Ben's Chili Bowl

Ben's Chili Bowl has been a D.C. food landmark since 1958 and is frequently visited by many celebrities including Bill Cosby (who is the only person who gets to eat there for free). I had read in a food blog recently that this place was going to be featured in a future "No Reservations" D.C. episode and since Anthony Bourdain has yet to steer us in the wrong direction, we couldn't pass it up.


We tried to get to D.C. earlier than we did, but leaving our hosts in VA was hard because we really do enjoy our time with them (Thanks again, Don and Mary Helen!). Once we got into D.C. after 1 PM, we went to pick up our friends and head to Ben's Chili Bowl. We were not prepared for the line of easily 50-70 people in front of us, especially since the temperature was in the 90's and our stomachs were starting to growl! Our Washingtonian friends told us that they had never experienced such a line there, but I am thinking it will only get worse once Bourdain's episode airs.




I was a little leery on the whole chili experience seeing that I don't like beans (I will order chili fries/dogs and pick them out) and most chili does have beans, but I was pleasantly surprised that beans do not swim in Ben's Chili! The chili is pretty spicy, so if you can't handle any kind of heat, you'll want to skip this place. Food items like tuna salad or veggie chili are also served here, but I don't believe that I saw anyone order any of these things. Seriously, if you are even thinking about ordering something other than a chili dog/burger or chili cheese fries, you have some major problems.



I have to say that this is (hands down) the most amazing marriage of spices that I have ever tasted in chili. While the chili that I had recently made was spicy and delicious, the spices in Ben's were even more intense. Of course, you can feel your arteries clogging as you eat, but it's well worth it for visitors to experience the joys of Ben's Chili Bowl (if you live there, you might have to refrain from eating here all the time). Even when we left the place around 2:30ish, the line was still going strong (not quite as many people, but still impressive for a very hot Sunday afternoon). The history of the restaurant is interesting too. I won't bore my readers with a synopsis, but it's on the website for those who are curious.


I had read in a D.C. tourist magazine that the Washington Nationals' ballpark had a Ben's Chili Bowl. We attended a 3 o'clock game on Labor Day and even though we weren't hungry, I couldn't resist having some more (who knows when we would be able to visit D.C. again!?). I ended up ordering both a half-smoke and chili cheese fries because I had a craving for both and I figured that Chris (the human garbage disposal) would eat anything that was left.

The food was just as good as at the restaurant (surprisingly because ballpark food is usually not the same). While I am usually the one that gets the picture of me stuffing my face, Chris had chili dripping out of the half-smoke all over his hands (the lady who helped me decided to pour the chili on super thick), so I got to capture his gluttony on camera for once.


Cheers to Bourdain for another great pick!


http://www.benschilibowl.com/