Comments on: Dew Chilli Parlor (1950′s)

By: Jim Deere

Jim Deere — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 21:03:57 +0000

Clearification…..Classic Illinois never had any tomato. The meat was pure beef and blended with half kidney soot to make chilli brick….put in a deep pan refrigerated…cut into pieces….wrapped. Later heated up and add bean for chilli. The canned version was made with 50/50 beef trimmings……..if the price was right 60/40. Vinegar????? Allspice…..never!!!

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 18:34:30 +0000

OK New England…here’s the deal…Springfield Chilli has no Tomatoes (maybe…just maybe a touch of tomatoe paste), no Chilli powder, and only dry red beans, which are properly prepared(no kidney beans). The beans are cooked seperately from the meat with only some salt, garlic, and a little vinegar. Now the meat! cheap 70% lean! Spices? Cumin,salt,coriander,allspice,red pepper flakes,onion and garlic powder. You’ll have to experiment with the proportions…mix in a bowl…let sit…cook a little meat taste…add some more spices…When you get it right…then… cook slowly, on low super low, stirring constantly in a big cast iron skillet.. nd. Add just enough canned beef broth as it takes to keep the meat from getting that gray look…remember it’s the grease that holds the spices…never drain…mix with beans enjoy

By: Richard Woodrum

Richard Woodrum — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 23:18:33 +0000

Oh my God, this posting brings back soooooo many memories. Both “The Dew” and “The Den” were great. The Dew in the day and The Den at night after “a night out”. I’ve tried to come close to either and have never been successful. There’s chili and then there’s Springfield chilli. Out here in New England there is nothing that is even close.

By: Marge Krell

Marge Krell — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 04:22:47 +0000

My sister offered to buy the recipe from Rita several years ago, with the idea it would be sold only in Decatur. I think Rita got some of the special ingredients elsewhere. I originally had stipulated she was to cook her chilli for my funeral luncheon. (and, yes, people not from here are always wanting to correct my spelling!!) In recent years, my sister & I, then sometimes my husband & I would eat there weekly. As I recall, my first time there might have been 52+ years ago.

By: al young

al young — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:31:29 +0000

Lived across the street from the Ray’s Chili plant on 13th and Ash. Loved the smell of the chili cooking.

Raided the dumpster for the “out of date” potatoe chips. Cannot recall the name of the distributor though.

By: Bob Kunz

Bob Kunz — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:50:40 +0000

I recall in the 50s, when my Dad was in the St. John Sanitorium, East of Springfield, near Riverton, for two years being treated for Tuberculosis. I was too young to be allowed to visit him inside the Sanitorium. We would stop by the Dew Chilli Parlor, load up a quart of two of the chilli and take it to him on Sunday night. My Aunts and my Mom would take it inside and I would stand down on the lawn and talk to him through his window on the third floor. Dad ate some and shared with his roommates. Our family did this for two years. I got hooked on chilli then and never got over it. Note that “chili” in Springfield, Il is spelled “C H I L L I” – double “L”.

By: Jo

Jo — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:42:41 +0000

Double header (chilli and tamale) on a tin plate. Three generations of us ate it at the Dew. Not everybody got the tin plates — you had to ask.

By: Sue Harkins Elmore

Sue Harkins Elmore — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:22:05 +0000

You can still order Ray’s chilli. I buy it for my son – who never had the good fortune of tastingn Dew Chilli. He loves it so much he just heats it up and eats!

By: Sue Harkins Elmore

Sue Harkins Elmore — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 20:18:42 +0000

Dew chili – there’ll never be any other like it!!! Too bad the recipe is lost to the ages.

By: Ken Burger

Ken Burger — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 01:56:48 +0000

I remember eating the chilli at both Dew’s and the Den – but does anyone remember the chilli at Schoenle’s tavern on 5th and Madison – also, along with these three outstanding Springfield products stands the equally outstanding chilli of Steak and Shake. Memories.