CHILI : THE BEST IGNITES A FIRE IN OUR HEARTS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Daily News Restaurant Critic

Despite those who would make it gourmet, there's really nothing haute about chili. Even the famed prime-beef chili by Chasen's is scoffed at by purists who say you don't need expensive meat to make good chili.

What you do need is the heat of the pepper, which is the key.

As for other ingredients, recipes abound - chili can be very controversial. Where do you stand on tomatoes and onions? Does it really taste better when it's all made from scratch?

We tried to reduce chili to its essence: warming goodness, usually with assertive seasoning, both of which satisfy a natural carnivorous appetite in most humans. And we set out to find the Best in the Valley.

We had lots of help from readers, dozens of whom wrote us with nominations for Best Chili in the Valley.

Randy Hoffman of Sherman Oaks has made chili almost daily for the last 11 years as the owner of Chili My Soul. The company specializes in upscale chili cooked 21 ways. He came to this endeavor after years of experience with Milani Foods, famous for its chili con carne.

``You can't tailor the taste unless you make your own blend,'' he advises. ``I combine different varieties of chili peppers to create each entirely different chili.''

Off-the-shelf chili powders usually contain a blend of oregano, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper and a powder made from ground mild red chile peppers, Hoffman said. In his blends, he uses ancho, poblano, pasilla, jalapeno, chipotle (smoked jalapeno), serrano, habanero and the very hot tepin. (Call his Hot and Spicy Line at [phone].

He also makes specialty chilis such as an Irish whiskey chili with red rose potatoes, and chilis ranging from mild to extremely hot with beef, with chicken, with turkey, with two meats, or meatless.

Some of the new-style chilis are made with very lean meats or no meats at all. In our travels to find the best, we found chilis made with turkey and buffalo meat, and chilis served plain, with sides including onions, cheese, sour cream and garlic toast.

Within this wide variety, readers seemed to have little trouble articulating the qualities that led them to pick certain chilis as Best.

Gary Silverman of Los Angeles picked Universal City's Country Star because of its tangy, spicy qualities and ``all beef'' character. Paul Wilson of Culver City, a member of the International Chili Society, seconded that, noting that chef Layne Wooten's award-winning chili is incredibly consistent.

Darlene Adford of Agoura chose the buffalo chili at the Horseless Carriage in Van Nuys, pointing out that it ``is very low in cholesterol, something that cannot be said of most chilis.''

And loads of readers voted for Jinky's Cafe in Sherman Oaks, which is the sole retail outlet for the 21 varieties of chili made fresh daily by Chili My Soul. Jinky's features five of them each day.

Griffith Thomas of Encino considers Jinky's chili so good, he's stopped making his own.

But Jeanne Rothman of Chatsworth believes, as do numerous readers, that Big Daddy's Kitchen in Woodland Hills deserves the top rating, because the tri-tip recipe ``has just the right combination of heat, chunky texture and seasonings to leave you craving more.''

Dan Codron of North Hollywood didn't limit his nomination to our Best of the Valley contest. He describes the chili of Famous Richie's in North Hollywood as the ``greatest in the world'' (``better than Chasen's'').

However, of the legion of reader chiliphiles supporting the venerable Chili John's in Burbank, none was more eloquent than Tom Snyder of Glendale, who informs us that the chili is ``cooked slowly (for) 48 hours 'til the fibers break down and the spices and chiles get to know each other.''

It's the ``only, true, original chili,'' he declares. ``I've been eating it since 1950.''

Daily News readers point to a great bowl of red

Years ago, chili parlors were all over the place, but now restaurants that specialize in chili are few and far between.

The Chili Bowl, a signature chili spot in a bowl-shaped building where they served the stuff at a circular counter, is a thing of the past.

As a sign of the times, only one nominee for Best Chili includes the word in its name: Chili John's in Burbank.

Today's chili is found in coffee shops, rustic American restaurants, barbecue shops and some specialty eateries. Here are the ones our readers nominated as best:

BeachHead Cafe, 17200 Ventura Blvd., Encino, [phone].

Big Daddy's Kitchen, 21604 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, [phone].

Bob's Big Boy, 4211 Riverside Drive, Burbank, [phone].

Chili John's, 2018 Burbank Blvd., Burbank, [phone].

Country Star American Music Grill, 1000 Universal Center Drive, Universal City, [phone].

County Line, 18588 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, [phone].

Don's, 509 S. Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, [phone].

Four 'n 20 Restaurant & Pie Shop, 5803 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, [phone].

El Paso Barbeque Co., 18938 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana, [phone].

Famous Richie's Sandwiches, 10501 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, [phone].

Horseless Carriage, 15505 Roscoe Blvd., North Hills, [phone].

Hound Dog Hot Dog Shop, 8749 Glenoaks Blvd., Sun Valley, [phone].

Jinky's, 14120 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, [phone].

Johnny Rockets, 16901 Ventura Blvd., Encino, [phone].

Magnolia Grille, 10530 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood, [phone].

Nico's Family Restaurant, 7166 Shoup Ave., Canoga Park, [phone].

Rosie's Barbecue Grillery, 6460 Platt Ave., West Hills, [phone].

Ruby's Diner, 6100 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Woodland Hills, [phone].

Soup Exchange, 21610 Victory Blvd., Woodland Hills, [phone].

Santa Fe Cafe, 353 Pass Ave., Burbank, [phone].

Smokin' Johnnie's Barbeque, 11720 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, [phone].

Stanley's, 20969 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, [phone].

Tammy's Bar & Grill, 9755 Mason Ave., Chatsworth, [phone].

Wendy's, 6430 Platt Ave., Woodland Hills, [phone].

They were all hot, but these cooked

Stomachs and gullets afire, our intrepid Daily News eating team noshed, nibbled, spooned and swallowed chili from paper cups, bowls and crucibles at restaurants across the San Fernando Valley.

Armed with dozens of reader nominations and comments, the team headed by Daily News restaurant critic Larry Lipson and trained chef and editorial assistant Kevin Ainsfeld found the Best in the Valley:

FIRST PLACE/TRADITIONAL CHILI:

Chili John's in Burbank.

Chili John's is a landmark chili parlor, here since 1947, that serves its regular, original recipe (circa 1900) chili with beans and/or spaghetti ($4.25 to $7.25). Customers such as Glendale resident Owen Klatt, 41, who used to eat it in Milwaukee and now here, had been in three times in the past two weeks. One-year-old Jeremy Kimmer is now a regular with his parents, Cathy and David Kimmer of Burbank. Marv Warman, 56, lives up the street and has been a regular patron for 25 years. Warman kept ordering hot chili here on a hamburger bun with a touch of bean juice added. One day he came in and found it listed on the menu as a ``Messy Marv'' ($4.25).

FIRST PLACE/NEW-STYLE CHILI:

Jinky's in Sherman Oaks.

This mini-mall restaurant specializing in breakfasts and chili found itself packed when quake-victim locals gathered to eat and chat about their problems in January 1994. Since then, it's been a neighborhood hangout for good reason: It purveys excellent pancakes, french toast, egg dishes and the many chilis of Chili My Soul. Five featured daily ($4.25 per cup, $6.25 per bowl).

FIRST PLACE/SPECIALIZED CHILI:

Big Daddy's Kitchen in Woodland Hills.

From all the nominations of restaurants that serve specialized recipes like white or black bean chilis, chicken chilis and special beef chilis, this small, relatively new, barbecue, ``broasted'' chicken, sandwich and pizza cafe really impressed us with its fresh-tasting, premises-cooked, hand-cut, tri-tip chili made with beans and possessing plenty of chunky, good-tasting meat. It's not wimpy in peppery heat and you get a decent portion for $3.75.

?13- Larry Lipson

It begins with a chile; then it becomes chili

Chile is the pepper and chili is the dish, according to most modern journals and cookbooks.

Taking it a step further, the ``chilli'' or ``chili'' is ``the dried fruit of this species of capsicum,'' a hot pepper plant, according to ``The Food of the Western World'' by Theodora Fitzgibbon, an authoritative, 20-year-old food encyclopedia.

You'll also see the words chilies and chillies used as a plural in reference to the ``chili'' or ``chilli'' pepper.

Chili con carne is the original dish featuring chile peppers and meat - it is what chili used to be called, in the way that pizza used to be known as pizza pie.

?13- Larry Lipson

CAPTION(S):

Drawing, 3 Photos, 3 Boxes

Drawing: (Cover--Color) THE VALLEY'S BEST CHILI

Bradford Mar/Daily News

Photo: (1--Color) Marv Warman has been a reqular customer of Chili John's in Burbank for 25 years. He even has a menu item, ``Messy Marv,'' named after him.

Tina Gerson/Daily News

(2--Color) Bob's Big Boy in Burbank serves chili with spaghetti, garlic bread and a tossed salad.

(3--Color) no caption (Chili)

Box: (1) Daily News readers point to a great bowl of red (See Text)

(2) They were all hot, but these cooked (See Text)

(3) It begins with a chile; then it becomes chili (See Text)