Sweltering hot, good chili

Roughly $15 plus tip for a super bowl (one and a half servings), a fountain soda and a side of cheese and sour cream ($1 extra).

Zeke’s Smokehouse

This place smells like Texas barbecue. Outside, the scent of smoked meat wafts about Honolulu Avenue. Inside, the aroma is as tantalizing as my Texan friend’s kitchen. It’s from watching my friend’s daylong process of cooking, smoking meat and liberally mixing spices into a pot you could bathe in, that I’ve learned good chili has a kick.

Zeke’s didn’t kick me. Actually, it barely poked me. This is the perfect chili for the tender of palates, those whose spice racks contain merely salt and pepper and who would never think to buy hot sauce, much less one with a questionable illustration and caution label.

The Montrose restaurant’s menu features the Smokehouse Chili under its specialties section. It doesn’t advertise differing levels of spice, and none was offered to me. The friendly cashier did ask if I wanted onions, sour cream and cheddar cheese, all of which is included in the $10.95 price, along with a slice of Texas toast.

The Bill

Roughly $13, including a soda, plus tip.

The Decision

Chili John’s. When I’m eating chili, I want to know I’m eating chili, not a bowl of ground beef mixed with beans and chili powder. At Chili John’s, I know my taste buds will tingle, my forehead will sweat and, even into October, I may need to turn that air conditioning back on.

 DONNA HUFFAKER EVANS’ culinary experiences range from domestic, hole-in-the-wall hamburger stands to cafes in Krakow. She can be reached at dhuffaker@sbcglobal.net.