Dave Thomas is spinning in his grave!


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

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I worked 7 glorious months at Wendy's in 1979-1980, even achieving Employee of the Month status. So I can tell you WITH AUTHORITY in no uncertain terms that Wendy's chili does not come from a can, at least not back in those days. We placed overcooked burger patties that did not sell in a holding pan under the flat top griddle. They were chopped up the next morning, additional cooked ground beef was added if necessary, and it went into a huge pot on a stove in the prep kitchen along with water and beans and a bag of spice mix and simmered to delicious perfection, just how Dave Thomas wanted it! Dave is probably spinning in his grave now that this little diddy is showing up at Safeway, part of the fast-foodication of groceries including Arby's curly fries & sauces, Chick-fil-A sauces, Whataburger ketchup, Krispy Kreme donuts, White Castle sliders, Taco Bell sauces, and more.
 
Interesting. I’d probably try it just to try. I will say, Wendy’s chili has gone down hill the last couple years. WAY downhill.
 
I haven't had Wendy's chili in years, but I used to really like it. I always put the extra hot sauce and crackers in it to fully enjoy it. I will also say that since Taco Bell stopped having their salsa Verde sauce packs that I don't go there too much anymore either. I can still occasionally find bottles of it at Walmart but not regularly. I would probably also try the Arby's horsey sauce if I come across it at the store, it's really good too.
 
I used to drive from NJ to Cincinnati about once every year to visit family. Skyline Chili in Cincinnati was the premier Cincinnati-style chili, and you could get it in cans at the grocery stores there. I would usually come home with about thirty cans each time. I remember that it was pricey. We could get the rest of it locally - cheese and onions and spaghetti and onions and beans and oyster crackers and hot sauce. Opening up those cans was a special occasion that needed to be savored, especially if we decided to open them two at a time.

Now we have a Wegman's supermarket in our town that actually stocks Skyline Chili, so the thrill is gone.

I expect canned Wendy's chili to be pretty good. Not as good as Skyline, but better than Hormel. I would be curious how the price of the Wendy's cans compares to the price at the Wendy's.
 
Well, I just looked up Wendy's canned chili and it is in stock at my local Jewel supermarket. It's $4.99 for a 15 oz. can, so that's a hard pass on even trying it at that price. I can make a whole pot of chili for about $20.
 
Back in the late 70's early 80's I recall Wendy's practice of adding additional unsold burger into it's chili. This practice was actually in one of my business course books in college & was actually discussed in class. I too, saw this chili the other day on an end cap at Wally World, I never gave it a second look, knowing it would never be the same as the good ole days.
 
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Steve Hoch said:
Well, I just looked up Wendy's canned chili and it is in stock at my local Jewel supermarket. It's $4.99 for a 15 oz. can, so that's a hard pass on even trying it at that price. I can make a whole pot of chili for about $20.
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I thought that was a hefty price until I checked online at Kroger. The same net weight for Skyline Chili (which I love but would never eat singularly) is $6.29, regularly:

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BFletcher said:
I was born and raised in Cincy. I stumbled upon this online 1980s pic just moments ago from this link:
https://local12.com/cincinnati-refi...GuAMGDjRA9EpYNRLR46vL2tVXT4aXrDMdNlBaNqAOUEmY
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Picture #23 is another Skyline Chili! I've seen the fountain, the Reds, Riverfront Stadium, the riverfront, and the trains in the Museum Center. Not that much else I recall to see in downtown Cincinnati - the riverboat? My grandparents lived in Green Hills and my aunt/uncle lived in Loveland so we didn't go downtown much at all.
 
Scott Smith said:
Picture #23 is another Skyline Chili!
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Yeah I saw that one after I posted the first one, lol. I lived in a suburb farther north of Downtown near Northgate Mall and never ate at one of those but it would be nice to do so. You just reminded me of Johnny's Toys.
 
BFletcher said:
Yeah I saw that one after I posted the first one, lol. I lived in a suburb farther north of Downtown near Northgate Mall and never ate at one of those but it would be nice to do so. You just reminded me of Johnny's Toys.
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My grandparents lived across the street (on the side) from Johnny's toys.
 
TimA said:
Interesting. I’d probably try it just to try. I will say, Wendy’s chili has gone down hill the last couple years. WAY downhill.
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It's probably been a couple years since I've had their chili but I was always a big fan. This thread is interesting because if I were to guess I would have thought that no fast food restaurants mix their recipes on-site these days. But my assumption from what I read on Wiki seemingly indicates they still may add the beef on-site. I wonder how they control the chop; I can see some folks butchering it like what we use for ground beef tacos and others cutting a patty in fourths, lol.
 
Wendy's chili was never my favorite, but I did order occasionally. I agree with @Steve Hoch though, my chili is much better and a lot less costly per serving. The batch I just made was because I had just thawed and enjoyed the last of the previous batch (which came out a bit sweet -- never making that mistake again!). This batch was one of the best ever and I just now packed 4 individual quarts in the freezer -- I've already had 3 straight days of chili. Those containers are something to look forward to!

On the subject of chili, I wonder if anyone else here has ever had the chili at the Texas Chili Parlor in downtown Austin? Truly fantastic Texas chili (all meat and chilis). They ground their own brisket and served it up with X, XX, and XXX warnings. I hope the place is still there -- it was my last visit, but that was years back. I used to travel to Austin regularly for business in the 1990s. An Austin-native friend told me about it and, since I like hot, bet me I couldn't finish a bowl (not a cup) of the XXX. They served it with sides of chopped onions and pickled jalapenos to cool things down. Needless to say, I finished that bowl with relish only to have the waiter bring me another full bowl! I had forgotten the part of the bet that he said he would buy me another bowl if I could finish one. It was a bit painful, but I managed it. I always enjoyed bringing other visiting friends down there. Very few even tried the XXX, but it is one of my favorite food memories.
 
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