The chili that was invented in San Antonio is said to be a bowl of “red”: tender, individual stewed chunks of beef swaddled in a spicy, cumin-spiked sauce made from red chilies, which lend the dish an appealing russet hue. Texans take this heritage very seriously. While those joint resolutions failed in the US Congress, the Texas legislature made chili the state dish back in 1977. The text of the resolution is characteristically spirited: “One cannot be a true son or daughter of this state without having his taste buds tingle at the thought of the treat that is real, honest-to-goodness, unadulterated Texas chili,” it says. The next clause goes further, declaring that only Texans produce the “best and only authentic concoction of this piquant delicacy.” The resolution concludes by saying that “the only real ‘bowl of red’ is that prepared by Texans,” before proclaiming chili the state’s official dish. More controversially, the Illinois General Assembly declared the city of Taylorville, which has a lively chilli cook-off scene, the “Chilli Capital of Illinois” in 2016.
