chili
Chili con carne
A stew of beef with dried chiles and cumin, born in San Antonio, Texas, and the emblem of Tex-Mex cooking.
Photo: Carstor · CC BY-SA 2.5
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Restaurants serve it
History
Chili con carne is a stew of beef with dried chiles and cumin born in San Antonio, Texas, in the 19th century. Its best-known vendors were the so-called chili queens, women of Mexican descent who set up stands in San Antonio’s plazas from the 1880s on. Texas named it the official state dish in 1977. It is the foundation of Tex-Mex cooking, not of traditional Mexican cuisine.
Cultural Notes
En Texas se discute acaloradamente si el chili puede llevar frijoles: la escuela clásica de concurso no los incluye. Se sirve solo, con galletas saladas, sobre hot dogs o con arroz, y tiene sus propios campeonatos anuales de cocina.
Main Ingredients
Variants
Where to try chili
Lonchera San Jose
Oklahoma City, OK
El Sabor De Guerrero
Salina, UT
Cardo’s Tacos
Bellevue, WA
Taqueria Mi Tierra
Milan, MO
Chivitos Tacos
Citrus Heights, CA
El Compa Oaxaqueno
Douglasville, GA
The Greenhaus
Parker, AZ
Arepittas
Pittsburgh, PA
Lily's Little Mexico
Chincoteague, VA
Taco Pacifico
Wallingford, CT
Baci’s Mexican Restaurant
Freeport, TX
La Chicana Maui
Maui, HI
