I was one of the 80% in that poll who had no idea. Then I forgot about that thread and still had no idea today. Nor chili mac. Hamburger Helper? Not seen that since I was a kid, but I’ve been back in the US only two years now.
You whippersnappers and your fancy 16 item MRE menu. In the mid-late 1980’s we had such treasures as the dreaded “Dehydrated Pork Pattie” (meant to be rehydrated in your canteen cup with warm to hot water, bone chips were a free extra bonus), Chicken ala King (super disgusting) and “Ham and Chicken Loaf”. Blech.
If it hadn’t been for peanut butter and crackers, and sometimes squeezy cheese, I would have starved in the field. The chief indicator of just how bad MRE’s were back in the day was the clamoring in the line around the steam table for B-Rations. Nothing made me happier than canned western omelet with bacon.
I bow sir. My effete culinary options were clearly superior to your gruel and bones.
Our ham and egg omelet squeezed from a sealed packet may have been worse than your western omelet with bacon in a can though. It looked like the fecal matter scrapped from Elvis’s colon at autopsy.
My Boy Scout troops had a lot of C-rats. Some weren’t bad at all. Some- well…
So…how was it?
Yeah, I’m just saying that a lot of places will list a ‘open-faced chili cheese burger’ when what they really mean is a chili size.
I’ve heard of chili mac. I’ve seen recipes in magazines. Never had it. Pasta and chili seems weird to me. Frito pie, baby! That’s how we roll.
Not bad for non-Texans. About the same as the one I get at Bob’s Big Boy.
Crap. After reading this thread I have a huge craving for Tommy’s.
Never heard the term “chili size” here. It would just be called a chili burger, served with toasted bottom, patty, smothered in tons of chili and cheddar, with the toasted top of the roll placed alongside on the plate. Knife-and-fork food, definitely- I wouldn’t dream of trying to eat one like a sandwich.
Instead of standard chili though, restaurants here almost universally have a pork and green chili option, which I find superior in every way 
There’s one within 15 minutes of where I live… I don’t eat there as much as you would think…
With white beans? In the official ICS chili cookbook, this is called “Missouri Muleskinner Chili.” Very tasty! :o
Speaking of Chili, I found a can of Caroline’s Vegetarian Five bean chili in the larder. I was prepared to hate it, but it was actually pretty good.:eek: It was a 20oz can however, rather than the Hormel 15oz can- Hormel calls that “two servings” but we know it ain’t. However, 20 oz is too much for one.
Yes, of course I prefer Chili without beans, but after every colonoscopy my proctologist still insists I eat my fiber, and beans are a excellent source.
Didn’t know about chili size. Good to have my horizons expanded.
My youngest son (in his thirties - thinks he’s old) claims to have introduced Kamiah, Idaho to the concept of chili cheese fries. I know there was a food booth that he introduced the idea to. They had all the ingredients, they just needed to mix them and set a price. I don’t know that no one else in town had it on their menu or that it spread. But he was there more often than I was, so I’m not going to argue with him.
Bwahahaha, I just watched someone eat a vomlet the other day. He wasn’t a fan. After the adding the salsa, he comments “It was good for like two bites, now it’s just getting weird again.”
on-topic: I hadn’t heard of chili-size, but I was aware of chili mac. To be honest, what my mom referred to as spaghetti was most people’s idea of chili mac. When I was first served what most people think of as spaghetti with meat sauce, I didn’t really know what to think.
Ok, now to see if steve1898mreinfo has eaten some canned western omelet with bacon!
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[My youngest son (in his thirties - thinks he’s old) claims to have introduced Kamiah, Idaho to the concept of chili cheese fries. I know there was a food booth that he introduced the idea to. They had all the ingredients, they just needed to mix them and set a price. I don’t know that no one else in town had it on their menu or that it spread. But he was there more often than I was, so I’m not going to argue with him.
/QUOTE]
actually I didn’t know chili cheese fires existed until 1988 or 9 when mom made them when I moved back here inb CA …. in the Midwest they were pretty much unheard of at the time ……….
[quote=“nightshadea, post:76, topic:820255”]
First time i saw them was at a place called Arlene’s in Santa Monica, around 1972 or so. They made donuts and also burgers. But no other place had them. They might have been one of the first.
I’ve only seen the term “chili size” in use once, at a Claim Jumper restaurant in San Diego many years ago. It appears to not be on the menu anymore.
Here in Olympia, there’s a venerable old drive-up burger place called Big Tom that serves a textbook example of a chili size, but they just call it a chili burger.
I had small arteries harden up just looking at that picture. 