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Ben's Chili Bowl Founder Ben Ali Dies

ben's chili bowl
Photo: Alicia Griffin/flickr
Ben Ali, the founder of Washington D.C.'s historic Ben's Chili Bowl, has died at the age of 82.

Ali founded the landmark eatery on U Street with his wife, Virginia, during the Eisenhower administration, and it's become a hangout for presidents -- President Obama visited on Jan. 10 -- and entertainers -- Bill Cosby, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Cosby was the only person to get a free meal at Ben's until Obama's election, when Ben's put up this sign in the window: "Who eats free at Ben's: _Bill Cosby _The Obama Family," the Associated Press reports.

The restaurant is renowned for its chili "half smokes" -- beef sausages larger than the average hot dog that are smothered in chili -- as well as its bowls of chili. The James Beard Foundation named Ben's Chili Bowl an "American Classic" in 2004. And the menu, Gourmet.com notes, isn't for the faint of heart. "Our chili will make a dog bark," it begins.
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