Thoughts at the halfway point

We currently have 24 restaurants on our list of places to visit on the Quest. The next stop will be Quest location #12 which according to my basic math skills means we are at the halfway point of the Quest. It has been an interesting journey so far and we wanted to share some of the thoughts of our experience thus far.

• We knew Cincinnati loved their chili, but wow, never really knew how much it was loved. When we started our list only had 13 locations and we figured it would take about 3-4 months to complete. Turns out there are about twice as many parlors to visit and our blog has a lot longer shelf life than anyone expected, including ourselves.

• When we first started the blog one of my friends asked "Is there really that much difference between the various brands of chili in town?" I wasn't sure at the time, but the answer now is a resounding yes. There have been some similarities between some of the coneys we have tasted, but none even come close to being identical.

• While the coneys have been like snowflakes, where no two coneys are identical, we have found that you can place the chili in categories. There are three different categories for the chili we have encountered: Sweet, Spicy and Savory. Going into the quest we would expect most to fit in the sweet category, but it has been pretty evenly spread out.

• Another common theme in the Quest has been the setting. A lot of the parlors go for a diner or greasy spoon atmosphere and menu. If you are with someone that doesn't care for Cincinnati style chili they will probably be able to find something on the menu they will like. Apparently double-decker sandwiches are a very popular option at our chili joints. So far the only place to really stick to mostly chili products is Gold Star.

• A nice aspect of our Quest is by the end of it we should know a majority of the tri-state region like the back of our hand. We have traveled to many parts of the area that we previously haven't had much, if any, experience with. 

• One final surprise goes out to you, our loyal readers. When we first came up with the idea to try every cheese coney and blog about it, we weren't sure who would read it. Cincinnati has a solid food "blogosphere" so we weren't sure if the Cincinnati Coney Quest would stand out or not. Turns out many people are interested in our journey to find the best coney in town. Every month we gain more readers, followers on twitter and fans on facebook. It has also been fun getting to connect with the various Cincinnati food blogs that we have always enjoyed reading. It has also been great to hear feedback and recommendations from you. Thanks to you all for reading and being a part of the Quest!