Young & Hungry » D.C. Dish Hall of Fame

The Readers Had Their Say in 2009, Too

Tim Carman — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:56:17 +0000

As the primary author of the Young & Hungry blog, I release a lot of gas into the ether. Sometimes you readers find it noxious enough to disperse with your own counterattack. It can make for an engaging round of online gasbagging. Just take a look at the four examples that Editor Andrew and I cobbled together for this week's Y&H column.

You readers are frickin' vicious. Thank your stars you aren't Barton Seaver — or Y&H for that matter.

Just for the fun of it, I also rounded up 22 other blog items that generated a lot of commentary last year. You can see them after the jump.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

Five Guys’ Supporters Rush to the Defense of the Chain Burger

Tim Carman — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 19:12:10 +0000

It's not enough, I guess, that the Five Guys hamburger earned a spot in our inaugural D.C. Dish Hall of Fame. The burger's many fans want the respect that goes along with the honor. Everyone's respect, in fact, and either you give it or you are, in the words of commenter The Truth, a "douche nozzle." Or maybe even a "whimpering little douche nozzle."

Such devotion. Such limited language skills.

Anyway, I have been impressed with the chain's fan base and its continued faith in a burger that has been franchised from here to Timbuktu (or, in this case, Medicine Hat, Canada, Five Guys' first outlet outside the states).

Here are some of the comments Y&H has received since dissin' that once-revered burger and its place in the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame:

The Truth: Nice backhanded compliment to 5 guys. You just can't get over the fact that they're better than your favorites, can you? 5 guys absolutely OWNS Hellburger, and always will. Now, stop behaving like a whimpering little douche nozzle.

Shaman: I'm also in the Five Guys fanboy camp. I've visited BGR and Hellburger a bunch of times, and while I enjoyed every burger I had, Five Guys provides a more fulfilling and enjoyable taste experience than the rest. In my personal opinion, there's definitely some law-of-diminishing-returns that kicks in when a burger patty exceeds a certain thickness, and when you try to fancy-up a burger, it just feels wrong. Oh, and as much as I have to confess my love for foie gras as a Hellburger option, the crumbly, wimpy buns and their inability to adequately support the burger's structure is simply unforgivable. You can taste the quality of the beef, no doubt, and the tomatoes are almost always wonderfully ripe–a rare treat. The buns suck.

Rich: I also prefer 5 Guys to Hellburger and the Burger Joint. Hellburger: superb meat, over-spiced on the cracked peppercorn, which combines with the bleu cheese to make it hard for me to appreciate the meat. It's also overcrowded, and not a terribly pleasant overall burger experience. BGR: nice patty, again with the high-quality meat of low fat content, which makes the burger's structural integrity in issue all three times I've eaten there. 5G: a suitably greasy burger, with a taste that brings to mind the In-N-Out animal style that is the apex of my burger universe. Sorry, boutique burgers. Top-grade sirloin doesn't make a better cheesesteak than Pat's or Geno's, and it won't create a better burger, either.

This Week’s Greatest Hits on Young & Hungry

Tim Carman — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 22:30:20 +0000

All local foodies today were focused on the breaking news at Equinox, where a fire destroyed the downtown institution's kitchen. Y&H has fire department reports and pictures from the scene.

In the meantime, here are the top blog posts of the week:

The D.C. Dish Hall of Fame Winners: Are They All Deserving?

Tim Carman — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 15:55:17 +0000

So what if you launched a D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest to suss out the metro area's best bites and it turned into a coronation of the region's cheap eats? It would make sense, right? After all, as I noted early in the voting, the odds are stacked decidedly against the high-end restaurants.

Arianne Bennett, co-owner of the namesake dish and Hall of Fame inductee at the Amsterdam Falafelshop, said much the same thing in an e-mail to me after I announced the contest results on Monday:

I think that some of the high-end restaurants missed out, and the lower-price-point places excelled in the voting because of two reasons:

more bodies move through our restaurants daily, resulting in more bodies that have tried the food and can vote, and

higher end restaurants have more diverse menus – everyone who goes to Blue Duck has not had the incredible pleasure of the marrow bone appetizer... but everyone who goes to the Falafelshop pretty much gets a falafel (same with Pollo or Ben's).

Bennett suggests a dual platform contest next year: one for high-end dishes and one for fast-food or fast-casual dishes. It's a good idea.

However, in the meantime, whether fair or not, I have decided to weigh in on the winners of our inaugural Hall of Fame contest. Did they deserve the honor or not? You can read my thoughts here.

Bill Cosby Still Sweet on the Half-Smoke at Age 72

Tim Carman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:13:31 +0000

At 72, Bill Cosby might be at an age when his doctor looks the comedian dead in the eye and says, "Bill, I'm telling you, if you want to see 73, lay off the half-smokes." Well, if Cos has ever heard those words, he's not heeding them.

Nizam Ali, youngest son of founders Virginia and the late Ben Ali, says Cosby still grabs half-smokes at Ben's Chili Bowl every time he's in town. (I mean, why not? He's still only one of two folks who eats free at Ben's, the recent winner of our D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest.)

"If he doesn't physically come in the door," Ali tells Y&H, "he'll send a car by or the hotel will send a car by or his venue will just happen to come by and get them or he'll call in and have us deliver them. So he always seems to get them when he's in town some kind of way, whether or not he actually walks in the door."

Cos did walk in the door in October when the Kennedy Center awarded him the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

"He walked in and said hello to everybody," Ali remembers. But Cos did one thing more: He ordered up half-smokes for a reception at the big Twain event.

That's right, the half-smoke made its debut at the Kennedy Center.

Photo by devriesm via Flickr Creative Commons, Attribution License

Vox Populi: Restaurant Rater RR on Hall of Famer, Ben’s Chili Bowl

Tim Carman — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:48:16 +0000

File this under You Can't Please Everyone.

Just a day after winning the debut D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest, Ben's Chili Bowl gets cold water splashed on its face from Restaurant Rater RR, who writes about a recent experience:

Nothing great about the food or chili. Its a DC landmark but way over priced! 11 dollars for a halfsmoke with chili and a medium fruit punch? That's crazy. Go to 7-11 and get the same thing for 4 dollars its a block away and you can still see the place.

I'm sure you have plenty to say in response to RR's brief slap. Head to the Restaurant Raters page and get a-commentin'!

How Did Your Favorite Dishes Fare in the Hall of Fame Voting?

Tim Carman — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:23:57 +0000

Earlier today on the blog, Y&H announced the inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame, which culiminated weeks of online balloting from more than 1,200 voters. But as we've known from Day 1, only five dishes could enter the hall, which leaves another 25 nominees out in the cold.

Perhaps you're interested in how the other 25 fared? Say no more. After the jump, you can view the dishes that didn't make the cut and find out how close they were to the five inductees.

But before you do that, ask yourself this question and then fire up a comment below: How many chances should a dish get to try to make the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame?

The inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame:

Half-smoke with chili at Ben's Chili Bowl, 502 votes

Falafel at Amsterdam Falafelshop, 395

Hamburger at Five Guys, 259

Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico, 193

Margherita pizza at 2Amys, 186

The rest of the field:

Burger from Ray's Hell Burger, 164

Salty oat cookie at Teaism, 150

Pho at Pho 75, 135

Palak chaat at Rasika, 130

Fried whiting at Horace & Dickie's, 124

Atomica pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso, 102

Boudin blanc at Marcel's, 99

Chicken croquetas at Jaleo, 89

Cowboy-cut bone-in ribeye at Ray's the Steaks, 83

Lobster burger at Central Michel Richard, 79

Shrimp and grits at Vidalia, 70

Spit-roasted goat at Komi, 70

Peking duck at Mark's Duck House, 63

Michel's chocolate bar (aka the Kit-Kat bar) at Citronelle, 62

Dry-aged sirloin steak at Buck's Fishing & Camping, 56

Smoked branzino carpaccio at Teatro Goldoni, 53

Italian sandwich at A. Litteri's, 52

Roast chicken at Palena Café, 49

Parker House rolls at CityZen, 48

Butter chicken at Heritage India, 36

Charcuterie plate at L'Auberge Chez Francois, 35

Fried Ipswich clams at Kinkead's, 34

Floating market noodle soup at Nava Thai, 33

Roasted bone marrow at Blue Duck Tavern, 30

Deep-fried flounder at Duangrat's, 27

Say Hello to the Inaugural Class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame

Tim Carman — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:57:08 +0000

Yesterday, readers of the Young & Hungry newsletter (hint, hint: sign up at right) got first word on who won the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame. Today, we tell everyone the results of our debut contest, which we launched back in October with the idea of sussing out the dishes that best define the D.C. metro area.

From the very beginning, voters were clear on their favorite. It's the same one that Bill Cosby loves. The same one that puzzled future president Barack Obama. The same one made in Baltimore but rich in D.C. history.

Yep, you know it as the chili half-smoke from Ben's Chili Bowl.

The famous link in the natural casing, topped with the joint's dark signature meat gravy, beat the nearest competitor, the falafel from Amsterdam Falafelshop, by more than 100 votes. In terms of this contest, that's a landslide.

It's a landslide particularly when you consider that Ben's, unlike Amsterdam, did not solicit customers to vote for its dish. Nizam Ali, the youngest son of founders Virginia and the late Ben Ali, says he didn't even know about the Hall of Fame voting until late last week. At that point, he told a handful of friends about it, and even voted himself, but didn't promote the contest at the Bowl.

Who did Nizam Ali vote for? "I voted for us, of course," says Ali, who now runs Ben's with older brother Kamal. "I voted for Horace & Dickie's fried fish and what was the other one? I can't remember now."

"Oh, I think it was 2Amys," he says about the pizzeria's Margherita pie.

Many of the 1,238 voters agreed with Ali's choices. More than 500 of them voted for the chili half-smoke, followed by the falafel at Amsterdam (395 votes), the hamburger at Five Guys (259), the Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico (193), and the Margherita pizza at 2Amys (186). These five dishes make up the inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame.

"It is only because of the loyal following of our customers that we could have achieved something like this, and we are honored beyond belief to be included with the likes of true landmarks like Ben's, and true culinary delights like 2Amys," writes Arianne Bennett, co-owner of Amsterdam Falafelshop with husband, Scott.

Bennett's not kidding about the loyal following. Their customers are so loyal, they take orders. Bennett admits that Amsterdam added a note to the bottom of the shop's receipts, urging customers to vote; she also alerted the vegetarian community in an effort to solicit more votes for the only veggie option in the competition. Maybe as a result, many of the comments we received about Amsterdam's falafel were nothing less than gushing.

A sample: "Amsterdam has the Best Falefel ever, I adore them and wish there was one right next to my house!"

Then again, Ben's earned its praise without any prodding from the restaurant. Consider this reader comment: "As much as I enjoy a nice dinner at Central or Cafe Atlantico, nothing beats a half-smoke. And no half-smoke beats one from Ben's. I just moved away from DC after 22 years this fall, and the idea that I won't ever be able to eat a half-smoke unless I'm visiting my parents kills me."

Or consider what chefs think about Ben's half-smoke, despite the fact that it's a commercial sausage produced by Manger Packing Corp. in Baltimore. "I have had the half smoke with chili. I have had the half smoke with a fried egg. I think it's good," says chef R.J. Cooper of Vidalia, where he's been known to make his own sausages. "Is it the quintessential Washington, D.C. food? If anything is it, that would have to be it."

The interesting thing is that both Ben's and Amsterdam — one an institution, the other a budding one — are still formulating or thinking about franchising plans. Could either one (or both) become the next Five Guys, a once (and always) beloved local institution that has spread its seed all over the country?

The question is rather loaded, especially for Nizam Ali and family. Ali said he had read Y&H's recent blog item, in which I wondered whether Five Guys' burger was still Hall of Fame worthy given that the chain's aggressive franchising has (sometimes) hurt the quality of its product (not to mention managers' ability to make sure cooks know how to griddle those patties properly).

"I thought to myself, Hey, if and when or somewhere down the line if the Chili Bowl franchises, would that knock the half-smoke or Ben's out of the running[for a place among D.C.'s iconic dishes]?" Nizam Ali says. "It's an interesting question."

It's an interesting question for the Alis because, for 51 years now, they have prided themselves on their personal touch at Ben's. They've prided themselves on the history that the U Street institution oozes. They've prided themselves, in short, on being a family-run business.

"Because of the history and legacy of the family, we really want to do it our way and kind of want to keep control of it," Nizam Ali says. "The Chili Bowl has been all about family, and we want to keep our family intact. So if I'm running around selling franchises and my brother's running and going to the openings and checking the quality, then we're both divorced...You know what I mean? So what's more important? The running around and opening thousands of stores or making sure that your home life is happy and all that stuff. That's kind of more important to us."

At the same time, the Alis have not ruled out franchising altogether. It's probably impossible to rule out franchising when the family constantly receives calls about it. But here's hoping that Ben's never becomes another Five Guys, no matter how much money they could make from it.

As a final note, I want to thank all of you who participated in our very first D.C. Dish Hall of Fame contest. If you have some thoughts about the results, please e-mail them to me, and I'll publish the best on the blog.

In the meantime, go out and congratulate the winners by visiting their restaurants.

The inaugural class of the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame:

Half-smoke with chili at Ben's Chili Bowl, 502 votes

Falafel at Amsterdam Falafelshop, 395

Hamburger at Five Guys, 259

Peruvian chicken at El Pollo Rico, 193

Margherita pizza at 2Amys, 186

This Week’s Greatest Hits on Young & Hungry

Tim Carman — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:10:29 +0000

Pasta Mia is either the most authentic outpost of Italian cooking in D.C. or the most overrated. Opinions diverged dramatically over the red-sauce house, which is no doubt part of the reason why hundreds and hundreds of you were attracted to Y&H's take-down of the Adams Morgan institution.

The item was, by far, the most read piece on the blog this week. It even managed to attract more readers than a certain light beer whose name will not be mentioned. (*)

Here are this week's most-popular posts:

* A certain light-drinking beer was, once again, a Top 5 item, but we’ve stopped counting it.

D.C. Dish Hall of Fame Voting Closes Today

Tim Carman — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:45:04 +0000

Earlier this week, a friend and I were sitting in the bright, clean dining area at El Pollo Rico, putting a hurt on the rotisserie bird that a young woman with a meat cleaver had just hacked into four neat pieces.

The table to my right was filled with three loud diners speaking in that unique strain of Southern dialect called "Redneck." A young African-American couple behind me was cooing at each other, a shared Styrofoam container between them. A lonely Latino was huddled at a table in front of me, silently devouring his chicken. It was snowing outside. Rap music was playing over the sound system.

It was one of those nights in which all the disparate cultures and people seemed as if they could finally agree on one thing: El Pollo Rico is the shit. And on this night, EPR really was.

The skin on our chicken was crisp, and the flesh was so succulent and just short of too salty, which is the way I like it. And most important, the herbs and spices were in balance; the cumin had not attempted a hostile takeover of our bird.

There is a reason this charcoal chicken is among the leaders in the D.C. Dish Hall of Fame voting, which ends today. At this point the chicken looks like a shoo-in for the hall's inaugural class, but who knows. Ray's Hell Burger sits down there in sixth place, just itching to move up with a late, 11th-hour surge. Remember, only the top 5 get inducted.

Don't see your favorite dish among the leaders? Better get voting. The contest ends at midnight.