Readers: It's chile/chili out there! But a heated debate should warm you up...

The only thing Denverites like to dis more than hipsters (and our coverage of them) is green chile -- including the dish's various incarnations and even its spelling. And the fact that Food & Wine magazine's list of the "Best Chili in the US" included Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl has...

By Patricia Calhoun

December 4, 2013

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The only thing Denverites like to dis more than hipsters (and our coverage of them) is green chile -- including the dish's various incarnations and even its spelling. And the fact that Food & Wine magazine's list of the "Best Chili in the US" included Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl has started another round of spelling lessons, as well as a spirited discussion of where to find the best green chile in Denver.

Here's a taste of the discussion over Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl's selection, and chile in general (we're leaving the chile/chile spellings as posted):

Says Marcelino:

I am gonna give it a try but any place that spells chile with an "i" already arouses my suspicion as being a place that white folks think has good chile but people who know better would think is crap. We shall see.

Then there's this from Tony:

A bowl of chili is that red stuff made with tomato sauce, Navy beans, and hamburger, other wise known as Texmex food.

And this from James:

Sorry this place leaves a lot to the imagination, it is nowhere near what I had in my Grandmother's kitchen. Correction this chili does not come close to any of my family's or any other Mexican's kitchen, or even some of other better local Green Chili stops. The Green has little depth of flavor and it pretty thin. The price for a burrito is Rocky Mountain High. The Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl features mountain roots; honestly, whoever wrote this article might have indulged and taken the John Denver song to heart before writing this review.

What do you think of Rocky Mountain Chili Bowl? Who do you think serves the best green chile in town? And where would you get a bowl of chili?

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Patricia Calhoun is editor-in-chief of Westword, the alt-weekly she co-founded in September 1977. She’s been inducted into the Colorado Press Association Hall of Fame, the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Hall of Fame and the Colorado Restaurant Association Hall of Fame. She’s also received dozens of local, state and national awards for writing, including first place for feature writing and first place for column writing with the Society of Professional Journalists. Patricia is a weekly commentator on Colorado Inside Out, PBS 12's public affairs roundtable, which has won two Emmys.

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