Gold Star — Restaurant in Batavia Township

I'm the type of guy that likes to go against the grain. Take the road less traveled. Forge my own path. Writ large, Skyline has established itself as the face of Cincinnati chili. But deep down, everyone likes an underdog story, especially when they cannot be stopped. Gold Star is that underdog.

At first glance, the 3-way appeared indistinguishable from Skyline's equivalent. Upon tasting, I immediately noticed the difference: it was bolder, zestier, richer, spicier, and chunkier than Skyline. And that is something I can get behind.

Where this story really takes a turn is when I explain that I did not just get a 3-way. No, something else on the menu illuminated my eye: the Gorito.

The first bite revealed half of the tortilla filled with cheddar cheese, and the other half loaded with chili, chipotle ranch, and Fritos. It was incredible. Flashy. Bold. Avant-garde.

Avant-garde is a French term that loosely means "cutting edge". Yes, I let it cut into my life that day indeed. Come hell or high water, I was bound and determined to do a long run the next morning to stay on pace for half-marathon training. Truly, it would have been an undisciplined act to eat such a thing.

Not so! In fact, I had one of the best runs of my training that morning. Steady heart rate, solid pace, and I did not get the runs. Yes, those runs. Maybe Gold Star is Kipchoge's secret. Maybe it has electrolytes. The world may never know.

Gold Star Chili, thank you for...

I will never spend money at this Gold Star again. I ordered a super 3 way with the veggie chili and fries. The girls at the drive-thru window were acting very odd. I got my food and drove up a little to reach for a fry and my hand had to go deep into the bag. I pulled the bag out to find that they had only filled the bag with 1/3 of fries. I would have backed up but another car was at the window. I got home to also find they did not put the two containers of cheese in the bag. I called and asked for the manager (her name was Mesh)who already knew my order and she tried telling me that there is no cheese when you order veggie chili- she said I could come back that night or the next day for the cheese to which I said I would not. I advised her of the almost empty fry bag and she said the girls were teenagers and were in training. I told Mesh that I would be contacting corporate and was told to go right ahead as she dismissed my concerns and tried to end the call. The really sad part is that I shared this on the Gold star website two weeks ago and have heard from no one. I guess they don't care.... Oh and the missing cheese also happened the month prior when the girl took my credit card stuck it in the machine and walked away to take break. Then a fellow finished the transaction and gave me the food. A week later he was good enough to comp my drinks...

2 months ago We stopped in there and the tables weren't clean, so we picked a dirty table and was asked by the dark haired waitress to move, said NO there wasn't anywhere else I wanted to sit. I got an instant attitude from her. We went ahead and ordered and ate our food Today 3/14/2025 we walked in the door and several tables weren't clean and of.coursemut.wasnthe black haired girl as the waitress, I scanned where to sit as I was looking she was standing behind the register giving me a dirty look, I looked past it and walked to the other side as I was walking she was following me with her nasty look, I.said.to myself really it's gonna be like that? We sat down and I looked at my husband and said NO I'm not eating here and having a waitress with an attitude serve.me. We walked out and went to Bethel. I promise I.will never step.foot in that building and I.will let all my friends and business connects know about how...