Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The founder of Ben's Chili Bowl has passed away



Ben Ali, founder of world famous Ben's Chili Bowl, favorite chili haunt of Barack and Michelle Obama, passed away a week ago from congestive heart failure at the age of 82. Ali, a native of Trinidad and his then-fiancee founded the landmark restaurant in 1958 after studying dentistry at Howard University. He perfected its signature chili recipe and popular half smokes over the years as the restaurant served foreign dignitaries and regular locals alike. Located on DC's "Black Broadway" as U Street was known, the diner served the likes of Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Redd Foxx, Marion Barry, Shaqille O'Neal, and Hillary Rodham Clinton; Bill Cosby courted Camille at Ben's Chili Bowl. Bon Apetite magazine ranked Ben's chili the best in America.

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousOctober 14, 2009 at 12:26 PM

    I always wanted to eat there

    ReplyDelete
  2. KennedyOctober 14, 2009 at 2:06 PM

    I have a fantasy of going there for a half smokie and pinching Barack's butt as he stands in front of me. He turns around, tells me I'm cute and picks up the tab.

    ReplyDelete

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