Chili Addiction

Discovering new places to eat is like playing Columbus. It does not matter how many inhabitants have come before, how normalized and familiar the territory is to others, when you lay eyes upon it for the first time, you claim it as your own personalized discovery. You are the conqueror, and when  you bring the information to others, you bring it into existence.

A couple weeks ago  I played Columbus and "discovered" Chili Addiction, a new eatery in West Hollywood on La Cienega.



It was delicious and exciting. Chili Addiction's menu offers up a rotating selection of chili, both vegan and meaty. All together the owner, John Kovin, has perfected over 60 varieties of chili and is still creating. This place is an homage to the joy of fresh-food cooking. Kovin started out making chili as a hobby, he began selling it at local farmers markets and participating in chili cook offs,  inevitably deciding to take things a step further and open up a restaurant. He greeted us warmly behind the register, looking more like a body builder in a tight white tee and close cropped hair, than a chili aficionado. Happy to offer advice and aid in selections, he stopped by our table more than once to make sure we were satisfied.

Everything is made from scratch in house - from the hot dogs, sausages, and ice cremes all the way to the ketchup and sauces. And its not greasy fast food chili that sits heavily in your stomach all day until it elbows its way through your bowels. The food feels filling and fresh. It may be a healthy case of denial, but I am more about how food feels going down than looking up calorie counts and charting my lunch. I downed my basket of chili cheese fries without a twinge of guilt.


Thinking about chili addiction reminds me how much fun it is to find those places built by unique people who love food, and who have transferred that love into something original that they can share with others.