Ben's Chili Bowl

Ben's Chili Bowl is a landmark restaurant in Washington, D.C., located at 1213 U Street, next to Lincoln Theatre, in the Shaw neighborhood of northwest D.C. It is known locally for its chili dogs, half-smokes, and milkshakes, and has been an integral part of the neighborhood's history since its founding in 1958. It was frequented by both police and protesters during the 1968 Washington, D.C. riots, and is regularly visited by celebrities such as Bill Cosby and Chris Tucker. The restaurant's founders have been inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame.

History

Ben's Chili Bowl was founded on August 22, 1958, by Ben Ali, a Trinidadian-born immigrant who had studied dentistry at nearby Howard University, and his fiance, Virginia-born Virginia Rollins. The two were married seven weeks after opening the restaurant. The building they chose was that of Washington's first silent movie house, the Minnehaha, which was established in 1911. The building is a contributing property to the Greater U Street Historic District. Most of the furniture in the restaurant is original to the 1950s. At the time, Washington was officially segregated, and U Street was known as "Black Broadway". Many jazz greats of the day, such as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, and Nat King Cole, would stop by the restaurant when they performed at U Street clubs.

The U Street corridor was devastated by the 1968 riots that followed the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. During the riots, black activist Stokely Carmichael, leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, asked Ben to keep his restaurant open and the Alis obtained permission to stay open past curfew. The restaurant fed both the police officers and firemen working to impose order on the neighborhood, as well as the black activists. The violence and arson reached such an extent that Ben wrote "Soul Brother" in soap on the front window in the hopes that it would stop the angry mobs.

The destruction of so many businesses led to the flight of residents towards the suburbs and the economic decline of the neighborhood through the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. As the area became known for its drug addicts, Ben's Chili Bowl reduced its staff to one employee. Ben and Virginia's son Kamal recalled, "We stayed and had a following, because the Chili Bowl was like the neighborhood barbershop. People would sit here and chat. There was always a family presence and the locals protected us." The restaurant stopped serving pies and cakes, which attracted addicts, while police used conducted surveillance on drug dealers from an upstairs window of the building.

The vast construction of the U Street/Cardozo Metro Station across the street from the restaurant, completed in 1991, forced still more U Street businesses to close, but Ben's Chili Bowl stayed open to feed the construction workers. The Washington Post commented that Ben's Chili Bowl is "probably the only business on this strip that survived both the 1968 riots and the construction phase of the Metro Green Line." The Metro and lower crime rates helped the gradual revitalization and gentrification of the neighborhood. From the early 1990s, business revenues grew by 10% annually, to $1.5 million in 2005, and the number of employees at the restaurant grew as well, to a staff of 20.

In 2001, Ben and Virginia's son commented on the changes: "You hear comments. Even the white customers. They want to think they're the only whites who'd been hip enough to go to the Chili Bowl. Now they look around and there are a lot of other whites and they are not so happy about it." In 2007, the Chili Bowl joined with nine other local businesses to buy Renewable Energy Certificates as part of a renewable energy initiative. In 2008, Ben's Chili Bowl opened a second location in the newly built Nationals Park. On October 7, 2009, Ben died at the age of 82. He and his wife, Virginia, had retired from the restaurant business, having passed daily operations of Ben's Chili Bowl to their sons, Kamal and Nizam.

Customers and recognition

helping to paint a D.C. school mural of local landmark Ben’s Chili Bowl.]]

The Boston Globe described Ben's diverse customers as "punk-looking kids and fashionable business people and everyone in between". The most famous regular customer is comedian Bill Cosby, who took his future wife to Ben's on dates in the early 1960s. Cosby returned in 1985 to hold a press conference in the restaurant to celebrate the success of his television series, The Cosby Show. He continues to stop by Ben's while in town for servings of half-smokes. A sign posted in the restaurant proclaimed that Bill Cosby is the only person who eats for free at Ben's Chili Bowl. On November 3, 2008, a new sign was posted to add "the Obama family", and the sign was later altered to state "but he paid".

Other celebrities, including Chris Tucker and Bono, have visited over the years. In 1998, former DC mayor Marion Barry described having traveled to Ghana and meeting the mayor of Accra, an alumnus of Howard University, whose greeting was "Glad to have you in Accra. Is Ben's Chili Bowl still there?" When journalist Ted Koppel stopped hosting news program Nightline, he held his 2005 farewell party at the restaurant. Then-President-elect Barack Obama ate at Ben's on January 10, 2009.

with potato chips]]

Scenes from the films The Pelican Brief and State of Play were filmed in the restaurant.

The Washington Post asserts, "By the late 1990s, no D.C. politician would dream of running for office without dropping into Ben's." Anthony A. Williams appeared at Ben's immediately after his successful mayoral election.

Ben and Virginia Ali were inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame, and in 1999, the alley adjacent to the restaurant was renamed "Ben Ali Way". On the occasion of Ben Ali's 2009 death, D.C. mayor Adrian Fenty released a statement calling the restaurant "one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia."

Reviews

In 2004, the James Beard Foundation named Ben's one of the "down-home eateries that have carved out a special place on the American culinary landscape." Michael Stern, a writer specializing in U.S. regional foods, penned a 2008 review raving "The half-smoke is sensational!" and "Ben's serves one of the best sweet potato pies anywhere", and describing the chili as "sensational stuff: thick, peppery, full-flavored and positively addictive." In January 2009, food magazine Bon Appétit named Ben's one of the country's ten "Best Chili Spots," asserting, "No reasonable discussion of great chili joints can take place without mention of this U Street institution."

References

Further reading

  • Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark, by Tracey Gold Bennett, Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 0738554243

External links

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Jérôme Tomasini
9 February 2016
You can't go wrong with the Chili Half-Smoke hotdog. Add up more calories with the Chili French fries. The vanilla thick milkshake will sweeten the chili burn.
Ken Pierre II
7 August 2014
Great landmark in DC! The chili dog is amazing!! This is a great location to get a taste of what makes Washington DC! The line is long but it goes incredibly fast!
Paddy
2 January 2015
From what I hear this place is a DC staple. The "famous" half-smoke was delicious. The chili is more savoury than it is spicy. More like a stew than any chili I've had before but was still excellent.
Ed
29 October 2012
During the 1968 riots following MLK's murder, Ben's stayed open to feed police and activists alike. It was untouched by violence and is still home to the best chili dog (half smoke) you'll ever have.
Lisa
26 August 2013
No wrong options here. Don't be shy...have the chili half-smoke (spicy hot dog they R famous 4) with everything. Get a med-drink for free-refills. All fresh, made to order. Will ship nationwide
Travel + Leisure
4 January 2013
A 60-plus-year-old institution known for its no-frills grub. Our favorite: the Chili Half Smoke, a pork-and-beef smoked sausage on a steamed bun with mustard, onions, and Ben’s signature chili sauce.
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Map
1211 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009, USA Get directions
Mon-Thu-Sun 11:00 AM–9:00 PM
Fri-Sat 11:00 AM–1:00 AM

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