Washington, DC- U Street Neighborhood, March 15th, 2013
We’ve found ourselves in the clamoring, crowded party-central that is 9th and U streets in DC many times. Usually, we’re playing at the Velvet Lounge, which is an excellent room to see music in DC, and we always have a blast playing there. Up until our most recent trip, I was always a bit disappointed with eating around there. There were mostly Middle Eastern and Indian restaurants, and while I love both cuisines, they’re not my go-to choices for a pre or post gig meal. Usually, I end up eating from a trendy, slightly over priced food cart and am generally pretty unhappy with my eating choices. Blah blah blah, boo hoo hoo, yeah, I get it... First World Problems.
As it turns out, all I had to do was make a RIGHT out of Velvet Lounge instead of a left. THAT’S where everything is! Under (or to the right of) my nose the whole time! That right turn was a complete game changer.
It was after the set (which was excellent, by the way, our first set out of town in 2013 and it went like a well-oiled machine of rock) and I made my right turn out of the club. I start ambling past various Irish looking pubs, more Middle Eastern restaurants, a jerked chicken place (filed away in the brain as a ‘maybe’) and then I see it. Ben’s Chili Bowl on U Street, next to the Lincoln Theater. Problem solved.
I watch a lot of “No Reservations”, and my favorite ones are usually the ones where Anthony Bourdain is exploring deeper into American cities, showing us places that haven’t been flogged to death by Michelin or Zagat or any of the Food Network on-the-road shows (note: I do grasp the irony that "No Reservations" used to be a Food Network show). I remember his episode on DC, where he goes to Ben’s, and all I could think when I was watching was “I want to go to there.” So fast forward to 2013, and there I stand, in fact, about to go to there.
Based on its proximity to Howard University and the sheer number of bars on U street, Ben’s gets characterized (rather unfairly) as a late-night, drunk-food establishment by most of the people I’ve talked to. It’s true, when I walked in around 11pm, it was full of mostly students, and they were probably in the midst of the Friday night drink-fest that is standard in college. But as I sat at the counter, it felt like a neighborhood place, a place that probably looks almost exactly the same as when it first opened. True, there’s a Ben’s souvenir shop, as well as a Ben’s bar next door, but the place definitely has its neighborhood roots, back before U Street got itself all gentrified and fancy. There’s even a sign behind the counter that reads: “People Who Eat For Free: Bill Cosby. President Obama/Family. And No One Else.” In a town where everyone wants to rub elbows with “good, honest, hard-working American people”, Ben’s makes it clear that you still have to pay for lunch after your “keepin’ it real” photo-op is over.
I ordered a half-smoke (which is a half beef/half pork smoked sausage and) with chili sauce and onions (this item is known as “The Bill Cosby”), and a bowl of chili. They were both eaten in about 10 minutes. This place does not take long to accomplish what you need from it. It was a really solid, medium-heat bowl of chili. Nothing fancy about it, it reminded me of diner chili with a little something extra special about it. I can see why the place has stood the test of time: simplicity. They know how to make a few things, and how to make them really well. Go somewhere else for your organic, free-range, low fat whatever you want. Go to Ben’s for food that people have been eating forever, and will continue to eat forever.
Now here comes the unfortunate part about the whole trip: I did not have my phone with me. Imagine me, sitting at the counter at Ben’s, digging on my chili, listening to Parliament on the jukebox (it is a fantastic jukebox, by the way), and thinking “The rest of the guys need to be here RIGHT NOW.” And reaching into my back pocket and realizing that my phone, with all its calling and picture-taking and Facebooking abilities, is sitting on top of my bass amp back in the club. And that the club is a five minute walk away. And I am not getting up from this chili. So I decided to enjoy things the way people used to enjoy things they stumbled upon by themselves before the age of smart phones: I enjoyed it for the moment that it was and let it pass without anything to commemorate it. No phone pic of my meal, no tweet or check-in, and no call to the rest of the band telling them what they were missing. It was a moment for me, to enjoy something by myself, and to think about how I am lucky sometimes that I get to go to new places, explore them and have little moments like this.
-Dan
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| Poster from our 3.15 show in DC |
