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Originally posted by DenverJeff

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Originally posted by Tacohead

I was fortunate to live in one of the rare places outside of the OH/KY/IN axis that served "Cincinnati Chili". Gold Star made a run at the Denver market and opened a spot in the Tech Center.

After the Gold Star in the Tech Center closed, they briefly had an outpost in the food court at Southwest Plaza mall. I would make the 45 minute drive over there, just for a dish of 3-way. I still can’t find any 3-way in town, but there is some decent pseudo-Cincinatti chili and coney’s at Sams No. 3 on 15th and Curtis. Apparently Sam ran a "coney island" at that location in the 1920s. Sam’s descendents (a Greek family) have built a diner in the old location and the orignial recipe for "Sam’s No. 3 red chili" is still on the menu.

Yep, I also managed to catch those guys at the mall. As it turned out, I had started working in the mountains nearby, so it was only about 15 minutes away. I made the same migration from Tech Center to West side too! Must’ve been the chili. Then one day they were gone – the end of the Denver Cincinnati Chili run. You know those guys couldn’t even call their place Gold Star at the mall? That’s because they had to offer Colorado staples like pork green chili just to make ends meet. I also tried the Sam’s No 3 on Havana and Parker (not sure if it’s still there)… it reminded me more of the Steak and Shake chili mentioned prior, which is just too bland for me.