DC’s Finest

Originally uploaded by Craig BattleI love Ben’s Chili Bowl. The chili half smoke is DC’s indigenous street food and Ben’s does it right. I messed up the first time I went to Ben’s I ordered a bowl of chili. You CANNOT do this, I REPEAT, DO NOT order a bowl of chili at ben’s Chili bowl. The Chili must be on something, . . like a chili half smoke or a burger or even fries or soemthing.

I’ll tell you what I partly have to thank my future wife and her family for my appreciation of Ben’s. You see they have this unique way of making hot dogs. They put them in the oven and kind of like broil them till they’re black and charred. You don’t realize it, but boiling dogs over stove top flame is really wack. You crave that crunchy, slightly-burnt (read: very charred) outer shell and that pliable, slightly, chewy gelatinous inside; that you get at a barbecue. (and Ben’s does it like that all day!)

So, next time you’re in DC and you’re on U street at like 2 am after bar hopping, stop by Ben’s; it’s always crowded but well worth the late night drunken shove match that you’ll endure before you order. (believe it or not, I shot the above photo at about 3am, and it was packed)