Ben's Chili Bowl: 4 Years Later and I Finally Made It!

When you tell someone that you a Senior at GW and you have never been to Ben's Chili Bowl, you can get a number of reactions including anger, disgust, or simply a look of complete and utter shock.After four years of hearing the hype about this historic DC establishment, I finally decided to embark on my journey to for cuisine that most definitely clogs your arteries instantly. However, I assumed it was worth it.

Image Courtesy of Ben's Official Website: Ben's Chili Bowl, View from the Outside

On Friday night, my friends and I decided to attend the No Scrubs: 90's Dance Party at the 9:30 Club. After dancing the classic hits like "Wannabe" by Spice Girls and "Bye, Bye, Bye" by *NSYNC, we departed from the concert hall on V street, and headed towards our most important destination: Ben's Chili Bowl. As we approached, I could see a line wrapping around the small restaurant. I made my way with my three friends to the end of the line and waiting as patiently as possible to enter. When  we got to the front door, I started to talk to the man working the door about how I had never been here before. I explained to him how I didn't eat meat(I keep Kosher, a jewish custom,which in the simplest terms involves me only eating meat from kosher establishments) and how I wasn't sure what to order. As he looked at me with such shock that I was basically a DC native who had never been to such a restaurant, he told me about all the veggie friendly options available. He also began to tell me how much he LOVED Obama and how Obama dined here for his first meal as America's president(see below)

My new friend showed me which booth the president sat in and made sure I knew to look around the whole restaurant(which I also learned used to be an old silent movie theater before its establishment in 1958). I thanked him graciously and entered.

I waited in line with my best friend Ali and we ordered a giant plate of vegetarian chili cheese fries, a vanilla milk shake, and a diet coke all to share(our friends with us also split the same thing, minus the diet coke which was only necessary because I have a severe diet coke addiction). We ran to our booth eager to eat this amazing creation. As I said before, this is my no means gourmet cuisine. It is fattening, greasy, cheesy, and I am not even embarrassed to say so delicious that we deemed it 'heaven on a paper plate'. It was delicious. The flavors all complemented each other perfectly and I was impressed at its unique, but great flavor.

Cheese, Chili, and Fries in All Their Glory....YUM!

After eating our mini heart-attack on a plate, we moved on to the milkshake. It was very good as well, with a strong vanilla flavor that we both enjoyed. After finishing our beverage, we were able to say goodbye to our friend at the door and go home full and satisfied with our chili experience.