Places to Go in DC: Ben's Chili Bowl

Ben's Chili Bowl $

1213 U Street, NW

This lunch counter and late-night hangout is home to the delicious "half-smoke" chili-covered sausage. I came here late night after some bar-hopping and found the experience quite overwhelming, in a good way.  The crowd was out the door, so I squeezed on into the madness and eventually ordered my food, a traditional chili dog and chips.  It came out hot and the cheese was oozing onto my fingers.  I noticed in the back a sign which read, "Bill Cosby eats free.  And Obama BUT HE PAID!".  You gotta love a place like this.  The bustling lovers of late night eats with no-crap-taking employees that will tell you how it is.  Cultures mixing all for the love of good food. I found myself a slab of counter and started digging in.  The dog was perfectly cooked with a rich smokey flavor and the chili was everything you could ask for.  I used the chips to clean up my spills of chili on the plate.  A perfect DC meal.