Ben's Chili Bowl

And now for the Ben’s Chili Bowl review. I find it so tough to review a place already written about thousands of times before, and I usually am quite good with finding the flaws. However the only flaw I could find was with service, as I continually asked for the coconut cake slice that I had already paid for. But then again the place was packed, I couldn’t even find my way to the door, and this guy had definitely been on his shift for at least 8 hours. It ain’t fancy but it’s good, and I wasn’t expecting great service I came there for the half-smoke and the thick shake not incredible service.

Speaking of the thick shakes, I really haven’t heard a lot of comments on them, and they’re definitely something that you must try. I got a banana one served in a Coca-Cola paper cup. At first sip, the flavor was quite artificial banana, but then it transformed into artifical banana and creamy goodness and I didn’t stop drinking until the cup was empty. I can’t wait to try the chocolate and vanilla and maybe even the pina colada. It may not seem like it, but the shake was the perfect accompaniment to my half-smoke. Smothered in chili, mustard and onions nestled within a warm fresh bun this is one DC food experience that a student cannot miss.
Each time I have visited Ben’s, the crowd has been a little different, once all locals that seemed like they had been eating there for the past fifty years another time a gaggle of Georgetown students flanked with mothers. Ben’s has survived throughout the turbulent times of U Street’s past, and has continued to cater to diverse crowds. According to Ben’s website during the riots themselves the Chili Bowl served both the cops and the rioters. While in the worst of U Street’s years, police set up surveillance on the 2nd floor of Ben’s to monitor local drug activity while simultaneously serving some of those addicts. In fact, at one point Ben’s stopped serving the cake slices that I waited for, so addicts wouldn’t be attracted to the place. When the metro stop was being constructed before gentrification Ben’s would have shut down if it were not for the construction workers who kept it alive.

Ben’s Chili Bowl has somehow prevailed throughout all these years, maybe because of the damn good half-smokes and chili-cheese fries it serves up. But after visiting the place I yearned to see and eat during a time before the riots, a time when U Street was littered with places like Ben’s. But I cannot live in the past, and so I will probably live at Ben’s for the next three and half years.

The original owner Ben died a few months ago, but last Friday night when I paid a visit around 7PM his spirit still seemed to be alive, the place was packed with Gospel music pounding from the speakers and grills spitting grease from the half-smokes piled atop it. Wishing to make a snowy Friday night better for everyone, I purchased a chili dog for the homeless guy wrapped in blankets outside. Better than money for booze and I’m sure he was quite happy indeed. Maybe the start of a new tradition?