Half-smoke
Photo: Paulo O · CC BY 2.0

History

The half-smoke was born on U Street. Ben Ali and his wife Virginia opened Ben's Chili Bowl at 1213 U Street NW in August 1958, in a former silent-movie house, and built the chili half-smoke into the city's defining sandwich. The link itself, larger and coarser than a hot dog and lightly smoked before being grilled, has been made for Ben's by Manger Packing in Maryland for decades. The U Street riots of April 1968 left Ben's as one of the few neighbourhood businesses standing. Weenie Beenie in Arlington claims to predate Ben's by a few years, but the chili-half-smoke template at Ben's remains the canonical DC dish.

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Common allergens: Gluten

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 4 large coarse-ground half-beef-half-pork smoked sausages (200g each), or kielbasa as a substitute
  • 4 soft top-split hot dog buns (New England style)
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 200ml prepared all-meat beef chili (no beans), warmed
  • Yellow mustard, to serve
  • 1 small white onion, finely diced
  • Hot sauce, to serve

Method

  1. Heat a flat-top griddle or large cast-iron pan over medium heat. Score each sausage lengthwise about three-quarters of the way through, opening it like a book.
  2. Lay the sausages cut-side down on the griddle. Cook 4 to 5 minutes a side, pressing lightly with a spatula, until the cut face is mahogany and crisp at the edges.
  3. Brush the inside of each bun with melted butter and toast cut-side down on the griddle for 30 seconds.
  4. Place a sausage in each bun. Spoon over 50ml warm chili, a thick squiggle of yellow mustard, a tablespoon of diced onion. Top with hot sauce to taste.
  5. Eat immediately, leaning over the plate.

Tip from the editors. Real half-smokes are coarser than a hot dog; if you can't find one, ask a butcher for a coarse-ground beef-and-pork smoked sausage rather than a fine emulsion frank.

Where to eat half-smoke

Half-smoke in Washington DC

Ben's Chili Bowl ★ 4.6

$ New American

Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC is the U Street half-smoke counter since 1958, the city's defining cheap-eat with the chili half-smoke at $7.95.

TryChili half-smoke ($7.95)

TipPair a chili half-smoke with the chili cheese fries to share; $20 covers two people including drinks.

Directions

Weenie Beenie ★ 4.0

$ Street food

Weenie Beenie is the Arlington half-smoke counter at 2680 South Shirlington Road, a 1950s walk-up window that claims a Northern Virginia hold.

TryHalf-smoke chili dog (Arlington)

TipThe Weenie Beenie half-smoke is leaner than Ben's; the chili-and-cheese order is the editorial point of comparison.

Directions

Ben's Next Door ★ 4.2

$$ AmericanU Street

Ben's Next Door in Washington DC is the sit-down sister of Ben's Chili Bowl at 1211 U Street, a soul-American kitchen with a cocktail list and the half-smoke.

OrderThe buttermilk fried chicken with mac and collards; the room's most-ordered single dish.

TipThe bar runs late on weekends and is the better seat for a single diner; brunch fills up by 11:30.

Directions Book

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