DC's defining sausage: a coarse-ground, lightly-smoked half-pork, half-beef link, split lengthwise on the griddle and tucked into a steamed bun under chili, mustard and onions.
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.
3 editor picks for Half-smoke in Washington DC, ranked by editorial score. All Washington DC signature dishes · Half-smoke across every city.
Ben's Chili Bowl ★ 4.6
u-street · 1213 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009
Ben's Chili Bowl in Washington DC is the 1958 U Street counter from Ben and Virginia Ali, the city's defining half-smoke, served at 1213 U Street NW.
Ben's Next Door ★ 4.2
u-street · 1211 U St NW, Washington, DC 20009
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.
Weenie Beenie ★ 4.0
2680 S Shirlington Rd, Arlington, VA 22206
Weenie Beenie is the Arlington half-smoke counter at 2680 South Shirlington Road, a 1950s walk-up window that claims a Northern Virginia hold.