# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/21 "2018-08-25T20:44:44Z")
Chili Size is just weird. Why would I want to put loose ground beef on my hamburger? Chili dogs for my leftover chili, please. Either light on the chili and out of hand, or heavy with a knife and fork. (I did some experiments after the last chili dog thread. I discovered that both ways are delightful. I am bi-chili-dog.) ---
**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, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/22 "2018-08-25T20:57:05Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Chili Size is just weird. Why would I want to put loose ground beef on my hamburger? Because it’s good! ---
**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, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/23 "2018-08-25T21:12:05Z")
> [@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. Perhaps – it does seem at one time Denny’s served “chili size” on their menus. But it does seem to originate in LA and the name seems to only still be best known there or by people from around there, so I’m not sure if that disqualifies it from being an “LA thing.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/24 "2018-08-25T21:27:47Z")
I used to get chili burgers when I was at the University of Colorado in the 1970s, but they were just called chili burgers. I’ve heard of “chili size,” but don’t recall ever having run into it on an actual menu (although it’s possible I could have seen it at Denny’s.) It’s an “LA thing” in that it originated and is best known there, even though the term can be found elsewhere. In most places chili burgers are just called chili burgers. ---
**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, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/25 "2018-08-25T21:39:04Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I used to get chili burgers when I was at the University of Colorado in the 1970s, but they were just called chili burgers. I’ve heard of “chili size,” but don’t recall ever having run into it on an actual menu (although it’s possible I could have seen it at Denny’s.) > > It’s an “LA thing” in that it originated and is best known there, even though the term can be found elsewhere. In most places chili burgers are just called chili burgers. There does seem to be a difference. [Here’s an article](https://thelosangelesbeat.com/2015/01/the-chili-size-a-los-angeles-original/) where (ETA: which I notice was linked to earlier in the thread by **DesertDog** ), at least where it was developed, the two were different menu items: > [@](#): > > [H]e came up with a variation, serving the larger amount of chili over an open faced burger and then covered it with cheddar cheese and chopped onions. This open-faced sandwich was henceforth referred to as “chili size”, and sold for 20 cents as opposed to the chili burger for 15 cents. So far as I can tell, a “chili size” is open-faced served with a lot of chili on it, meant to be eaten with a knife and fork, but not so for a chili burger. I’m not from there, nor have partook in any chili sizes when I was there, so I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’ve understood the distinction to be and **DesertDog** and **DrDeth** seem to describe. It also seems to me that there may be some leeway into what exactly constitutes a “chili size,” and perhaps some are more like run-of-the-mill chili burgers. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/26 "2018-08-25T21:59:09Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > More like on it. It’s an open-faced hamburger served with chili poured over it. An LA thing. Ah, so that’s why I know what it is. That, and I’m old. I used to love chili-size and ordered it a few times, but I haven’t seen it on a menu in donkey’s years. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/27 "2018-08-25T22:07:15Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > Ah, so that’s why I know what it is. > > That, and I’m old. I used to love chili-size and ordered it a few times, but I haven’t seen it on a menu in donkey’s years. Missed my edit window: I don’t remember getting the bun or the fries, but shredded cheese and lots of chopped onions were _de rigueur_. So gooooooooooood. Chili mac is just to stretch chili to feed more people. I associate it with growing up poor, and it brings back back memories – that and I didn’t really like the slimy elbow macaroni in my chili. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/28 "2018-08-25T23:08:46Z")
Chili and shredded cheese on a baked potato is a wonderful meal. Dab of sour cream and it’s perfect. 😉 I occasionally make a Frito pie with left over chili. It’s a comfort food from my childhood. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/29 "2018-08-25T23:26:10Z")
Here’s the local take on it crazy Otto’s version is take a bun and burger about the size of a dinner plate pur about 2 cans of Chilli on it and a half pound f shredded cheese on it…with fries on the side For a buck or so more thell add the chlli and cheese to the fries The whole thing takes up a take home tray as all you see is the chll and cheese at first. The chilli used to be made from scratch I don’t know snce we got a new owner there a while back if it still is … [www.crazyottos.com](http://www.crazyottos.com) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/30 "2018-08-25T23:27:32Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So far as I can tell, a “chili size” is open-faced served with a lot of chili on it, meant to be eaten with a knife and fork, but not so for a chili burger. I’m not from there, nor have partook in any chili sizes when I was there, so I don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’ve understood the distinction to be and **DesertDog** and **DrDeth** seem to describe. It also seems to me that there may be some leeway into what exactly constitutes a “chili size,” and perhaps some are more like run-of-the-mill chili burgers. Maybe that was the original distinction, but as I recall chili burgers were served that way in Colorado: as an open-faced cheeseburger with lots of chili on it, and the top bun cut in half on either side. You had to eat it with a knife and fork; you couldn’t pick it up. However, the cheese was melted on top of the burger like a regular cheeseburger, not shredded and sprinkled on top. I can’t recall ever seeing a chili burger as **DrDeth** describes, where it’s just a little bit of chili spread on top of a regular cheeseburger. They’ve always been smothered in chili. Like a lot of other foods, names and variants seem to have multiplied as it moved away from its place of origin. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/31 "2018-08-25T23:30:58Z")
[https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-alco&biw=1280&bih=800&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UOaBW46tCOrf0gK446iQDQ&q=crazy+ottos+chilli+&oq=crazy+ottos+chilli+&gs\_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3..35i39.14974.15567..15759...0.0..0.98.353.4......0....1.H0wyFevBqqI#imgrc=Gpxc3J0XhtFchM:](https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-alco&biw=1280&bih=800&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UOaBW46tCOrf0gK446iQDQ&q=crazy+ottos+chilli+&oq=crazy+ottos+chilli+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3..35i39.14974.15567..15759...0.0..0.98.353.4......0....1.H0wyFevBqqI#imgrc=Gpxc3J0XhtFchM:) There’s a pic of the one I eat all the time as mentioned above ---
**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, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/32 "2018-08-25T23:40:37Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Maybe that was the original distinction, but as I recall chili burgers were served that way in Colorado: as an open-faced cheeseburger with lots of chili on it, and the top bun cut in half on either side. You had to eat it with a knife and fork; you couldn’t pick it up. However, the cheese was melted on top of the burger like a regular cheeseburger, not shredded and sprinkled on top. > > I can’t recall ever seeing a chili burger as **DrDeth** describes, where it’s just a little bit of chili spread on top of a regular cheeseburger. They’ve always been smothered in chili. Well, not just a little bit but look at a Tommys (they are famous): [https://media.timeout.com/images/103321984/630/472/image.jpg](https://media.timeout.com/images/103321984/630/472/image.jpg) So about a burgers worth, but you can still eat it by hand. However, they will happily pour on more… _then_- it gets messy. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/33 "2018-08-25T23:46:02Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Maybe that was the original distinction, but as I recall chili burgers were served that way in Colorado: as an open-faced cheeseburger with lots of chili on it, and the top bun cut in half on either side. You had to eat it with a knife and fork; you couldn’t pick it up. However, the cheese was melted on top of the burger like a regular cheeseburger, not shredded and sprinkled on top. > > I can’t recall ever seeing a chili burger as **DrDeth** describes, where it’s just a little bit of chili spread on top of a regular cheeseburger. They’ve always been smothered in chili. > > Like a lot of other foods, names and variants seem to have multiplied as it moved away from its place of origin. That’s what you get at fast food places like weinerschnitzel a normal cheeseburger with about 2 tablespoons of “chilli sauce” on them But a chain called "Tommy’s " is what popularized them in so cal they used to make “the gut bomb” a triple quarter pound cheeseburger with the chlli and cheese on every Patty no bun in between …with most of the burger fixns included ours went out about 5 years ago …on the last day it was open the high school let everyone go for lunch in mourning ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/34 "2018-08-25T23:47:16Z")
Took so long I got ninjaed… ---
**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, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/35 "2018-08-25T23:48:11Z")
Oh, c’mon! Nobody gets it like that! That picture is for a menu. The real Tommy’s Chili Burger looks like [this](https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/original-tommys-celebrates-its-70th-birthday-with-70-cent-chili-burgers-6901816). ---
**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 26, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/36 "2018-08-26T00:04:15Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > [https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-alco&biw=1280&bih=800&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UOaBW46tCOrf0gK446iQDQ&q=crazy+ottos+chilli+&oq=crazy+ottos+chilli+&gs\_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3..35i39.14974.15567..15759...0.0..0.98.353.4......0....1.H0wyFevBqqI#imgrc=Gpxc3J0XhtFchM:](https://www.google.com/search?client=tablet-android-alco&biw=1280&bih=800&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=UOaBW46tCOrf0gK446iQDQ&q=crazy+ottos+chilli+&oq=crazy+ottos+chilli+&gs_l=mobile-gws-wiz-img.3..35i39.14974.15567..15759...0.0..0.98.353.4......0....1.H0wyFevBqqI#imgrc=Gpxc3J0XhtFchM:) > > There’s a pic of the one I eat all the time as mentioned above Crazy Otto’s! I loved that place! (And I remember when Otto was alive. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/37 "2018-08-26T00:04:43Z")
That’s how mine always looked except I got extra cheese on mine ,…Damnit now I want one:smack: ---
**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 26, 2018, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/38 "2018-08-26T00:08:02Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > Took so long I got ninjaed… I was going to post a picture of a Tommy’s burger. But yeah, a chili burger is a burger that has chili on it and is picked up and eaten like… well, like a burger. A chili size is open-faced with lots of chili. Up here in the PNW, a ‘chili burger’ is actually a chili size. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an actual chili burger here. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/39 "2018-08-26T00:32:31Z")
Here’s the correct menu link… The motto is “if ya leave hungry it ain’t their fault” > **[Crazy Otto's Diners Lancaster CA](https://www.crazyottosdiners.com/)** > > If you're looking for one of the best places to eat in lancaster ca, Crazy Otto's offers the best breakfast in Lancaster ca. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255/40 "2018-08-26T00:53:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Oh, c’mon! Nobody gets it like that! That picture is for a menu. The real Tommy’s Chili Burger looks like [this](https://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/original-tommys-celebrates-its-70th-birthday-with-70-cent-chili-burgers-6901816). Yeah, I worked at the original as Security for a while. They looked more like what you show, but the cook will add or lessen chili to suit how messy you want it. Great chiliburger. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/chili-size-and-chili-mac-a-thing-where-you-live/820255.md?page=3)