Cincinnati Three-Way with Spaghetti

Cincinnati chili is one of America's great culinary oddities: a Greek-immigrant creation, spiced more like a Mediterranean stew than a Texas bowl, and served over spaghetti instead of in a bowl. "Three-way" is the canonical order — chili, spaghetti, and a mound of fine-shredded cheddar — and it's less a chili than a thin, aromatic meat sauce built on cinnamon, allspice, clove, and a bar of unsweetened chocolate. The beef is simmered raw in water so it stays almost powder-fine, never browned into crumbles. It tastes like nothing else called chili, and once it clicks, it's a craving that doesn't quit.

Go "four-way" by adding diced raw onion or beans between spaghetti and cheese, or "five-way" with both. Oyster crackers and a few dashes of hot sauce are standard at the table.

Mild yellow cheddar, finely shredded, is authentic — sharp cheddar overpowers the delicate spicing.