Chili Addiction

· 408 La Cienega Los Angeles, CA 90048 · Neighborhood · Mid-Wilshire ·

I always feel like I have to be in the mood for chili so it had taken me a while to check this place out. Chili Addition has been a welcome addition to West LA, La Cienega strip for a little over a year now. After moving from the Hollywood Farmer’s Market to their very own shop, owner and Chili connoisseur, Johnny Kovin has concocted over 90 chili recipes and has been featured on The Food Network’s “Meat and Potatoes” and won a bunch of awards for his outstanding chilis. But that’s not all…

Homemade sausages, hotdogs, condiments, burgers, mac and cheese and even homemade ice cream! They have a full vegetarian menu as well. It is truly 5-star comfort food.

There are eight different varieties of chili, which they change out daily. I tried the Prime Rib, which was perfectly seasoned and very tender. I also tried the Americana, which is a perfect standard chili. The Americana was chopped up ground steak, a hearty meaty sauce and a good little spicy kick in the butt.

The chili’s’ are rated by spiciness and you can try them before you order. The chili’s I ordered didn’t come with much else in them. They are pretty bare bones. If you are used to lots of onion, cheese or jalapeño, you can always ad that in afterwards.

The sizes of the bowls are deceiving; you’ll get filled up fast. There are four different sizes ranging from small ($6) to x-large ($12). I had a medium and couldn’t finish it. What you are getting is basically a bowl of meat, so keep the Tums handy. You can also do a sampler, which is 3 4oz chili bowls for $10 bucks. The bowls come with chips or you can add a side like cornbread muffins or delicious sweet potato fries.

This place truly warms the tummy and hits it home. When you are in the mood for some classic rock and comfort food on a cold day give Chili Addiction a try.

** [Fall 2012 Update: They have changed their name to The Addiction Bistro.]