Is Ben’s Chili Bowl the Top Dog in Washington DC?

 Ben's Chili Bowl

1213 U Street NW

Washington, DC 20009

After making Katie walk a lot the day before, I decided to make our fourth day in DC as laid-back as possible, which started with letting Katie sleep in until almost 10 am, something she does nearly every weekend morning anyway. So, I scrapped our plans for breakfast, but to make up for it, I decided we'd have an early lunch at one of the most iconic and well-known places to grab something to eat in Washington. DC, Ben's Chili Bowl. 

Every time I watch a restaurant travel show, when they visit our nation's capital, they always stop by Ben's Chili Bowl. It's almost a rite of passage, and if you visited Washington and didn't try Ben's, did you really even experience DC? The list of people who have walked through the door at this original U Street location is impressive enough; Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama, Serena Williams, Jesse Jackson, Bono, Dave Chappelle, Kevin Hart, and Oprah have all made the pilgrimage to experience Ben's Chili Bowl. Now Katie and I were joining this list of luminaries. 

Ben's Chili Bowl began in 1958, when Ben and Virginia Ali converted a pool hall into what would become one of the most recognized restaurants in all of DC. The booths, counters, and stools are all original, and they use the same recipes that have been used for decades. Conveniently located right next to the U Street Metro Station on the Green Line, we arrived here at 11am, hopefully avoiding the lunch rush. We even had the pleasure of meeting Sonya Ali, the personable daughter-in-law of the founders, retired Air Force Reservist, and current co-owner of Ben's Chili Bowl. We discussed food and the history of Ben's Chili Bowl, and she provided us with a comprehensive rundown of everything on the menu. 

Speaking of the menu, the most popular item here is the half smoke, a sausage made from both pork and beef with a smoky tinge added during the smoking process. Ben's also offers turkey, veggie, and beef hot dogs, along with a spicy version of their half-smokes. Burgers, chili bowls, a few sandwiches, and sides round out the Ben's Chili Bowl menu. Hot dogs will set you back $8.49, and burgers hover around the $10 price point. We ordered at the counter and then found our way to one of the booths near the front of the store to wait for our food. Here's how our maiden visit to Ben's went for us. 

My very first Original Half Smoke ($8.49). Their menu kindly suggests that you get your half-smoked with mustard, onions, and their famous spicy chili sauce, which is how I ordered mine. The chili had a good depth of flavor to it, but it kind of overpowered the half-smoke. The half-smoke did have a good snap to it, but I'd probably get the spicy version next time, to punch up the flavor quotient. The bun was soft and pliable, and I enjoyed the tang from the mustard. An excellent representation of a chili dog, and I'd like to try it with cheese next time. 

For the second part of my meal at Ben's, I tried the Double Ben's Favorite Burger ($13.99). Again, the menu offered the gentle suggestion of getting this burger with mayo, chili, and lettuce, which I dutifully abided by. The glossy bun was eye-catching, and the burger's contents were excellent. I liked the chili-to-meat ratio, and I at first thought the mayo and chili combination would be odd, but it worked surprisingly well. They say their chili is spicy, but I found it to be pretty mild, yet still flavorful. I believe the beef patties were a quarter pound each, so this was a very manageable burger for me to consume.  

For the last couple of years, I have been a banana pudding fanatic, trying it whenever I've seen it on a menu. Named after the matriarch of the family, Virginia's Banana Pudding ($10.99) was made with sliced bananas, Nilla Wafers, and Biscoff cookies mixed into the pudding. The pudding was smooth and creamy, but I would have liked a little more of the sliced banana and cookies left in bigger chunks to help break up the creamy texture that dominated here. 

So, coming from Southern California, I could not help but compare Ben's Chili Bowl to LA's own chili institution, Original Tommy's. While I do occasionally enjoy a visit to my local Tommy's, Ben's wins this battle of the chili restaurants hands down. The chili was better, with a good flavor profile and not as greasy as its West Coast counterpart. The half-smoke might be superior, but I do enjoy the snappy hot dog that Tommy's uses. The burgers at Ben's are far better than Tommy's, though. Again, not as heavy, and the beef patties they use here taste better. We had excellent service on this visit, which is not surprising since Sonya, one of the owners, was here. A good history and good solid food make Ben's Chili Bowl a must when visiting Washington, DC. 

Okay, not the best picture, but they would not let me use my flash to snap a photo of the United States Constitution at the National Archives. I remember being a kid here and waiting in line for what seemed like hours. Since we were here in early January, we could walk right up to the documents and take our time looking at them. Definitely one of the highlights of day 4 of our Washington trip. 

Out of five buckets of popcorn (because when this building was first built in 1910, it was a silent movie theater, and I'm not sure, but maybe they had popcorn way back then), five being best to zero being worst, Ben's Chili Bowl gets 3.5 buckets of popcorn. 

For more information about Ben's Chili Bowl, head to their website by clicking here: https://benschilibowl.com/