rave: ben's chili bowl

Nationals Stadium opened on the last day in March of this year. We trotted out to some sweet seats last Friday night to watch the Marlins play the Nationals. The highlight of the game wasn't the baseball (read: at least 20 fly balls were hit)...it was the ball game food. Out at RFK stadium, the best food you could get was at a place called the "District of Chicken" -- so, you could pay $7 for a few chicken strips. Meanwhile, the entire stadium reeked of fried chicken. Hmm...

Though the new Nats stadium hasn't yet developed its own smell, they have added a Washington, D.C. late-night staple: Ben's Chili Bowl. Full disclosure: I didn't visit the real/original BCB until AFTER I had eaten it at the Nats Stadium. Moving on, there are about 4 things on the menu at Ben's:

• Chili Cheese Half Smoke
  
• Chili Cheese Burger
  
• Chili Cheese Fries
  
• Vegetarian Chili
  

I've tried three out of four of these (shame, shame...) and my parter in crime, Ben, finally tried the Chili Cheese Burger last Friday at the game. Though he woke up the next day with a burning sensation in his stomach, he seemed to really enjoy it while he was eating it. 

I tried to behave, and ordered a bowl of Veggie Chili at the game, instead of you know, cheese fries and a hot dog. I ate the Veggie Chili in about 1 minute, shrugged, and moved on to eating a half an order of Ben's chili cheese fries. The Veggie Chili wasn't very warm (maybe just my bowl?), so that made it sort of unappetizing...and it was a little too sweet for my palette. Meh. I guess ordering the Veggie Chili at Ben's is like going to a nice steakhouse, and ordering a salad. Not really worth the trip, you know? 

Next time you're in DC, at the baseball game or at the original location - try out Ben's Chili Bowl. To get the full effect, skip the burger -- order some chili cheese fries and a half smoke. And don't forget the Pepto Bismol.