Senate Bean Soup appears as a signature dish in 1 United States cities. See each city's local variant and where to eat it.
Senate bean soup · Washington DC
A simple navy bean soup with ham hock and mashed potato, on the menu of the United States Senate cafeteria every day since 1903 and still in DC's diner repertoire.
Senate bean soup has been on the menu of the United States Senate restaurant in the Capitol every day, almost without exception, since 1903. The origin story credits Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, who in 1903 mandated the soup; an alternative credit goes to Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, who is said to have requested it personally. Either way the recipe became written into Senate cafeteria policy. The version is austere: navy beans simmered with smoked ham hocks, mashed potato to thicken, onion and seasoning, nothing else. The Senate kitchen will give the recipe out to any caller; it is among the most-published recipes in DC history. Outside the Capitol, the soup turns up at Bullfeathers on Capitol Hill, Old Ebbitt Grill and across the city's diner-and-classic-American repertoire.
Where to eat in Washington DC:
- Old Ebbitt Grill
- Florida Avenue Grill