So there I was, attending a hockey game recently at the Verizon Centre in Washington, D.C., on a rare trip to the nation's capitol. Of course I wanted a hot dog and a beer between periods... and that's when I first saw the "half-smoke," sizzling on a griddle at one of the rink's concession stands. When I ordered one, I was asked if I wanted 'everything," to which I immediately responded "yes" (with lots of both curiosity and ignorance). Da woiks (I am from New York) turned out to be sautéed bell peppers and melted cheese... but the real star was the dog itself, the half-smoke.
For me, it was like discovering a new planet.
Oh, I do love local American specialties. I've gone from sea to shining sea, many times over, to find 'em: Maine lobster rolls, New York pastrami, Philly cheesesteaks, spiced and steamed Baltimore crabs, the Miami cubano, the Santa Fe green chili cheeseburger, the San Diego fish taco, Santa Maria BBQ, etc., etc. But in all my years of food-shrine-seeking, I had never encountered--nor even heard of!--the Washington, D.C. half-smoke. Sure, you can find attempts at Philly cheesesteaks everywhere, these days, but if ya want a half-smoke, ya gotta go to D.C. and its surroundings!
Within a few hours of my "discovery," I was in touch with foodie friends in the D.C. area, asking such dumb questions as "What's half about it?" and "Where do I get the definitive one?"
The front of the original Ben's Chili Bowl on a bright Saturday morning
I found out fast that the "half" theories abound...but few question the premier half-smoke destination: Ben's Chili Bowl at 1213 U Street NW in the District's Shaw neighborhood. There are four stand-alone Ben's plus four other outposts around the D.C. area, including ones at Nationals Park and FedEx Park. Most interestingly, President-Elect Obama ate at Ben's in the days leading up to his 2009 inauguration, and influenced President Sarkozy of France to eat there during his tenure.
I'm not president of anything, but I was at Ben's the very next morning.
Funk-o-rama. A gorgeous dive, all the way, but clean as a whistle, with glorious 1950s retro oozing out of the walls (Ben's Chili Bowl, in fact, opened in 1958). The curious thing is that "chili" is obviously the headliner, and you can have it in a bowl (the other headliner)--or you can have it spooned over stuff. The most famous "stuff," of course, is the half-smoke, which resides on a griddle at the front of Ben's with a few dozen cousins.
Oh, there are lots of other half-smokes around Washington, but it wouldn't be hard for me to believe that this one is king of the hill. It is made from half-beef and half-pork, falling right in with one of the theories concerning the dog's name (but, truth be told, you can find them made from all pork, or all beef, or other variations). Ben's also lines up with another leading "half" theory: here, the sausages are smoked, then browned on a griddle. So, in a way, the smoking was only "half" the cooking. And one more Ben's halfway buy-in, and to me the most important: the dog is coarse, striking the sausage lover as halfway between the coarseness of Polish sausage and the smooth emulsification of hot dogs.
A half-smoke with chili at Ben's, sided by cheese-sauce fries (at other spots, the cheese sauce can go on the half-smoke itself)
There's nothing halfway about the dog's quality. I love the coarseness. I love the "snap." I love the seasoning, and the healthy smoke flavor. I also love Ben's rich, dark chili ladled on top, which is not necessarily a garnish you'll find everywhere.
After getting my fill at Ben's of this great local specialty...I found it hard to go back to the insipid dirty water dogs of my home city!
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