View source for Ben's Chili Bowl

{{Short description|Restaurant in Washington, D. C.}}
{{Other uses|Chili Bowl (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Advert|date=January 2024}}
{{Tone|date=January 2024}}
}}
{{Infobox restaurant
| name              = Ben's Chili Bowl
| logo              = Ben's Chili Bowl logo.png
| logo_width        = 
| logo_alt          = 
| image             = Ben's Chili Bowl.jpg
| image_width       = 
| image_alt         = 
| image_caption     = Ben's Chili Bowl, Northwest  Washington, D.C.
| pushpin_map       = 
| map_width         = 
| map_alt           = 
| map_caption       = 
| slogan            = 
| established       = {{Start date and age|1958|08|22}}<ref name= founded/> <!-- {{Start date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> 
| closed            = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> 
| current-owner     = [[Virginia Ali]]
| previous-owner    = 
| chef              = 
| head-chef         = 
| food-type         = [[Cuisine of the United States|American]]
| dress-code        = [[Casual attire|Casual]]
| rating            = [[Yelp]]: {{rating|3.5|5|score=3.5/5 stars in a 0–5 star scale}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Ben's Chili Bowl – U Street|url=http://www.yelp.com/biz/bens-chili-bowl-washington|website=Yelp|access-date=30 January 2015}}</ref><br />[[Zagat]]: 22 out of 30 (Food)
| street-address    = 1213 [[U Street Corridor|U Street]], [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|NW]]
| city              = [[Washington, D.C.]]
| county            = 
| state             = 
| postcode          = 
| country           = 
| coordinates       = {{Coord|38.9172|-77.0288|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
| seating-capacity  = 
| reservations      = 
| other-locations   = 
| other-information = 
| website           = {{URL| http://benschilibowl.com/}} <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
{{Infobox NRHP
| embed                          = yes
| name                           = Minnehaha Nickelodeon Theater<br />(now Ben's Chili Bowl)
| nrhp_type                      = cp
| nocat                          = yes
| partof                         = [[Greater U Street Historic District]]
| partof_refnum                  = 98001557<ref name=NPS-NRHP>{{cite web|title=NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES – Greater U Street Historic District|url={{NRHP url|id=98001557}}|website=National Park Service|publisher=United States Department of the Interior|access-date=30 January 2015}}</ref>
| designated_other1_name         = District of Columbia Historic District
| designated_other1_abbr         = DCHD
| designated_other1_color        = yellow
| designated_other1_link         = National Register of Historic Places listings in Washington, D.C.
| designated_other1_date         = {{start date and age|1999|01|11}}<ref name=DC-hshd>{{cite web|title=Inventory G of Historic Sites and Districts |url=http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Inventory%202009%20G.pdf |website=DC.Gov |publisher=Office of Planning |access-date=30 January 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119044010/http://planning.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/op/publication/attachments/Inventory%202009%20G.pdf |archive-date=19 January 2015 }}</ref>
| designated_other1_number       =
| designated_other1_num_position = bottom
| image                          =
| location                       =
| built                          = {{start date and age|1909}}
| builder                        = District Amusement Company<ref name=NPS-NRHP/>
| architect                      = P.A. Hurlehaus<ref name=NPS-NRHP/>
| architecture                   = [[Renaissance Revival architecture|Renaissance Revival]]
| added                          =
| designated_nrhp_type           = {{start date and age|1998|12|31}}
| visitation_num                 =
| visitation_year                =
| refnum                         =
| mpsub                          = 
}}
}}

'''Ben's Chili Bowl''' is a restaurant in [[Washington, D.C.]], United States, located at 1213 [[U Street (Washington, D.C.)|U Street]], next to [[Lincoln Theatre (Washington, D.C.)|Lincoln Theatre]], in the U Street Corridor, also known as the Cardozo/Shaw neighborhood in [[Northwest, Washington, D.C.|Northwest D.C.]] It is known locally for its [[chili dog]]s, [[half-smoke]]s, and [[milkshake]]s, and has been part of the U Street neighborhood since its founding in 1958. It was frequented by both police and protesters during the [[1968 Washington, D.C., riots]], and has been visited by celebrities, such as [[Anthony Bourdain]], [[Chris Tucker]], and President-elect [[Barack Obama]] in January 2009.<ref name="Obama">{{cite news|url=http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2009/01/10/dc-diner-adds-obama-to-list-of-famous-patrons|title=Diner adds Obama to list of famous patrons, Reuters Blogs|publisher=Blogs.reuters.com|date=January 10, 2009|access-date=July 15, 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090124165931/http://blogs.reuters.com/frontrow/2009/01/10/dc-diner-adds-obama-to-list-of-famous-patrons/|archive-date=January 24, 2009}}</ref>

==History==
Ben's Chili Bowl was founded on August 22, 1958,<ref name= founded>Ali, Virginia R. (April 3, 1988). "Burned Into the Future; Before April 4, 1968, Washington was a tranquil but segregated town. After the riots, everything changed. Six Washingtonians look back". ''The Washington Post''. p. W28.</ref> by [[Ben Ali (businessman)|Ben Ali]], a Trinidadian-born immigrant of [[Indo-Trinidadian|Indian]] descent who had studied dentistry at nearby [[Howard University]], and his fiancée, [[Virginia Ali|Virginia Rollins]]. The two were married seven weeks after opening the restaurant.<ref name=obit>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/10/08/ST2009100804374.html?sid=ST2009100804374|title=Ben Ali, 82, Whose Chili Bowl Became a D.C. Landmark, Dies|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 9, 2009|access-date=October 9, 2009|last=Schudel|first=Matt}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Bottomless Bowl of U Street; A Neighborhood Institution Prepares to Celebrate 45 Years of Chili -- and Change|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 21, 2003|last=Wilgoren|first=Debbi}}</ref><ref name=RIPben>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/08/AR2009100804130.html|title=Life Goes On in Rhythm of Ben's|last=Freedom duLac|first=Josh|date=October 9, 2009|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|pages=A08|access-date=October 9, 2009}}</ref> The building they chose was that of Washington's first [[silent movie]] house, the Minnehaha, which was established in 1911.<ref name=PBS>[https://www.pbs.org/ellingtonsdc/vtOtherLandMarks.htm#Chili Virtual Duke Ellington's Washington: Tour of Shaw: Ben's Chili Bowl], [[PBS]]</ref> The building is a [[contributing property]] to the [[U Street Corridor|Greater U Street Historic District]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=/planning/lib/planning/New_Inventory_Sep_2004.pdf |page=113 |title=District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites |access-date=January 8, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130074837/http://planning.dc.gov/planning/frames.asp?doc=%2Fplanning%2Flib%2Fplanning%2FNew_Inventory_Sep_2004.pdf |archive-date=30 January 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Most of the furniture in the restaurant is original to the 1950s.<ref name=Globe>Vorhees, Mara, [http://www.boston.com/ae/food/articles/2004/01/28/bens_chili_and_hot_dogs_have_time_tested_appeal/ Ben's chili and hot dogs have time-tested appeal], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', 28 January 2004</ref> At the time, U Street was known as "Black [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]]". A number of [[jazz]] greats of the day, such as [[Duke Ellington]], [[Miles Davis]], and [[Nat King Cole]], would stop by the restaurant when they performed at U Street clubs.

The U Street corridor was devastated by the [[1968 Washington, D.C. riots|April 1968 riots]] that followed the [[assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.]]<ref name=CNN>[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0308/22/se.03.html Transcript: Ben's Chili Bowl Celebrates 45th Anniversary], [[CNN]], aired 22 August 2003</ref> During the riots, black activist [[Stokely Carmichael]], leader of the [[Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee]], asked Ben to keep his restaurant open, and the Alis obtained permission to stay open past [[curfew]].  The restaurant fed both the police officers and firefighters working to impose order on the neighborhood, as well as the black activists. The violence and arson reached such an extent that Ben wrote "Soul Brother" in soap on the front window in the hopes that it would stop the angry mobs.<ref name=BusinessWeek>{{cite news|url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_49/b3962460.htm |title=Ben Ali's Way |author=Kamal Ali as told to Gay Jervey |work=[[BusinessWeek]] |date=Winter 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080504164359/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/05_49/b3962460.htm |archive-date=2008-05-04 }}</ref>

The destruction of so many businesses led to the flight of residents towards the suburbs and the economic decline of the neighborhood through the mid-1970s to mid-1980s. As the area became known for its [[drug addiction|drug addicts]], Ben's Chili Bowl reduced its staff to one employee.<ref name=CNN/> Ben and Virginia's son Kamal recalled, "We stayed and had a following, because the Chili Bowl was like the neighborhood [[barber]]shop. People would sit here and chat. There was always a family presence and the locals protected us."<ref name=BusinessWeek/> The restaurant stopped serving pies and cakes, which attracted addicts, while police conducted surveillance on drug dealers from an upstairs window of the building.<ref name=obit/>

The extensive construction of the [[U Street (WMATA station)|U Street Metro station]] across the street from the restaurant, completed in 1991, forced still more U Street businesses to close. However, Ben's Chili Bowl stayed open to feed the construction workers.<ref name=Globe/> ''[[The Washington Post]]'' commented that Ben's Chili Bowl is "probably the only business on this strip that survived both the 1968 riots and the construction phase of the [[Green Line (Washington Metro)|Metro Green Line]]".<ref name=WaPo>Becton, Neal, [https://web.archive.org/web/20180924134727/https://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/?node=cityguide%2Fprofile&id=792153 City Guide: Ben's Chili Bowl], ''[[The Washington Post]]'' editorial review</ref> The Metro and lower crime rates helped the gradual revitalization and [[gentrification]] of the neighborhood. From the early 1990s, business revenues grew by 10% annually, to $1.5 million in 2005, and the number of employees at the restaurant grew as well, to a staff of 20.<ref name=BusinessWeek/>

[[File:Grill at Ben's Chili Bowl.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The grill inside Ben's Chili Bowl]]
In the summer of 2007, the owners of Ben's led a coalition of ten small local businesses to broker a deal with a local energy company to convert operations to 100% wind energy.<ref name="wind">[https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/15/business/15wind.html Kennedy, Shawn G., "Washington's small businesses tap into green power," The New York Post, August 15, 2007.]</ref>  The ''[[New York Post]]'' quoted Nizam Ali as saying, "We see this as part of being involved in what is good for the neighborhood, what's good for the city....It's a good idea that helps the environment and, it turns out, makes economic sense for all of us."<ref name="wind"/>

In 2008, Ben's Chili Bowl opened a second location in the newly built [[Nationals Park]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.benschilibowl.com/news.html |title=Ben's Chili Bowl News |access-date=May 26, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080731214854/http://www.benschilibowl.com/news.html |archive-date=July 31, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> though it has a more limited selection than the original restaurant.

On October 7, 2009, Ben died at the age of 82.<ref name=bizjournal>{{cite news|url=http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/05/daily83.html|title=Ben's Chili Bowl owner dies|last=Frederick|first=Missy|date=October 8, 2009|work=[[American City Business Journals|Washington Business Journal]]|publisher=washington.bizjournals.com|access-date=October 8, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091011105341/http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/05/daily83.html| archive-date= 11 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> He and his wife, Virginia, had retired from the restaurant business, having passed daily operations of Ben's Chili Bowl to their sons, Kamal and Nizam.<ref name=bizjournal/> Ali's death was mourned in multiple ways throughout the city, including a written statement by Mayor Adrian Fenty, which read in part:
"I am deeply saddened to hear of the passing of the founder and namesake of Ben's Chili Bowl, one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia. Ben Ali was a man who invested his life in a small business that weathered multiple storms and became the soul of a neighborhood and the pride of our city."<ref>[http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local-beat/Ben-Ali-Dead-at-82-63763567.html Stabley, Matthew, "Ben's chili bowl owner dead at 82: Ben's is a Washington landmark," NBCWashington.com, Oct 8, 2009.]</ref>

In 2009, Ben's sons, Nizam and Kamal, opened an upscale restaurant and bar, Ben's Next Door, at 1211 U St, NW, adjacent to the original building.<ref name="WT">[http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/jun/17/drinks-flow-next-door "Drinks flow next door at Ben's, The Washington Times.]</ref>  Featuring alcohol (something not available in Ben's), the restaurant's goal is to "complement" Ben's, according to Nizam, who says that the goal is to stay "true to ourselves".<ref name="WT"/>  The restaurant offers everything on the Ben's Chili Bowl menu from 11{{nbsp}}am to closing, in addition to its lunch, dinner, and a late-night menu.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.bensnextdoor.com/ordereze/default.aspx |title=Bensnextdoor.com. |access-date=2011-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117184744/http://www.bensnextdoor.com/ordereze/default.aspx |archive-date=2011-01-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:Chili half smoke Bens.jpg|thumb|A chili [[half-smoke]] with potato chips at Ben's]]

==Customers and recognition==
[[File:Bush mural - ben's chili bowl (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Then-U.S. President [[George W. Bush]] helping to paint a D.C. school mural of local landmark Ben's Chili Bowl.]]
''[[The Boston Globe]]'' described Ben's diverse customers as "[[Punk subculture|punk]]-looking kids and fashionable business people and everyone in between".<ref name=Globe/> In 2001, Ben and Virginia's son, Kamal, commented on the changes of what types of people were eating at the establishment: "You hear comments. Even the white customers. They want to think they're the only whites who'd been hip enough to go to the Chili Bowl. Now they look around and there are a lot of other whites and they are not so happy about it."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article226978.ece |title=City Life: Washington |first=Andrew |last=Buncombe |work=[[The Independent]] |date=June 4, 2001 |access-date=October 1, 2010 }}{{dead link|date=August 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

The most famous regular customer is comedian [[Bill Cosby]], who took his future wife to Ben's when they were dating.<ref name=PBS/> He recalls that he first became a frequent visitor while serving in the Navy and stationed in [[Bethesda, Maryland]], in 1958 and frequently visited the U Street jazz clubs.<ref name="BC">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200726193027/http://homeincomekit.org/be-your-own-boss/bens-chili-bowl-u-st-nw Alexander, Keith L., "Ben's Celebrates Chili Power," Washington Post, August 21, 2008.]</ref> Cosby recalls that during some of his visits with [[Camille Cosby|Camille]], who was then a student at the [[University of Maryland]], he would "eat as many as six half-smokes at a time."<ref name="BC"/> Cosby returned to Ben's in 1985 to hold a press conference in the restaurant to celebrate the success of his television series, ''[[The Cosby Show]]''.<ref name=Globe/> He continues to stop by Ben's while in town for servings of [[half-smoke]]s. A sign posted in the restaurant proclaimed that Bill Cosby is the only person who eats for free at Ben's Chili Bowl.<ref name=BenPol>{{cite web|url=https://www.flickr.com/photos/staple/1000067716|title=Ben's Policy|work=Flickr|date=August 3, 2007|access-date=December 18, 2007}}</ref> On November 3, 2008, a new sign was posted to add "the Obama family".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dcist.com/2008/11/04/the_election_comes_to_bens_chili_bo.php|title=The Election Comes to Ben's Chili Bowl|publisher=DCist|date=November 4, 2008|access-date=July 15, 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090125005924/http://dcist.com/2008/11/04/the_election_comes_to_bens_chili_bo.php|archive-date=January 25, 2009}}</ref> Starting in 2012 a large mural featuring Cosby adorned the building, but was removed in January 2017 amid sexual assault allegations against the comedian.<ref name="Ben's_Deletes_Cosby">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/local/wp/2017/01/26/bens-chili-bowl-paints-over-its-mural-of-bill-cosby-and-obama/|title=Ben's Chili Bowl paints over its mural of Bill Cosby — and Obama|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=January 26, 2017|access-date=January 26, 2017}}</ref>

Many other celebrities, including [[Chris Tucker]] and [[Bono]], have visited over the years. When journalist [[Ted Koppel]] stopped hosting news program [[Nightline (U.S. news program)|''Nightline'']], he held his 2005 farewell party at the restaurant.<ref name=obit/> Then-[[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] [[Barack Obama]] ate at Ben's on January 10, 2009.<ref name="Obama"/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7822643.stm|title=BBC video of Obama at the restaurant|work=BBC News|date=January 11, 2009|access-date=July 15, 2009}}</ref>

''[[The Washington Post]]'' asserts, "By the late 1990s, no D.C. politician would dream of running for office without dropping into Ben's."<ref name=obit/> [[Anthony A. Williams]] appeared at Ben's immediately after his successful mayoral election.<ref name=sietsema>{{cite web|url=http://www.jamesbeard.org/about/press/newsdetails.php?news_id=48 |title=The 2004 James Beard Foundation Gallo of Sonoma America's Classics Awards|last=Sietsema|first=Tom|date=May 10, 2004|work=The James Beard Foundation|access-date=October 24, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080203080925/http://www.jamesbeard.org/about/press/newsdetails.php?news_id=48 |archive-date = February 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>Description written by Tom Sietsema, writer for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', and member of The James Beard Foundation Restaurant Awards Committee</ref>

In 1998, former DC mayor [[Marion Barry]] described having traveled to [[Ghana]] and meeting the [[Mayor of Accra]], an alumnus of [[Howard University]], whose greeting was, "Glad to have you in Accra. Is Ben's Chili Bowl still there?"<ref>{{cite news|title=For 40 Years, the Hottest Place in Town|first=Allan|last=Lengel|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 21, 1998|page=C1}}</ref> And when French President [[Nicolas Sarkozy]] and his wife [[Carla Bruni]] visited Washington, D.C., in March 2010, they reportedly each had two of Ben's half smokes during their visit to the restaurant.<ref>[http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/30/sarkozys-eat-half-smokes-at-bens-chili-bowl Cooper, Helene, "Sarkozys eat half-smokes at Ben's," The Caucus, March 30, 2010.]</ref>

Scenes from films including ''[[The Pelican Brief (film)|The Pelican Brief]]''<ref name=GWU>[http://www.gwu.edu/~jazz/venuesm.html Historic U Street Jazz: The Minnehaha Theatre / Ben's Chili Bowl], [[George Washington University]]</ref> and ''[[State of Play (film)|State of Play]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/10/AR2009041000056.html|title=On the Set of 'State of Play': Washington Post Consultant Tells (Almost) All|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=April 12, 2009|access-date=July 15, 2009|first=R.B.|last=Brenner}}</ref> have been filmed in the restaurant, and it has been in "dozens of TV shows."<ref>[https://archive.today/20120715163625/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postmortem/2009/10/how_i_got_the_story_ben_ali_of.html Schudel, Matt, "How I got the story: Ben of Ben's Chili Bowl," WashingtonPost.com, October 9, 2009.]</ref>   The short film ''Breakfast At Ben's'' was filmed almost entirely in the restaurant.<ref>{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Brett|title=Ben's World|url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/articles/19638/bens-world/|work=Washington City Paper|date=19 May 2000|access-date=31 March 2011}}</ref>  The documentary [[Traveling While Black]], a virtual reality project about racism, makes use of the restaurant as the main filming location in 2019.  Additionally, it has been used in novels{{which|date=January 2011}} as the setting for fictional meetings—especially meetings that involve individuals from "different sides of the law"—as it was in [[George Pelecanos]]'s ''[[King Suckerman]]''.<ref>[http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/georgepelecanos/washington Website for George Pelecanos.]</ref>

Ben and Virginia Ali were inducted into the D.C. Hall of Fame, and in 1999, the alley adjacent to the restaurant was renamed "Ben Ali Way".<ref name=BusinessWeek/> On the occasion of Ben Ali's 2009 death, D.C. mayor [[Adrian Fenty]] released a statement calling the restaurant "one of the greatest treasures in the District of Columbia".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1735&mon=200910 |title=Fenty Remembers Ben Ali|publisher=District of Columbia Mayor's Office|date=October 8, 2009|access-date=October 9, 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091010084851/http://dc.gov/mayor/news/release.asp?id=1735&mon=200910| archive-date= 10 October 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref>

===Reviews===
[[File:2020.03.19 DC People and Places, Washington, DC USA 079 30015 (49679688267).jpg|thumb|A mural is painted on the western wall of the restaurant.]]
In 2004, the [[James Beard Foundation]] named Ben's one of the "down-home eateries that have carved out a special place on the American culinary landscape".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.jamesbeard.org/index.php?q=james_beard_awards_americas_classics |title=JBF America's Classics Award |publisher=[[James Beard Foundation]] |year=2004 |access-date=October 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091019005841/http://www.jamesbeard.org/index.php?q=james_beard_awards_americas_classics |archive-date=October 19, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Jane and Michael Stern|Michael Stern]], a writer specializing in U.S. regional foods, penned a 2008 review raving "The half-smoke is sensational!" and "Ben's serves one of the best sweet potato pies anywhere", and describing the chili as "sensational stuff: thick, peppery, full-flavored and positively addictive".<ref>{{cite news |last=Stern |first=Michael |date=October 11, 2008 |title=Ben's Chili Bowl – Washington, D.C. |publisher=Roadfood.com |url=https://roadfood.com/restaurants/bens-chili-bowl/ |url-status=live |access-date=October 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016233316/http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Review/1284-1284/bens-chili-bowl |archive-date=16 October 2009}}</ref> In January 2009, food magazine ''[[Bon Appétit]]'' named Ben's one of the country's ten "Best Chili Spots", asserting, "No reasonable discussion of great chili joints can take place without mention of this U Street institution."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/03/the_best_chili_spots|title=The Best Chili Spots|first=Andrew|last=Knowlton|work=[[Bon Appétit]]|date=January 2009|access-date=October 9, 2009}}</ref> In a 2016 ''[[The Washington Post]]'' restaurant review, Ben's received one star and the food was described as "awful."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/bens-chili-bowl-review-i-get-its-importance-but-i-still-wish-the-food-were-better/2016/05/10/d38a3542-0899-11e6-bdcb-0133da18418d_story.html|title=Ben's Chili Bowl review: I get its importance. But I still wish the food were better.|author=Sietsema, Tom|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=10 May 2016|access-date=8 June 2016}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|United States|Food}}
* [[List of James Beard America's Classics]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=7CuNsyXxlXwC&q=Ben%E2%80%99s+Chili+Bowl%3A+50+Years+of+a+Washington%2C+D.C.%2C+Landmark ''Ben’s Chili Bowl: 50 Years of a Washington, D.C., Landmark''], by Tracey Gold Bennett, [[Arcadia Publishing]], 2008, {{ISBN|0-7385-5424-3}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://www.benschilibowl.com Ben's Chili Bowl] ''official website''
* [https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1000430 "The People Are Hungry"], by [[National Public Radio]]
* [http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/people/7080.html "'People Were Out of Control': Remembering the 1968 Riots"], by the ''[[Washingtonian (magazine)|Washingtonian]]''
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2009/10/08/VI2009100802507.html "Ben's Chili Bowl Founder Remembered Fondly"], video by ''[[The Washington Post]]''
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QxLh_iC11M  Maurice, the General Manager, shows off Ben's new "veggie dogs" on a YouTube video, October 6, 2010.]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vQ7wQ80Aik President Obama visits Ben's Chili Bowl.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100702002401/http://www.environmentalleader.com/2010/02/26/dc-landmark-bens-chile-bowl-goes-to-wind-energy/ YouTube video of Nizam Ali explaining why the restaurant switched to 100% wind-powered energy.]
*[http://library.gwu.edu/ead/ms2285.xml Guide to the Ben's Chili Bowl Records, 1943-2014], Special Collections Research Center, Estelle, and Melvin Gelman Library, The George Washington University
*[http://watch.weta.org/video/1376534268 Ben's Chili Bowl]  Documentary produced by [[WETA-TV]]
*[https://www.c-span.org/video/?535899-1/qa-virginia-ali-bernard-demczuk ''Q&A'' interview with Virginia Ali and Bernard Demczuk at Ben's Chili Bowl, June 23, 2024], [[C-SPAN]]

{{Restaurants in Washington, D.C.}}
{{Cuisine of the United States}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:African-American history of Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Historic district contributing properties in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Hot dog restaurants in the United States]]
[[Category:Chili con carne restaurants]]
[[Category:Restaurants established in 1958]]
[[Category:1958 establishments in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Restaurants in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Former cinemas in the United States]]
[[Category:Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:America's Classics winners]]
[[Category:U Street Corridor, Washington, D.C.]]