CHILI BINGE — If BOB BRUNSMAN had his way, Springfield-style chili would have a prominent place on the food guide pyramid.
  When he was here from German' for a high school class reunion, his yen for the home brew took him every time with brother KENT and longtime friend C. E. WELCH to Joe Rogers Original Recipe Chili  Parlor on South Ninth Street daily for a week. He always orders the "J.R. Special" (the hottest variety).  Later, parlor owner MARIANNE MCKAY, with guidance from postal employees, express-mailed 12 pints of J.R. Special to Bob in Heidelberg.
  "The post office was so helpful," she says, "and the chili arrived in only four days."
  Bob, she learned later, downed two pints as soon as he opened the package and ate one pint daily thereafter. So the 12 pints lasted him only 11 days.
  Bob's back this week. Guess where he's lunching today?

Joe Rogers' chili has no equal in North America
Dear Editor,
  I was naturally pleased to learn the Bon Appetit magazine has discovered and honored Joe Rogers' Chili Parlor as being one of the best neighborhood restaurants in the United States. I feel that such recognition by a prestigious food magazine is long overdue.
  However, Joe Rogers' restaurant is not just a neighborhood restaurant by any means. Joe Rogers' chili has no equal in all of North America, which is why I regularly import Joe Rogers' chili to Canada. There is nothing so good as sitting down to a steaming bowl of Joe Rogers' chili on a cold, rainy day.
  The advantage that Springfield residents have is that in addition to a delicious bowl of chili, they can enjoy the repartee with Marianne Rogers. On my most recent pilgrimage to Joe Rogers' restaurant last July, it was nearly 100 degrees with humidity to match. The restaurant was packed and I had to wait in line to get my steaming bowl of chili! While waiting, I met chili gourmands from Minnesota and California (an awfully large "neighborhood"!).
The chili is that good. What more can I say?!

Dr. Gary Nix
Richmond, British Columbia Canada

BEST CHILI
Joe Rogers^' Original Recipe Chili Parlor 820 S. Ninth St, 217-522^-3722
You can get it with or without oil or beans. You can get it firebrand hot — or not. No matter how you like your chili, the bowl of greasy goodness Illinois Times readers like the best comes from perennial favorite Joe Rogers, which overwhelmingly won this category. At one time, more than a dozen chili parlors and even more taverns and local cooks served up chili in the capital city. Although most of them are gone, this local institution, also known as 'the Den,^" lives on. Owner Marianne Rogers still uses the recipe her father did when he opened the original eatery in 1945 — a tiny place with 11 stools and standing room. Today its still a true greasy spoon, but we mean that in a good way. There may be more items, such as tamales, on the menu, and the waitresses may wear spiffy matching uniforms now at this cute diner, but the chili's the same. That secret recipe, by the way, is kept under lock and key at a local bank, waiting to be passed on to the next generation.

Runner-Up:  Steak 'n' Shake