In the spirit of all the holiday gift giving that will be taking place over the next couple of months, all the Metroblogging cities are giving 7 gifts to the world throughout the week of Nov, 26th through Dec, 2nd. This is Washington, DC’s 6th Gift to the World – Ben’s Chili Bowl.
Open through both the 1968 riots and the Green Line expansion through U Street, Ben’s anchored the U Street neighbourhood and is favorite of both daytime construction workers and night-time bar crawlers.
But that’s not why it’s a gift to the world. Ben’s Chili Bowl gave us two amazing gifts. First Bill Cosby took his wife-to-be on dates at Ben’s and without her support, how else could we remember a dentist visit with humor or have amazingly positive black role models on TV?
Next we got half-smokes. Before you get into the whole “what’s a half-smoke?” debate, as they are neither half of anything or smoked, just savory the memory of your first one. Mine was late, way too late, with work looming in the morning. I needed food, I needed sobriety, I needed the bright lights and limitless grease of a Ben’s half-smoke chili dog.
And we all need the calming influence, good food, and great friends found at Ben’s Chili Bowl. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m hungry and Ben’s is short bus ride away.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
