I’ll have the Half-Smoke ‘All the Way’

It’s a Washington, D.C. institution that has nothing to do with monuments, museums or government buildings. It has fed the stomachs and souls of the folks in the nation’s capital and from around the world for more than 50 years. It’s Ben’s Chili Bowl.

It’s a place as friendly and unpretentious as it gets despite its amazing success, which we noticed as soon as we walked up from the Metro stop at 2: 30 p.m. and looked across the street at the line of people outside of the small white building whose façade was covered with yellow and red signage. Bill Cosby thrust Ben’s into the national spotlight in 1985 when he held a press conference there to celebrate his number one show. In 2004, Ben’s received the Gallo of Sonoma “America's Classics” Restaurant Award from the James Beard Foundation. The place has been spotlighted by every news, travel and food show imaginable.
(Photo from Ben's Chili Bowl Web site.)

The line weaved inside the building (a former silent movie theater) that looked every bit its 100 years of age but it moved fast with loud, friendly workers shouting encouragement. Ben's is proud of it's African-American roots and on its walls are pictures of black entertainers and leaders of the Civil Rights movement who are customers. A sign near the door proclaims "We Love Our Customers. You Are The Best." The menu is above the grill behind the counter. Other signs above the counter direct customers about food and service: "Our Sandwiches Are Made to Order," "Tipping is Permitted For Good Service, and "All Sandwiches Wrapped In Aluminum Foil To Preserve Heat And Freshness."
At Ben’s the line leads to a cashier where you order first then head for a table in the back where you are served your food, unless you skip the line and head for the white, Formica counter in front of the food station, which we did.

There, a large smiling man with a beard and long-braided hair tied back wearing a cook’s white shirt loudly referred to me as “Mr. Tony” and my wife as “Mrs. Tony,” took our order and then quickly moved, and I swear, disappeared, into the swarm of cooks, servers and cashiers working behind the counter.

Our server/cook in the center.

I had the half-smoke “all the way” (pictured above) and Maria ordered the chili dog. A half-smoke is unique to the Washington D.C. area. It is essentially a plumper version of a hot dog with a little more spice and smoke flavor. All the way, means it comes with mustard, onions and chili. Maria’s chili dog looked sad by comparison.

The half-smoke tasted like it looked: meat covered in meat sauce with lots of spice and hints of mustard and onion. There’s nothing subtle about the flavor. It’s good, hearty, fun food, which was perfect to sooth our hunger and feed our souls on a cold late December day.

Ben’s Chile Bowl, 1213 U St., N.W., Washington D.C. Across from the U Street/African American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metro stop, (Green Line).

EagleBank Bowl was 30 Years in the Making for the Temple Football Program

For those of us who are fans of the Temple University football program our lives for the past 20 years have been mired in a web of frustration, doom, despair, hopelessness, shock, heartbreak and depression.

We know the agony of defeat better than anyone. The regular beatings and lopsided loses the football team took were one thing. But over the years Temple has lost games in spectacular fashion in ways no one could anticipate—from opponents completing last-second “Hail Mary” passes for touchdowns, to Temple turnovers with seconds left in the game that either killed final drives near the end zone or became winning scores for the opponent. Missed extra points, field goals, you name it it’s been done.

Not this year. Five years after head coach Al Golden (left) took over the struggling program things changed. After losing the first two games of the season (the first loss, again, in spectacular fashion), Temple won the next nine games before losing their finale. The 9-3 record earned them a bid to the Dec. 29 EagleBank Bowl in Washington, D.C., against a big-conference marquee opponent, UCLA.

It certainly wasn’t the most prestigious bowl game. First, the game was held in aging, even decrepit RFK stadium, which used to serve as the home of the Washington Redskins. Second, it was in D.C. as opposed to some sunny location in the west or south. But it was close enough to Philly to allow an estimated 20,000 Temple fans to attend the game, understandably far outnumbering the team from the West Coast. Philly and the World were among those fans using the game as an excuse to stay through the New Year in our favorite local city.

To top it off Washington was hit by serious cold spell. At the 4:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon kickoff it was about 30 degrees. By the end of the game it was below 20 degrees and it felt colder.

Despite these inconveniences, the atmosphere at the game was electric. By opening kickoff the place the Temple side of the stands was wild and by the end of the second half when Temple took a 21-7 lead, the building was shaking. But the joy ended there. UCLA was able to kick a field goal on the last play of the second quarter and in the second half its defense totally shut down the Temple offense. UCLA came back to win the game 30-21.

Lead photo: Temple players celebrate after a completion to tight end Steve Maneri for the first touchdown of the game. Below, is a video of Matt Brown scoring a touchdown in the second quarter. The muffled noises you hear are the sounds of people clapping with their gloves on.



There was disappointment but there was joy. Temple’s first bowl game in 30 years was a success. The fans came and they participated with their energy and their cash, which made EagleBank Bowl officials happy. The total turnout wasn’t as strong as hoped, again because of it being held on a week night and the difficulty of many UCLA fans making the trip from the West Coast, but Temple and its fans held up its end.

Washington, a very tourist-friendly city, and the bowl game sponsors were excellent hosts, which have us looking forward to next year.