Young & Hungry » Ben’s Chili Bowl

Watch Out, Ben’s! Half-Smoke Vet To Open His Own Chili Bowl

Chris Shott — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:57:35 +0000

Anthony Ulysses Holmon, a former employee of D.C.'s venerable Ben's Chili Bowl, is opening his own half-smoke hotspot called D.C. Chili Bowl. Holmon says he'll be serving kosher hotdogs—an apparent affront to Ben's brass, which he describes as hostile to change. The existing 54-year-old half-smoke emporium serves only non-kosher franks. "I believe the Hebrew hot dog is a better tasting beef dog, plus it's a kosher product," Holmon tells WTOP. "You want to offer the product to everybody, all nationalities. That will add another layer of customers." Holmon is looking to open his own shop along trendy H Street NE—the same neighborhood where his former employer is planning to open its own half-smoke outpost.

Photo by bionicgrrrl/Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license

What Are D.C.’s Most Worker-Friendly Restaurants? (Hint: Not Clyde’s)

Chris Shott — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 19:32:27 +0000

A national restaurant workers’ organization on Thursday unveiled a handy new dining guide. This one rates restaurants not on their food, service and decor but instead on working conditions: things like wages, paid sick leave, occupational segregation—appetizing topics like that. A number of D.C.-area eateries are featured in the guide, not always in a positive way. The local businesses earning the highest marks for their worker-friendly policies include Busboys & Poets, Ben's Chili Bowl, Five Guys, Jack Rose, and virtually every eatery under José Andrés' Think Food Group umbrella (America Eats Tavern, Oyamel, Jaleo, Zaytinya). One business not faring so well in the guide: Clyde's, which scored a big fat zero in every category but one (non-tipped wages, where it earns a question mark for unknown). Y&H has reached out to Clyde's Restaurant Group for comment. Read the guide for yourself here.

Any Guesses Which D.C. Eatery Obama Will Hit Next?

Chris Shott — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 13:31:41 +0000

Arlington's Liberty Tavern is the latest D.C.-area eatery to get the Obama bump. Last Thursday, the president showed up to wine and dine some winning donors to his re-election campaign, noshing on tiny Chicago-style hot dogs and Portuguese-style swordfish. A rep for the restaurant tells Y&H that the contest is part of a series, titled "Dinner with Barack," that's expected to be held quarterly leading up to the 2012 election. This suggests that as many as three or four more local restaurants may experience the glitz, glamor and good publicity of a presidential visit in the coming months.

Any guesses which ones? The guy has already been to Ben's Chili Bowl, Five Guys, Ray's Hell Burger, Ted's Bulletin, Restaurant Eve, Good Stuff Eatery, 1789 and Equinox, among other places.

Photo by Фото пресс-службы Президента России/Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

Even After Two Gallons, Joey Chestnut Oddly Not Burned Out On Ben’s Chili

Chris Shott — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 23:44:57 +0000

"Nice and spicy, thick and chunky—it was delicious....Next time I'm here, I'm definitely having it again."—Joey Chestnut, winner of the World Chili Eating Championship at Taste of D.C., after eating a record-setting two gallons of chili from Ben's Chili Bowl.

Screen shot via YouTube

Two Gallons of Ben’s Chili in Six Minutes: Joey Chestnut Sets New World Record

Chris Shott — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 12:30:38 +0000

The world's top-ranked competitive eater lived up to the hype at Taste of D.C. over the weekend. Joey Chestnut choked down two gallons of chili from Ben's Chili Bowl in six minutes to win Sunday's World Chili Eating Championship. WTOP has a photo gallery of the messy action. Tim "Eater-X" Janus and Bob "Notorious B.O.B." Shoudt tied for second place, each eating a gallon and a half of the stuff. Alexandria native Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas came in fourth, consuming 10 pounds of chili.

Think you have the stomach capacity to match the metabolic masters? Then get busy training for next year's contest. The original Ben's location reopened Saturday after plumbing problems had shuttered the iconic U Street eatery for the prior week.

Photo courtesy of Major League Eating

How Sonya Thomas Avoids Puking During Eating Contests

Chris Shott — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:06:55 +0000

“Eating competitions are about 70 percent mental, and 30 percent physical. Physical meaning stomach capacity. Sometimes when you're eating a lot of food you think 'oh, I'm getting full' or 'I'm getting sick,' but you have to get over that. You push yourself and control it. Sometimes when I swallow one food I feel like throwing up, but then I have to control that feeling. Maybe I drink some liquid, try to get the air out by burping, and then there's more stomach room so you can eat more. Some people who can't handle that throw up during the contest. That's mental. Speed eating is like running: if you have a little mistake, mentally you lose.”—Alexandria native Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, speaking to Washingtonian in advance of Sunday's World Chili Eating Championship at Taste of D.C.

Photo courtesy of Major League Eating

Joey Chestnut Aims to Eat Two Gallons Of Ben’s Chili (At Least)

Chris Shott — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 21:36:25 +0000

The field is shaping up for the World Chili Eating Championship at Taste of D.C. on Sunday. And Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas won't be the only D.C.-area native in the contest. Germantown's Juliet Lee is also competing, according to her local Patch:

"Lee, a local hair stylist who moonlights as a competitive eater, recently placed sixth at the 2011 U.S. Chicken Wing Eating Championship, having consumed 3.89 pounds of buffalo wings in 12 minutes, according to the official results."

Meanwhile, the world's No. 1 ranked eater Joey Chestnut tells Washingtonian that he's been training for Sunday's main event by eating up to two gallons at a time—and it might take more than that to win! As the reigning hotdog-noshing champ points out, "There's one guy from New York and another guy from Philadelphia who can both eat more than two-and-a-half gallons.”

Nazim Ali of Ben's Chili Bowl, which is providing the meaty stew for the competition, may be understating it a bit when he tells WUSA-TV, "They're going to tons of chili." OK, maybe not tons. But, a lot. Watch the video here:

Photo of Joey Chestnut courtesy of Major League Eating

How Much Ben’s Chili Can One Man (Or Woman) Choke Down In Six Minutes?

Chris Shott — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:29:03 +0000

Some of the biggest stars on the competitive eating circuit, including Alexandria's own Sonya "The Black Widow" Thomas, are coming to town this weekend for the World Chili Eating Championship at Taste of D.C. on Sunday, Oct. 9.

The chili-chowing contest begins at 12:30 p.m. on the event's main stage with local institution Ben's Chili Bowl providing the required foodstuffs. The bold soul who consumes the most of Ben's meaty stew in six minutes will be declared the winner.

The 44-year-old 100-pound Thomas is coming off a startling upset of the world's No. 1 ranked eater, Joey Chestnut, at the U.S. Buffalo Wing Eating Championship (pictured) over Labor Day Weekend.

It's the first time in a long time that the folks at Major League Eating are holding a contest involving chili. The previous record-holder downed about a gallon and a half of the stuff in 10 minutes. But that was ages ago. Perhaps the most comparable recent record, according to available MLE stats, is "Notorious Bob" Shoudt's choking down 23.4 pounds of salmon chowder in 2009.

An amateur chili-chowing contest takes place prior to the pros at noon on Saturday with the winner earning a spot alongside Thomas, Chestnut and the others.

How much Ben's Chili do you think that you could eat in six minutes?

Photo by Joe Cascio

Hail To The Half-Smokes: Ben’s Chili Bowl Is Coming to FedEx Field

Chris Shott — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 14:39:49 +0000

Drown your inevitable frustrations with the beleaguered Washington Redskins in authentic D.C. chili cheese fries this fall. Iconic U Street eatery Ben's Chili Bowl is opening two new concession stands at FedEx Field. WaPo sports blogger Dan Steinberg has the scoop: "Ben’s will have kiosks at section 341 in the club level and section 420 in the upper level. Both kiosks will offer half-smokes, chili dogs and bowls of chili. The 400-level stand will also have fries and chili cheese fries, while the 300-level will instead offer nachos, due to issues with getting a fryer into the space."

Photo by Chris Shott

Rained-Out MLK Memorial Revelers Settle for Half-Smokes at Ben’s Chili Bowl

Chris Shott — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:11:16 +0000

With Hurricane Irene dampening festivities surrounding the District's new Martin Luther King, Jr. memorial, Rolling Stone heads over to the next-best setting to chat about racial politics: Ben's Chili Bowl. (The U Street institution, an "instant bestower of local credibility," is ranked No. 9 on City Paper's list of "D.C.'s 44 Most Powerful Restaurants.") Among the many insights gleaned from customers at the restaurant, Pittsburgh native Andrew Thomas bluntly sums up the psychogeographic importance of the place: "If you lived here for more than two years and don’t know of this place, then something’s wrong." Thomas' favorite dish? "The half-smoked, of course. What kind of question is that? [Laughing]."

Photo by Chris Shott