It's one of those things for me that breaks category, being so dissimilar to what I think of as chili. If I'm not evaluating it as chili, I like it. Great over spaghetti noodles with some raw chopped white onion.
Agreed, it was the one thing my wife and I were looking forward to as we passed through Ohio on a road trip to coastal NC. It was a massive letdown. I don't know how they ruined it so hard.
Visited Cincy with the family last year. We like to try the local foods, but I couldn't bring myself to try the chili. Which is funny, because I like my chili with macaroni noodles and some shredded cheese on top.
I thought it was perfectly fine. I've only been to Cincy twice, but I enjoyed a skyline chili dog each time. I thought it was a pretty cool city despite what everyone told me about it (primarily residents).
Not a big fan of chili since I'm vegetarian. But some of my friends that went to school down there will literally fight over who has better Chili Skyline or Gold Star... I find their heated discussions rather entertaining...