Cincinnati 2011, Part 1 (Chili Research)

We occasionally make "Cincinnati-style chili" at home. But were we making it correctly? It keeps me up most nights. There was really only one way to find out. Grab your Harris Tweed hat and hit the road, MacDuff.












It's nice of him to share his entertainment with us. He's narrating Looney Tunes. He's also screaming over his headphones. Because he's simple.












Cincinnati chili research stop 1.2 (note: Stop 1.1 was yesterday. We had Skyline Chili, but it was in Louisville and I'm not sure if it counts.) ... Blue Ash Chili.









3-way. Verdict: Gorgeous and outrageously good.









Ding-dong saw us photographing our food. He wanted us to take a picture of his. And this is what happened when I told him to smile.









We drove by this bagel place and stopped immediately. Check out the sign. There was another one inside that said: "Don't steal. The government hates competition." Buddy, this was my kind of place. And the bagels were fantastic. Panera should be ashamed of itself.









Cincinnati converted its old Art Deco train station into a museum center.












It totally looks like the Hall of Justice from Superfriends!









This was in the Natural History Museum.









This was in the Children's Museum. We always like to find at least one activity from which one of us can get E. coli or flesh eating bacteria or something. Filthy spider web climbing thing? Bingo!









Cincinnati chili research stop 2: Camp Washington Chili. These were perfect. I guess if you've been doing something since 1940, you get to point at which you figure it out.









This was on the building immediately behind Camp Washington Chili.












Cincinnati has a pretty good art museum. Discriminatory, but good.









Jefferson is a good boy and we can get away with a lot. The art museum tried his patience, but there was stuff for him to see, like a sculpture of a chubby Batman (!) hanging from the ceiling. We knew we were pushing it with this. This is President Taft's childhood home. Fascinating for political science professors, excruciatingly boring for 4-year-olds. Actually, Park Ranger Murray was great with Jefferson and by the end they had a sort of rapport. Unfortunately, Jefferson was talking as much (more?) than the Park Ranger by the end of the tour.









Cardinals v. Reds tomorrow...