Ben's Chili Bowl 50th Anniversary
So last month Ben’s Chili Bowl had its 50th anniversary. The restaurant is located on U Street NW in Washington DC, a historically black neighborhood. (MAP) Being around for so many years they have seen the neighborhood grow and develop. From the darkest hour of the DC riots in the late ’60s (which it was till open for business during) to the current revitalization of the whole neighborhood.
Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC
This restaurant is definitely a small whole in the wall place. But there are few other places where you can sit at the counter and meet a member of congress on your right and a homeless guy on your left. But that is one of the charms of this place. Everyone needs to eat. And when people find a place that serves good home cooked food for a reasonable price people flock to it.
I had heard about the celebrations, which encompassed the whole weekend, from a concert the 9:30 Club was hosting on Sunday afternoon. The concert was free with about a dozen bands playing. Since the show was free and I had heard about Ben’s from many different people I thought this was a perfect time to make the trip to DC for some chili.
Getting there was easy. I hoped on Metro in Springfield and got off at the U Street exit on the green line. From there you just had to stumble across the street, you couldn’t miss it. I was starving when I arrived so I decided to get some food before hitting the 9:30 Club for some live music. To my surprise there was a line out the door to get some chili. I guess I was not the only one that knew about the anniversary or saw the CBS Sunday Morning report.
After about 20 minutes I was able to get inside, where I promptly found another line to stand in. But there was plenty of staff on hand to handle the crowd. About a dozen people were taking orders, cooking food or the all important taking of the money. When it was my turn I got a chili dog and some chili cheese fries…..to go. There was no place to sit in the restaurant and since it was a beautiful day I decided to eat outside. I found a spot near the African American Civil War Memorial (museum) and ate my grub. I must say, that was some damn good food, and you couldn’t beat the price. Next time I am at the 9:30 Club for a show I will be stopping by Ben’s for some after show munchie food.
Having satisfied my craving for chili I decided to walk around the neighborhood and see what it was like. I was plesently surprised by what I saw. Lots of new shops, restaurants and apartment/condos with more of everything being built. It definitely looks like a good place to live for the twenty something crowd that wants to live in the city. Unfortunately I never made it to the concert, but that was ok. I needed to get home for dinner. It was Karen’s birthday on Sunday so I invited her and her husband, Jeremy, over for dinner that night. But first a quick stop in Old Town Alexandria at Le Pain Quotidien for some bread, yum!
