Our honest ranking of Skyline Chili's new breakfast menu, only available at CVG

Victoria Moorwood, David Wysong and Haadiza Ogwude, Cincinnati Enquirer
Updated ·4 min read
The Skyline Chili at CVG is now serving breakfast. Items include a breakfast coney, chilito, three-way and burrito.
The Skyline Chili at CVG is now serving breakfast. Items include a breakfast coney, chilito, three-way and burrito.

Cincinnati travelers can now, justifiably, eat Skyline Chili for breakfast.

The Cincinnati-style chili chain opened its first airport location at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport earlier this month. The store, located in the Concourse B food court, offers all the regular Skyline fixings – including cheese coneys and ways ‒ but also serves up a breakfast menu that's an airport exclusive.

Four new menu items make up the morning slate: the Breakfast Coney, Breakfast Chilito, Breakfast Way and Breakfast Burrito. Breakfast is served from 4-10:30 a.m., and the store also offers pastries and coffee from Graeter's Ice Cream.

Airport food vendors are required to offer a breakfast option, and early bird travelers are often a big driver of sales, Spencer Shaw, executive vice president of United Concessions Group, said.

Skyline could have just added a simple breakfast sandwich to meet the requirement. Instead, the 74-year-old brand launched a "big process" that used consumer research, taste tests and surveys to create unique offerings, Stephanie Paton, senior marketing manager at Skyline, said.

"Now it's officially out to consumers, so we'll see what the response is, and there might be more tweaks still," she added. "It's definitely been a long time coming."

Could the breakfast menu be expanded to other Skyline locations? It's possible, Paton said. For now, it's only available to Cincinnatians with a plane ticket.

The Enquirer's News of Now team ventured to CVG on Tuesday to try all four breakfast items. We ranked each item individually, and then found the average score for each (1 being our favorite, 4 being our least favorite). Read our taste-testers' blurbs on each item below, and see our reactions on TikTok.

The crowd favorite Breakfast Chilito features chili, hand-shredded cheese, hash browns, eggs and jalapeño ranch.
The crowd favorite Breakfast Chilito features chili, hand-shredded cheese, hash browns, eggs and jalapeño ranch.

1. Breakfast Chilito

  • Skyline Chili, egg, hash browns and shredded cheddar cheese in a soft tortilla with a side of jalapeño ranch.

The Breakfast Chilito was the No. 1 favorite for three of our four testers. Here's what David Wysong, News of Now editor, had to say:

I am a passionate Cincinnati chili defender, so I had high expectations going into this taste test. And holy moly the Breakfast Chilito surpassed all of them. The hash browns were a terrific call by Skyline. They added a delicious crunch to the sweet flavor of Cincinnati-style chili. However, the jalapeño ranch put the Chilito over the top. It gave a more creamy flavor and added some extra spice. This was love at first bite for me, and I already wish my local Skyline had the Breakfast Chilito on its menu. It also converted our resident Cincinnati chili hater (Haadiza), which goes to show how much star power this menu item actually has at its disposal. – David Wysong, News of Now editor.

The Breakfast Way replaces the noodles with hash browns.
The Breakfast Way replaces the noodles with hash browns.

2. Breakfast Way

  • Hash brown coins topped with Skyline Chili and shredded cheddar cheese.

The Breakfast Way was my No. 2 choice, although the Coney and the Way were essentially tied for me. They were both delicious. I thought I would miss the noodles and onions typically in a Skyline four-way, but the hash browns provided the crunch that onions usually give, and their pairing with Cincinnati-style chili made me almost forget about the missing noodles (I said almost). The Breakfast Way could have used some more spice for me, but that's what Skyline's hot sauce is for, and it surely did the trick. I stuffed my face like an animal while eating this and would do it all over again if I could. – David Wysong, News of Now editor.

The Breakfast Coney features egg, chili, a breakfast sausage and, of course, a mound of hand-shredded cheese. Onions and mustard are optional.
The Breakfast Coney features egg, chili, a breakfast sausage and, of course, a mound of hand-shredded cheese. Onions and mustard are optional.

3. Breakfast Coney

  • Sausage link, Skyline Chili, egg, mustard, diced onions and shredded cheddar cheese in a steamed bun.

The regular coney is my favorite item at Skyline, so I had a feeling the Breakfast Coney would be up my alley. I was right. The subbed-in breakfast sausage actually tasted ‒ and complemented the flavors of the chili – better than the regular coney hot dog. And don't let the egg scare you; it was a subtle and welcomed addition to the overall meal. The Breakfast Coney was the first menu item we tried, and right from that first bite, I knew it would be my No. 1 pick. – Victoria Moorwood, News of Now reporter.

The Breakfast Burrito features eggs, hand-shredded cheese and either sausage or bacon with jalapeño ranch.
The Breakfast Burrito features eggs, hand-shredded cheese and either sausage or bacon with jalapeño ranch.

4. Breakfast Burrito

  • Sausage or bacon, egg, cheese, hash browns, onions and shredded cheddar cheese in a soft tortilla with a side of jalapeño ranch.

As the resident Cincinnati-style chili hater, I came into this taste test with low expectations and a high supply of antacids. I was fully prepared to curse Cincinnati for making me endure another chili concoction that I would usually find offensive. But today, I have grown as a person, foodie and, most importantly, a Cincinnatian. The Breakfast Chilito was actually (dare I say it) good. Not just good by Skyline standards, but it was a breakfast item that I could genuinely see myself ordering before an early morning flight. Despite my fondness for the chili burrito (and that jalapeño ranch *chef’s kiss*), I am still a hater at my core, which is why I stayed true to my roots and gave the regular Breakfast Burrito the No. 2 spot. While it didn’t blow me away, it is a solid choice for non-chili fans like me. ‒ Haadiza Ogwude, News of Now reporter.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ranking Skyline Chili's 4 new breakfast items