About
THE AMERICAN CHILI PARLOR It was during the early part of the 20th century that the open range of the West was finally fenced and the railroads replaced the great cattle drives. That was when many out of work chuck wagon cooks moved to town and opened small restaurants that featured chili con carne, a meat and pepper stew first concocted to feed the hungry trail drive cowboys. It caught on and soon became a national favorite. The beloved cowboy philosopher Will Rogers said he always judged a town by the quality of its Chili. He liked to hang out at chili parlors where he took the pulse of the nation for his syndicated column in the 1920’s. During the Great Depression chili parlors...