Park Chili Review

The neighborhood of Northside has seen many changes throughout the years but one constant since 1937 has been Park Chili. As soon as you walk in you can tell it has been around for a long time. Park Chili has a 1970's greasy spoon diner feel to it. Lots of brown fake wood paneling surrounding the interior. By our booth there was a framed cartoon that said "I'm sorry, the recipe didn't include your opinion!" So I guess it doesn't matter what we think, but we shall review the coneys anyway.

To go along with the look, the menu features your standard greasy spoon items. The hours cater to more of a breakfast and lunch crowd, so breakfast and lunch items seem to be the most popular. Even though it is a chili parlor, I believe we were the only patrons in the restaurant who ordered chili items.

Alison's Review

Park Chili was not bad, but the whole product seemed to come right off the shelves of Kroger.  The hot dogs were plain, the cheese was clearly the pre-packaged variety, and the buns were pretty unimpressive. Though the onions were fresh (I saw them chopping up a batch behind the counter), the mustard came out of a big bottle of French's.  The hot sauce on the table actually was Kroger brand.


Though I can't confirm it, I do have concerns that the chili just came out of a can.  Our coney's were partially assembled behind the counter then taken to a back kitchen area where they appeared with chili on them.  Maybe they keep a pipping hot vat of their homemade, secret-recipe in the back.  But for all I know, it could have come from a generic brand, 10 pound can of chili that was zapped in the microwave before it was put on our coneys.  The taste was not bad, but it was definitely nothing special.  It actually reminded me a lot of J&J's Chili but with less spice.

I always hate giving such long-standing parlors a poor review, but this coney was a bit lacking.  Park Chili gets a 2.75 out of 5 from me.

Clint's Review

Average...that's about all I have to say about Park Chili's coneys, but I will elaborate. There was nothing bad about their coneys but nothing stood out either. The chili is kind of sweet, kind of savory, not real strong in either category, but it tasted ok. The cheese was not freshly grated and was more of a bagged store bought quality, but it was ok. The buns, could have been a little softer, but were ok. The hot dogs, not the most flavorful we have had, but yes, they were ok.

As you can see, I didn't hate anything about the Park Chili and I didn't think any single aspect of the coney stood out. Might be the most average coneys of the quest, so I will give them a 2.75 out of 5.