It may be more of a Texas thing. Growing up in north Texas, I never knew anyone put beans in their chili until I was in my 20s. And that’s only when we vacationed outside of Texas. I would have thought that OK would be a “no bean” state, though.

Remember that one episode of The Big Bang Theory where Sheldon (from Texas) and Pria (from India) have the following dialog:

San Antonio Chili Queens served chili with meat, peppers and a sauce with cornmeal. Most Texans like their chili without beans. Northerners like beans in their chili. It is a big controversy. In my survey a few years ago, “Chili: Beans or no beans?”, I asked for the state where they were raised. The north vs south is…