Ben's Chili Bowl

Some years ago, I went on a trip to Washington with my girlfriend at the time. Now, she had a friend who lived very near Washington, DC - right across the bridge, in Alexandria, actually.

In any case, she knew some things about Washington. Knew some local favorites, as well as some out of the way points of interests. She tended to do this not only with Washington, but with almost every place that we traveled together, which added a decent measure of diversity, and a whole different dimension that a typical visit of touristy kinds of things.

One of the places that she insisted on was Ben's Chili Bowl. This was in 2009, and until then, I had never heard about this place.

But that changed very quickly, once we actually went there.

Clearly, it had some history, and was a place of strong local repute.

It opened in 1958, during America's "Golden Age". It has stood to see the nation transform completely, through the civil rights era, and the riots that followed the assassination of MLK. In fact, this place was one of the very, very few that did not close in the days  following. Before he died, though, Martin Luther King, Jr. was known to have enjoyed going to Ben's Chili Bowl himself.  Some other big names to have gone there to eat include  Dick Gregory, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Miles Davis, Bill Cosby and, more recently, Chris Tucker and Barack Obama, in the days before he took the oath of office to be President. Bill Cosby came here to promote one of the most iconic sitcoms of the eighties, The Cosby Show.

In 2007, according to Wikipedia, they converted to 100% wind energy, because it would be good for the city, and would be the responsible thing to do, to boot.

This place has come to be a  local institution here in Washington. Their specialty is a chili half smoke, which is what I ordered this time around, and probably the last time around as well (although I can't really say for sure). Suffice to say, it is good. Very good! I was impressed when my girlfriend took me there, and have wanted to go back ever since.

Well, I just went on a small trip to DC with my son, and decided to make a visit here a priority. Also, I wanted my son to see the place.

So, I took him. The thing is, he is at that age where he is not experimental with food. I mean, not experimental at all. I was worried, but determined to at least have him try it.

Well, he did. it was far too spicy for him.

He was not very happy to be there to begin with (he was kind of on and off grumpy throughout the trip). But with the food being too spicy, that did it.

One waitress came up to us, and asked my son about his friend, the stuffed animal (a puppy) that he had with him, who's name is Marvin.

She asked his name, and my son, typically, refused to give it. Also, he prevented me from saying it, as well.

The woman was nice, however, and she kept coming back, trying to engage him in conversation. She even ended up giving him a free chocolate milkshake.

I had to force him to say thank you.

(sigh)

Still, it spoke well of the friendly service. Several times, the employees gave a warm smile, and asked us how everything was. It has become rather a bit of an institution, and has gained some fame. Yet, the people, and the overall ambiance, remains down to earth. That speaks well of the place.

In any case, the atmosphere here is really awesome. You can see and feel the traces of an older era here, yet it fits right in with 2013. Go for a visit and find out for yourself. This place is worth it!