F4tF: Breakfast at Ben’s Chili Bowl in Washington D.C.

Rather than fight the crowds at night when it gets crazy.  I decided to head over to Ben’s in the morning and enjoy the half smoke in a completely different context, for breakfast!.  During the week, at breakfast time is when you will find the local D.C. workers, business people and neighborhood regulars stopping in for some good home cooking.  I decided to have a breakfast that I normally wouldn’t find anywhere in New York City, The Half-Smoke Breakfast which is:

Half-Smoke Breakfast – $7.55

with 2 eggs any style, your choice of side (potatoes, grits or apples), toast or biscuit, butter or jelly

I opted for the version with two eggs scrambled, grits (with butter) and a homemade biscuit

The interior of Ben’s is nothing fancy at all but the quality of the food is top notch.

Here is a partial history of Ben’s Chili Bowl (via their website):

It was the summer of 1958. Eisenhower was president. Federal troops were ordered into Little Rock, Arkansas to aid in the integration of public schools. Explorer I was launched, as was NASA. The first-ever Grammy Awards were given, and Ella Fitzgerald won two of them.

That same year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. published his first book, Stride Toward Freedom. Griffith Stadium was home to the Washington Senators, and 30% of D.C.’s black population owned homes. Nelson Mandela wed Winnie. And, in 1958, newlyweds Ben and Virginia Ali gave birth to a new enterprise.

Despite a national business failure rate of 55.9%, the Ali’s used $5,000 to begin renovating a building at 1213 U Street. It had high-arched ceilings, character, and plenty of history. Built in 1910, it first housed a silent movie house called the Minnehaha Theater. Later, Harry Beckley, one of D.C.’s first Black police detectives, converted it into a pool hall. On Aug. 22, 1958, Ben’s Chili Bowl was born. It was an exciting time on the U Street corridor, which was then known as “Black Broadway.” Top performers could be found playing sets in clubs along the corridor, as well as eating and just “hanging out” at Ben’s. It was not uncommon to see such luminaries as Duke Ellington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Dick Gregory, Martin Luther King Jr., Donny Hathaway, Roy Ayers or Bill Cosby at “The Bowl.”

In recent years the following famous people have been to Ben’s Chili Bowl:

President Barack Obama

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vQ7wQ80Aik[/youtube]

Anthony Bourdain

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS3rowyK5CU[/youtube]

Adam Richman of Man vs Food

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDWquLZzNTs[/youtube]

Sadly, Ben Ali, founder of Ben’s Chili Bowl passed away on October 7, 2009 at the age of 82.

Here is the article that appeared in The Washington Post the following day, along with a video tribute.

Ben may be gone, but Ben’s Chili Bowl will live on for years to come.  I am glad for that.

Ben’s Chili Bowl
1213 U Street NW
Washington D.C. 20009
202.667.0909

www.benschilibowl.com
Twitter: @benschilibowl

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2 Responses

  1. Great writeup.

    My favorite part of Ben’s: The sign behind the counter which lists “PEOPLE WHO EAT FOR FREE”. For 40 years, this jokingly listed only one person:

    BILL COSBY

    In December of 2008, they added another entry to the sign:

    THE OBAMA FAMILY

  2. Matt,

    I saw the sign on the juice machine and was gonna put it in the article. I did have it up on my twitter when I read it the day I was there.

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