Chili - Favorite food of Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk), the sloppy but cleaver homicide detective on the police drama COLUMBO/NBC/1971-77. He liked to eat his chili (with beans or without) with ketchup and crackers. Columbo washed down his chili dinner with a sparkling creme soda. Chili was also the food of choice of San Francisco police consultant Robert T. Ironside (Raymond Burr) on the police drama IRONSIDE/NBC/1967-75. On the sitcom HAZEL/NBC/CBS/1961-66 Hazel the maid (Shirley Booth) and the wife of her new employer Barbara Baxter (Lynn Borden) ventured into the food making business with a homemade chili recipe called "Aunt Hazel's Chili Sauce." On the sitcom ALICE/CBS/1976-85 people came from miles around to eat at Mel's Diner and to sample the taste of Mel's Famous Chili. 

Burt	You know what's your trouble? You don't have much imagination....You always look at the menu, and you always order chili.
Columbo:	I'll have the chili.
Burt:	See what I mean?
Columbo:	Well, look at it this way, you'll never be disappointed.
	-- Episode "Ransom for a Dead Man"