Hot Off the Menu

Not one but 25 of the Valley’s best chilies are served at Chili My Soul in Encino. You scoff at the idea of 25 chilies, I can tell. But each recipe was separately developed and is spiced differently, just as every curry would have its own spice mixture in the hands of an accomplished Indian cook.

Chef-owner Randy Hoffman is passionate about chili--and talking about it; don’t get him started unless you’re really interested. For instance, Hoffman says he roasts his cumin seeds to any of three levels of doneness for use in particular chilies, uses two types of oregano, and employs almost every imaginable hot and sweet pepper in his mind-numbing array of thick, rich chilies. Each type of chili is cooked about 30 hours in a four-stage defatting process.

I had never realized chili-making was such a science. You have to consider acidity levels and whether to grind the meat or chop it to optimize the flavor of a particular chili.

Chili My Soul is primarily designed for takeout. There are only three tall bar tables by the front counter, and four tables on the sidewalk just outside the front door.

One of the inside tables, in fact, is taken up by the restaurant’s collection of hot sauces. Hoffman stocks about three dozen sauces, including good choices such as Belize’s Sontava Habanero and Mis Padres, a local hot sauce heavily spiked with chipotle.

Not that you will necessarily need hot sauce here. Hoffman’s chilies are rated from 1 to 10, with 10 reserved for Demon, the hottest. Demon is made with ground beef and six of the world’s hottest peppers. I managed only a few bites before waving the white flag.

One of the nicest things about Chili My Soul is Hoffman’s liberal tasting policy. About eight to 10 of the 25 chilies are available on any given day, and he lets customers have a small taste before ordering. In two visits, I tasted nearly a dozen varieties and never had to reach for the Mylanta.

One of my favorites is Hickory Beef (4 on the heat scale). It’s made with chunks of beef (which I prefer to ground) and a mild red chile, and there are faint notes of hickory and mesquite in the finish. Irish Whiskey (6) is an amusing idea. It’s a ground beef chili made with red rose potatoes, baby pinto beans--and a heady splash of Bushmill’s, which gives it a distinctive kick.

Texas Pride (5) is the classic sort of cumin-spiked chili you might find at a chili cook-off in Terlingua, Texas, made with lean bacon and black pepper. Three more chilies I’d order again are Poblano Turkey (4), made with mild poblano and pasilla peppers; Spicy Garden Vegetarian (4), a soothing, tomato-rich chili made with eight vegetables; and Santa Cruz Red (a gentle 2), a tomato-free chili made with chunks of lean sirloin and a red pepper puree.

All chili orders include three toppings of your choice. including pumpkin seeds, capers and chocolate chips.

There are also different foils for the chili. Soul fries, for instance, are spiral-cut Kennebec potatoes, well-dusted with homemade seasoned salt. The potatoes are fresh and delicious, though we should remember that curly fries tend to cool faster than potatoes in a stack.

You can also have your chili on messy homemade flour tortilla nachos--or, even better, on a soft bun with a huge, Best’s kosher knockwurst from Chicago. Try this dense, juicy knackwurst with diced onions, shredded Cheddar and a medium hot chili. That’s a meal.

To cool down, Hoffman keeps a supply of Dove chocolate ice cream bars around, and also fresh fruit, usually honeydew melon or fresh strawberries.

BE THERE

Chili My Soul, 4928 Balboa Blvd., Encino. Open daily, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Parking in lot. No alcohol. MasterCard and Visa accepted. Dinner for two, $9-$16. Suggested dishes: soul fries with chili, $5.95; kosher knackwurst plate, $5.95; assorted chilies, cup, $4.50, bowl, $6.95. Call (818) 386-9966.