Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington D.C.

We spent part of President's Day weekend in D.C. We were only there for 24 hours, but we had enough time to eat at Ben's Chili Bowl and Izakaya Seki, where we had our favorite meal of the year so far. More on that later. Here's a bit about our meal at "The Bowl."

Before Ben and Virginia Ali opened Ben's Chili Bowl, the 1213 U Street address was home to a movie house called the Minnehaha Theater. The theater was erected in 1910, but in 1958, passion for great tunes and a mean chili recipe moved in and an institution was soon stitched into the city's landscape.

Serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Ben's has become famous for their chili and half-smokes, which are a hot dog/sausage hybrid of sorts that are usually 50% beef and %50 pork. At Ben's, they're griddled Grey's Papaya-style on a flattop.

We kept it simple: chili half-smoke ($5.70) and a side of chili cheese fries ($5.70). The skin on the half-smoke gets a nice char as it crisps up on the flattop, and biting into them gives way to an extremely tender, juicy link. The smoke is subtle, and since Ben's serves hundreds a day, they're guaranteed to be fresh and the quality shows. They're dressed with "everything:" mustard, onions, cheese, and chili. The condiments add a little bit of a zing, but a half-smoke will take as much chili as its bun can hold. You'll likely want to eat five or six, but one is all you need. Ben's is open until 2am on weekdays and 4am on weekends. We pulled in at about 4pm, but those chili cheese fries will do anyone good anytime of day.

The chili Ben's uses on their fries, hot dogs, half-smokes, hamburgers, and cheeseburgers is different than that in an order of small ($4.35, pictured) or large chili ($5.95). It's available on the menu in beef and vegetarian versions, but vegetarian chili makes as much sense to us as cold hot chocolate. What you get here is the classic result of a time-tested recipe.

The chili is thick, hearty, spicy, and it carries the deep, flavorful richness that lives in all good stews. What we loved most were the meaty chunks of tender beef chuck hiding throughout the serving. They act like sponges, cooking all day and absorbing the generous handfuls of cumin, paprika, and chili powder that go into every batch. When the meat's journey comes to an end, aka you eating it, it dissolves therein quicker than chipped ice on Florida blacktop.

In our opinion, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and green onions never hurt a bowl of chili, but there's no one expediting "the line" at Ben's. The restaurant is of the turn-and-burn category; a get em in, get em out sort of deal, and it should be. It's a formula eateries of this kind follow worldwide. That's what makes institutions like this so soul-warming. The food always looks different, but the walls always look the same.

Ben's Chili Bowl | 1213 U Street NW, Washington D.C. | 202-667-0909 www | map