120 upvotes, 5 direct replies (showing 5)
View submission: Alright let's hear em.
Ben's Chili Bowl is a great place to go if you want a spicy half smoke. I don't know why people expect for it to be anything more than a spicy half smoke.
go to their website and look at the online menu. does that look like gourmet chili on top of those dogs?
oh, but i will say that i actually had a small cup of their chili at the H street location a couple years ago while my kid was at basketball practice at Sherwood Rec and the chili was not terrible.
Comment by Suspicious_Past_13 at 05/01/2025 at 14:22 UTC*
5 upvotes, 1 direct replies
This is it. It’s not terrible but it’s not great, hits the spot.
I’m from Los Angeles and it reminds me of a restaurant that serves basically the same thing, chili dogs and chili burgers. It’s called the munch box and it’s historical. I passed it up, saw it was basically the DC equivalent and the chili was almost the same.
3/4 of the hype is the history surrounding the place and the people who visited and stopped by for a burger.
And just like the munch box in LA, I tried Ben’s chili bowl twice and got the runs both times and am over it lol.
Comment by TempestTRex at 05/01/2025 at 16:34 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Their half smokes are awful tho.
Comment by Ambitious_Log7153 at 05/01/2025 at 22:25 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
FYI, you can get their half smokes at giant now. I love splitting and grilling them, then chopping them up and throwing them in a bowl with good chili, cheese, onions and fritos. It makes for a great easy cold weather comfort food.
Comment by Ear_Famous at 05/01/2025 at 14:07 UTC
1 upvotes, 0 direct replies
Their half smokes are bad tho that’s what ppl are usually talking about lmaoo i never knew someone to actually buy the chili😭😭😭😭😭
Comment by BoseSonic at 05/01/2025 at 16:42 UTC
0 upvotes, 0 direct replies
To be fair the spicy half smoke sucks too though. They have a basic menu of easy foods and they botch it