[Old Bob]

Originally Posted by JerryLBell

Chili's has been around for 50 years and I've eaten at them a LOT of times at a LOT of locations over the years. Several years ago they changed their chili recipe and it went (for me, anyway) from "OK" to "Pretty Darned Good". It's not Texas-chili-cookoff-super-hot and it's not bland-bean-soup-with-some-beef (I'm looking at YOU, Texas Roadhouse on 441, despite other decent dishes!) but it's pretty, pretty good. I have had it basically every time I've gone to Chili's since then.

Bob Evans makes a good sausage chili

Today, we went to Chili's and I ordered a meal combo with a bowl of chili on the side. I was told they don't do that anymore. So I dropped the meal combo and went with a bowl of chili. I was told that, no, they don't actually make chili anymore. At all. WTF? Going to Chili's and not being able to get chili is like going to Burger King and being told they don't actually make burgers anymore (except that their burgers aren't very good to begin with - I should really come up with a better analogy)!

I am outraged! But mostly sad. I'm going to make a big ole' honkin' pot of chili tomorrow and drown my sorrows in it. And I don't see myself going back to Chili's for a long time, despite the restaurant being clean and nice, the service good, the prices OK and all that. They just killed the differentiator that brought be into to their restaurants versus all the other choices out there.

P.S. - The chili at World of Beer, while completely different from that at Chili's, is Really Quite Good. Don't suggest Wendy's for chili - they make vegetable soup out of leftover burgers. Same goes for some of the country clubs here.

Well, that's all just my opinion. That and a nickel will buy you... not much of anything anymore, I guess!

Bob Evans makes a good sausage chili

[ithos]

Chili's restaurants are named for chili peppers, NOT bowls of chili! See their logo?

I don't believe that is the case.

Lavine had grown up eating chili cheeseburgers at Burger House and Goff's Hamburgers, and those memories stayed with him when he got into the restaurant business. His father-in-law was renowned racecar driver and designer Carroll Shelby, who had a special place in his heart for chili. Shelby created the world's first Championship Chili Cook-off in 1967, which is still held to this day in Terlingua, Texas. Lavine, naturally, was present at these cook-offs, even acting as a judge and noting the attendees' excitement. As he mentioned, "In Texas, there's two things people will talk about if they eat — barbecue and chili." They picked the name Chili's for their new restaurant as it was short and catchy, and hopefully would get a lot of press from it. They didn't expect to sell a lot of actual chili, but did, and so much more too.

What It Was Like To Eat At The Original Chili's

[ithos]

Originally Posted by JerryLBell

Chili's has been around for 50 years and I've eaten at them a LOT of times at a LOT of locations over the years. Several years ago they changed their chili recipe and it went (for me, anyway) from "OK" to "Pretty Darned Good". It's not Texas-chili-cookoff-super-hot and it's not bland-bean-soup-with-some-beef (I'm looking at YOU, Texas Roadhouse on 441, despite other decent dishes!) but it's pretty, pretty good. I have had it basically every time I've gone to Chili's since then.

Today, we went to Chili's and I ordered a meal combo with a bowl of chili on the side. I was told they don't do that anymore. So I dropped the meal combo and went with a bowl of chili. I was told that, no, they don't actually make chili anymore. At all. WTF? Going to Chili's and not being able to get chili is like going to Burger King and being told they don't actually make burgers anymore (except that their burgers aren't very good to begin with - I should really come up with a better analogy)!

I am outraged! But mostly sad. I'm going to make a big ole' honkin' pot of chili tomorrow and drown my sorrows in it. And I don't see myself going back to Chili's for a long time, despite the restaurant being clean and nice, the service good, the prices OK and all that. They just killed the differentiator that brought be into to their restaurants versus all the other choices out there.

P.S. - The chili at World of Beer, while completely different from that at Chili's, is Really Quite Good. Don't suggest Wendy's for chili - they make vegetable soup out of leftover burgers. Same goes for some of the country clubs here.

Well, that's all just my opinion. That and a nickel will buy you... not much of anything anymore, I guess!

I agree. They have strayed so far from their roots. This is to be expected though when successful chains get bought out by corporations.

[ithos]

Same-restaurant sales soar 31% at Chili’s driven by new and returning guests
Looks like chili isn't as popular as it used to be.
marketwatch.com