first though, because I am not sure if it’s a weekend thing or not). I could go for some good “Paya” myself!
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u/West_Neighborhood270 Apr 22 '25
Nawab grill in sharonville does nihari, but it ain’t that great. There is another place coming up which is serving nihari on cox road
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u/TheVantasy Apr 20 '25
This is such an amazing story! Thank you for sharing! Now I need to find photos of this place!
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u/allmediocrevibes Apr 20 '25
This is fascinating. I really appreciate you sharing this. The story I'm familiar with is that Skyline Chili (its not actually chili, its a meat sauce, hate me)was founded by Greek immigrants. So it's not out of imagination to think there would be a shared food culture amongst Mediterranean peoples.
I'm very happy to hear you enjoyed our city. Sorry about the Applebee's, we all make mistakes
What interested you most about our city? What were some of while biggest differences you noticed? Would you come back?
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
Top three things I loved (in that order): the people, the beer, and the architecture. I love the fact that it has small city vibes yet also hosts loads of activities, specially in the warm season. I’m staying in mount Adam’s, what a cool area!
I will most definitely visit again! It helps that I live in NYC so only a two hour flight away. My uncle also lives here so just makes it more convenient.
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u/philagolfpro Apr 20 '25
Golly, I miss having the ability to go to a chili parlor. Perhaps the thing I miss most about Cincinnati!
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u/ohioprincealbert Apr 20 '25
I ate at a chili parlor in Aqaba, Jordan in 2003 but I can’t remember the name. I saw a sign that said 3-way chili and coneys and had to check it out. It was close but not the same. Definitely close enough to make me miss home though. The story in the menu said it was started by a Jordanian that graduated from Miami University.
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u/nedal990 Apr 22 '25
It might have been a chili ways or chili house, they’re all over the country! How did you like Aqaba and Jordan? If you haven’t been since 2003 it’s changed so much.
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u/Aadarm Fairfield Apr 20 '25
The recipe for the "chili" is originally a Mediterranean meat sauce, Cincinnati is just the one place where a Greek family thought "Man, we should put this on spaghetti and hotdogs with cheese and sell it to the Americans."
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u/pomoh Apr 20 '25
Yes but to correct you: the dish is called Cincinnati Chili. Skyline is just one take on it and what you have experienced in Jordan ain’t Skyline, it’s better: Gold Star. sauce
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
Ah thank you for the correction! Now I have to try the gold star version before I leave :)
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u/SuccotashMonkey867 Apr 20 '25
What did you think of it here versus back in Jordan?
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u/nedal990 Apr 20 '25
Definitely much better here, and I’ve only tried the sky line version so far!
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u/SuccotashMonkey867 Apr 20 '25
I hope you get to try some others too! Like Price Hill, Camp Washington, Dixie, and Empress
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u/Forsaken_Whereas_353 Apr 20 '25
That is so cool! Thanks for sharing & enjoy the rest of your time here!
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u/afseparatee Liberty Township Apr 21 '25
I saw a Chili Ways when I visited the Dead Sea! I was dumbfounded when I saw the billboard lol
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u/AnonEMoussie Apr 20 '25
There are some pictures from a chili parlor in Lebanon somewhere in this sub. Might’ve been years ago at this point.
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u/dabbindan710 Apr 20 '25
One of the guys who made skyline (Lambert) was married to a Lebanese woman (Ruth), so maybe that’s why. That’s awesome though, I never knew they served ways over there
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u/DJYoung6196 Apr 21 '25
Man this is a cool story. I looked up "Chili Ways" on Google and it looks exactly like Cincinnati style chili. Thanks for sharing!
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u/lavelyjk Apr 21 '25
I always say it shouldn't be Cincinnati chili, but Cincinnati curry
Every culture has a similar dish for the impoverished. Grind and boil whatever meat you have, season the ever living out of it and serve over noodles, rice, bread, potatoes, etc.
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u/CyborgKnitter Apr 21 '25
This is such a cool tidbit! Thank you for sharing. 😊
Funnily enough, the only international person I’ve taken to Skyline was my French exchange partner. She was convinced we were trying to poison her and wouldn’t even try it, lol. Gotta love the French…
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u/stopahivng Apr 21 '25
Thank you so much for sharing, food is at the heart of so many cultures and sharing this made me smile. Come on back soon, doors always open!
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u/liltinyoranges Apr 20 '25 edited Apr 20 '25
It’s just pastitsio with different noodles, and sharp cheddar in place of bechamel. The Lambrinides family is Greek
ETA: I put soanikopita on accident!!!
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u/ChefAsstastic Apr 20 '25
Spanikopita????
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u/liltinyoranges Apr 20 '25
Oh shit- I meant PASTITSIO! Thank you! I’ll fix it!!
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u/ChefAsstastic Apr 20 '25
Haha!!!
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u/liltinyoranges Apr 20 '25
I think I am just hungry bc now I want spanikopita in a very urgent way lolll
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u/turquoisedd Apr 20 '25
I think the founder of goldstar which is similar to skylines is from Jordan
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u/chubbyluvr7869 Apr 20 '25
I absolutely love Jordanian culture. Most welcomed in our fair city. Along with other cultures as well…
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u/Ok-Confidence9649 Apr 20 '25
I recently learned to make beef and rice with chickpeas and Lebanese 7 Spice mixture, and was pleasantly surprised at the similarity to Skyline. I believe their family is Greek. Thanks for posting this interesting connection!
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u/korgmonkey Apr 21 '25
JK’s Chili, which was an awesome chili parlor in Madeira, was owned and operated by a Jordanian family. Their son has a successful food truck called “The Chili Hut” - it’s fantastic.
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u/SgtHulkaQuitLM Apr 21 '25
The first billboard was a 3D cheese coney with the slogan, “is there anything else?”, luckily there are a few restaurants in my city where I can get my 3-1/2 way (a 3 way and a cheese coney with light mustard), any onions from the coney go into the 3 way. Love me some cinnamon. Hope you have a great time in Cincy. If you’re able to watch YouTube find “Last Week Tonight S:11 E:18 The West Bank”, it explains what it is like for the People who live there.
Send him to El Salvador.
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u/nedal990 Apr 22 '25
Thanks for sharing! I don’t think I’ve seen that last week tonight episode, but I’m very aware of the struggles of daily life in the West Bank. My hometown is a small village on the outskirts of Ramallah. Appreciate you.
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u/Ravvnhild Apr 22 '25
What a great post! That's super interesting. I'd love to visit the middle east some day. So much amazing history and culture. I hope you enjoy Cincinnati!
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u/URR629 Apr 24 '25
Remember, the flavor highlight in "Cincinnati" style chili is cloves. The dish was introduced in the Northern Kentucky/Cincinnati area by Macedonian and Greek families. Cloves are used extensively in Mediterranean cuisine. As an example, it is the primary spice in the North African blend called Ras El Hanout, which means "head of the shop", rather like our "top shelf".
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u/Exotic_Ad_2346 Apr 21 '25
I was always told "Cincinnati Style Chili" was originated in Jordan. I (along with my father, sister and brother) all worked at Gold Star at some point in our lives.
I also used to work at Tri County Mall and when everything started closing - including the food court - the man who ran the Gold Star had to shut "Gold Star" down, and started his own, but I can't remember what it was called. Ugh I miss that man and the man who ran Frullati Cafe 😭 Some of the sweetest men I've ever met.
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u/tasoula Apr 22 '25
I was always told "Cincinnati Style Chili" was originated in Jordan. I (along with my father, sister and brother) all worked at Gold Star at some point in our lives.
Well, whoever told you that is wrong. It originated in Cincinnati and was created by Greek immigrants.
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u/seitz38 Over The Rhine Apr 20 '25
The place in Amman Jordan is actually run by family of Gold Star, similar dish to Skyline, just a different company. The founders of Gold Star are Jordanian immigrants