# Chili-size and Chili-mac a thing where you live? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255 "2018-08-25T15:30:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/1 "2018-08-25T15:30:25Z")
My BF never heard of them, thinks I’m nuts. What else do you do with leftover chili? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/2 "2018-08-25T15:34:28Z")
Chili-size, no. I know of it because of the Dope. I think we had a poll years back on chili size. Actually, looks like there’s a couple of threads, [but here one from 2010](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=555566) with a poll, and about 80% of people had no idea what it was (including apparently me, at the time, so I guess that’s when I learned the term. ETA: Well, no; apparently I said exactly that in the 2010 thread, but then later on, it is found that I participated in a 2005 thread about it, so that’s the first time I heard the term, but it didn’t stick until 2010.) As for chili mac. Yeah, I thought everyone knew that term. I mean, Hamburger Helper even has a Chili Macaroni, and there are also canned versions of it. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/3 "2018-08-25T15:45:52Z")
BTW, that was of course rhetorical. There’s lots to do with leftover chili. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/4 "2018-08-25T15:46:15Z")
Same thing here. I’ve heard chili size mentioned here on the Dope, and I don’t recall what it is. I think it has chili in it. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/5 "2018-08-25T15:58:09Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Same thing here. I’ve heard chili size mentioned here on the Dope, and I don’t recall what it is. I think it has chili in it. More like on it. It’s an open-faced hamburger served with chili poured over it. An LA thing. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/6 "2018-08-25T15:58:58Z")
Chili-size? No. I’ve heard of it, maybe here on the Dope, but never seen it in the wild. There’s no way in hell I could guess what it is from the name. “A chili-sized _what_? And it’s the size of chili? Th’ f’???” Chili mac, of course, is a basic food; but there are complexities depending on where you get it. Ever since I was a kid, the standard was the chili mac at Steak ‘n’ Shake. Despite what the name might imply, it’s made with spaghetti noodles, not macaroni. And it’s not just chili over noodles—the chili has beans in it, but there are no beans in chili mac. If you want the beans, you order chili 3-way. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/7 "2018-08-25T16:00:26Z")
Chili Mac is a wonderful thing. In SW Ohio our version is five-way chili—Cincinnati chili on spaghetti with beans onions and a mound of shredded cheese. I don’t know what chili size is, but I’ve also had chili over corn bread or Fritos. As for leftover chili, you can always have it as is. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/8 "2018-08-25T16:26:04Z")
A chili size is a chili burger with the heel and burger smothered in chili while the crown has been divided in two and laid on either side. Sometimes the chili is slopped onto the crown halves, sometimes they’re dry. Chopped onions and shredded cheese is applied on top and I’ve never seen any unaccompanied by fries. [Los Angeles](https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2015/01/the-chili-size-a-los-angeles-original/) lays claim to having invented it. Last week I was jonesing for a chili size so we went to a diner I’d swear had it on the menu but either my increasingly fallible memory slipped a cog or they’d dropped it because it wasn’t on there. Chili was not mentioned at all so I didn’t ask if they could make one up. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/9 "2018-08-25T16:26:53Z")
I grew up in Minnesota. The first time I encountered chili size was in the early '80s, reading the official cookbook of the International Chili Society. (If you can find a copy of this, it’s a great read. In addition to lots of recipes, it’s full of chili lore and history.) I’ve never seen size served anywhere I’ve lived, and I didn’t know about it the one time I was in California (1967). My mother used to make skillet chili fairly often, and sometimes serve it over elbow macaroni. She called this chili mac, though it was never with Cincinnati chili, nor onions, nor shredded cheese. (I think she did put canned kidney beans into the chili, though.) The first time I ever tried real Ohio-style chili mac was at a chili bar in Racine, Wisconsin, of all places! It was very good. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/10 "2018-08-25T16:30:40Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > More like on it. It’s an open-faced hamburger served with chili poured over it. An LA thing. That sounds yummy. If you can have a chili dog, why can’t you have a chili burger? I believe I’ll try one. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/11 "2018-08-25T16:59:17Z")
I lived in SoCal for quite a few years, so know all about chili size. Most other places, it’s just called a chili cheeseburger. I thought anybody who had had an American childhood would know what chili-mac is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/12 "2018-08-25T16:59:52Z")
Chili Mac still flows through the veins of anybody who was a Boy Scout. Standard campfire cooking. The wife had never heard of them before we met, being a Wrong-Coaster and all. She has since been edumacated. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/13 "2018-08-25T17:04:03Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I lived in SoCal for quite a few years, so know all about chili size. Most other places, it’s just called a chili cheeseburger. I thought anybody who had had an American childhood would know what chili-mac is. Not quite. I mean I have had both. On a chili cheeseburger you have chili as a condiment, you can eat that with your hands, altho it may be messy. A chili-size OTOH, has so much chili you eat it with knife and fork. Cheap fast recipe for chili-mac: Make Kraft Mac & Chez. Add can of Hormel no bean chile. Add shredded cheese as a garnish. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/14 "2018-08-25T17:09:23Z")
Chili Mac used to be a go-to back in my bachelor days. Make a full batch of M&C. Eat half of it. 2 days later, add a can of Dennison’s (better than Hormel, IMO) chili to the leftovers. Cheap, easy and filling. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/15 "2018-08-25T17:30:27Z")
Well, I used to take my rather yummy Chili the second day and add large elbow Mac and onions. Come to find out, to my dismay, everyone hated it. After 20+ years of doing that, now they tell me. (Aaaccckk!). I have given up on trying to stretch leftovers. Now that we are empty-nesters, I have committed to make smaller sized main dishes. OTOH, I have never heard of Chili-size. We do have chili-burgers, Chile dogs, chili-pies, though. And then there’s the sloppy Joe. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/16 "2018-08-25T19:46:49Z")
Snip from a 1946 San Diego drive-in menu: [Oscar’s Famous Size](https://photos.app.goo.gl/GUrW8vAvnYEFKEMC8) \* “Consisting of a large pattie of ground steer beef with chili and beans, chopped onions if you wish, toasted cheese roll. 30¢”\* ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/17 "2018-08-25T19:56:15Z")
Chili mac is wonderful stuff, especially the version sold in Cincinnati, with spaghetti substituted for macaroni, and cheese wonderfully spread all over the top. Ran into that the first time when I moved to Toledo, and it was offered as a specialty in a wonderful set of local diners that served up such things as Coney dogs, chili mac, and Lebanese food. Yum! ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/18 "2018-08-25T20:02:13Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > More like on it. It’s an open-faced hamburger served with chili poured over it. An LA thing. It’d not an “LA” thing. I used to get these as a Kid (1970’s), on the East coast, from Maryland down to Florida. Dennys used to have them, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/19 "2018-08-25T20:39:20Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > It’d not an “LA” thing. > I used to get these as a Kid (1970’s), on the East coast, from Maryland down to Florida. Dennys used to have them, as I recall. Of course, Denny’s started in Southern California. 😉 I was watching _Bagdad Café_ last week, and was gratified to hear ‘chili size’ mentioned. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/20 "2018-08-25T20:44:41Z")
I first ran into chili-size upstate NY where I was waitressing. Toasted bottom bun, no top bun, cheeseburger pattie, and a huge glop of chili over the whole thing including the accompanying fries. Cheese all over, onions on the side. Or hold the fries and serve with a bowl of “fries with.” Man, mouth watering now. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255.md?page=2)