15 August 2013

Week 5, part five, U-street and Ben's Chili Bowl

Iconic street view
 
The claim to be a "Washington Landmark" is no exaggeration. Ben's Chili Bowl is featured in every D.C guidebook, and is as much of a staple of the D.C food scene as Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and the various Frozen Yoghurt chains. Even my sister half way around the world reminded me that I had to eat here before I left the U.S.
 
I'm happy to report that despite its fame, Ben's Chili Bowl was still full of locals, as well as tourists, and has remained true to its modest origins (e.g., they only accept cash).The place retains its American Diner-with-plastic-booths feel, despite the photos of Barack Obama and other celebrities who have eaten there, and helped to earn its landmark status.
 
There is a sign behind the counter of "people who eat free". The first person on the list is Bill Cosby  (famous African American comedian, actor, author, turned educator and activist) next is the "Obama/ family". No one else is on the list.

Side mural

Ben's Chili Bowl is a D.C legand as it is a true survivor of the city's turbulent history. It began in the late 1950s, before the Civil Rights Act, and survived the race riots after the assination of Martin Luther King Jr., during which most of the U-Street area of D.C was burnt to the ground. Then, in the 1980s, this down-to-earth diner survived the building of the modern Metro system, at a time when the drawn-out construction process caused other business to flee the area.

I had a bowl of their famous Chili, served with (as ever) Saltine-crackers, and a cherry "shake" (milkshake). I know I should be more excited about the chili, but to be honest, I'm still excited about the milkshake, I've never had a cherry flavoured one before!

The entire U-Street corridor is also pretty lively in the evenings. After dinner we headed to a place called "Busboys and poets", which was a bookshop, combined with a restaurant, and which also appeared to host a lot of local entertainment events, from poetry readings and meet-the-author sessions, to stand up comedy nights. Here I tried my second interesting drink of the night, Pomade. It was like cloudy lemonade, but with pomegranate juice, which turned it an awesome pink colour!

Some of the literature I've read describes U-Street as D.C's version of Harlem (see NYC post). Having experienced both recently, I can't help but think that U-Street seemed to have a lot more of the immediately obvious kind of attractions, for tourists at least. (Feels strange to refer to myself as a tourist after 6 weeks, maybe "temporary resident" is a better term? Or "short-term resident"?) Maybe locals would see it differently. Besides, Harlem does have the Harlem Shake, and i-HOP (International House of Pancakes!)

More info on the history of Ben's Chili Bowl; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben's_Chili_Bowl

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